A Year with Pack 479
A year with Pack 3479 a lot of fun. There are weekly or biweekly Den Meetings, monthly Pack Meetings, Service Projects, and special Camp Outings throughout the year. The pack meetings are specially tailored to assist each rank’s adventures by providing an opportunity to share common requirements across ranks.
The School Year Pack Meetings and Summer Fun sections below demonstrate a typical year with Pack 3479. Within those sections there are two Service Projects and two Camp Outings that we do as a pack.
School Year Pack Meetings
Welcome Back (September)
We kick off the year with a fun activity for the pack while the new parents get a chance to ask questions and sign up for volunteer opportunities. This is also the moment where we introduce the fall fund raising opportunities – popcorn and wreath sales. In 2022, the cubs launched water rockets!
Halloween (October)
Our “spooky” Halloween Pack Meeting is traditionally hosted at the Riley Barn. We have an art-component that has included making scare-crows and decorating mini pumpkins. There’s also a hike, smokes, lemonade, and sometimes a speaker from the city.
The lesson: Doing arts together is a great way to bond with our fellow cubs.
Skits! (November)
While there are always fun, good-natured shenanigans across our Pack meetings, once a year we set aside time for each den to share a skit and showcase their creativity and performance skills. Each den prepares a brief skit to share with the Pack. This meeting is filled with laughs and great memories.
The lesson: Scouts increase their comfort with public speaking.
Working with Wood (December)
Basic tools make fun wood projects! This is a great project that scouts bring home and enjoy. From birdhouses to magazine holders, there’s an age-appropriate project for each rank. Parents and Scouts work together to build their creations with easy to follow kits. This indoor project is done during the winter months.
The lesson: Basic woodworking skills.
Service Project (January)
Every year we dedicate an pack meeting to community service. These projects have included making sandwiches for homeless people and packaging meal kits at Feed My Starving Children. This meeting reminds our cubs to help others at all times.
The lesson: Helping others is part of doing our good deeds.
Polar Cubs Winter Day Camp (January)
This single day event happens during our frosty winters. It’s a great opportunity to get out of the house and into the fresh air with arts, crafts, winter survival, and winter fun! Bundle up to comfortably enjoy sledding and other the other outdoor fun!
The lesson: We travel to one of the nearby camps. Each rank covers a some lessons related to the winter months.
Pine Wood Derby (February)
Start with a kit, and end with a race car! Cubs race their cars against against their ranks and the fastest cars compete in the all pack finals. In 2022, we started hosting the derby in the Eden Prairie Center, creating an exciting atmosphere for all! The track is impressive in size with a big screen scoreboard as well! There are awards for fastest car and best design both within each rank and as the pack overall. Fun creative project for the Pack – there’s even an Open division for any parents that want to race!
The lesson: Scouts show support for each other while learning about the science of fast cars.
STEM Night (March)
Each year we bring in an outside educator to share STEM lessons with the Pack. Recent guests include reptiles from Rad Zoo and Colin Kilbane from Gopher Steam. These pack-wide learning opportunities capture the interest of cubs of all ranks.
The lesson: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are all around us. These meetings let the cubs see practical applications in perosn.
Park Clean Up (April)
We join Eden Prairie in park clean up day to lend a hand to our community. (2023’s link.) The city provides trash bags, cans, dumpsters and a variety of gloves for cubs and adults. We pick the location and spend some time tidying up, traditionally at Staring Lake Park.
The lesson: By introducing the outdoor code early, the cubs learn to respect the environment from the earliest of ages. “I will do my best to be clean in my outdoor manners. I will treat the outdoors as a heritage. I will take care of it for myself and others. I will keep my trash and garbage out of lakes, streams, fields, woods, and roadways.”
Egg Drop / Launch (April)
Cubs create a device to protect (or epically destroy!) an egg that is either dropped from up high by the Fire Department or launched from a giant slingshot! The goal is for a raw egg to survive the landing. Cubs put those science skills to good use finding household items to protect the egg on its journey. Don’t worry, like good Scouts, we clean up the mess.
The lesson: Cubs apply STEM principles to construct egg protection cradles while cheering on everyone’s builds.
Bear Carnival (May)
The year concludes with a pack grill-out that features the Bear Carnival. Bear Carnival is a fun series of games and challenges created by this year’s Bear Cubs. While the grills are warming up and the food is cooking, Cubs and siblings enjoy the bear carnival. Many years, cubs win tickets for door prizes and recently we have also hosted the Rain Gutter Rigatta – build a boat and race it in rain gutters full of water!
The lesson: A fun time with your pack.
Summer Fun
Group Bike Ride (June)
This is a great family opportunity to get out and be active together. We need to enjoy the Minnesota summers while we can. Safety first – wear your helmet! The route is short, just a few miles, with a cold treat in the middle.
Summer Camp (July)
Summer Camp is the marquee event of the Cub Scout Summer. Cubs camp overnight with their adult partner for two nights (three for Webelos!) and complete numerous adventure requirements. Depending on the camp, highlights include rock climbing, boating, horse rides, swimming, archery, air rifles, and more. Adults also have fun getting to know one another as well. This is the mostly highly spoken of activities of the year, you won’t want to miss it!
Webelos have a special camp experience. Instead of coming to camp with the pack, the webelos head up to Tomahawk Scout Camp and get a taste of camping as Scouts BSA. This special final campout as cubs is a special moment for those dens as they prepare for their future scouting adventures.
Rocket Launch (July)
You bring the rocket (kit), we provide the boosters. This is an exciting, adult-supervised outdoor activity. Cubs assemble their rockets at home with their adult partners and bring it ready for launch day. The Scouts really get into it, seeing how high their rockets can go.
Pack Hike (August)
The Pack Hike is a short hike we complete as a pack, practicing our good safety techniques including packing the 6 essentials for a hike and the buddy system. We practice good respect for nature, leave no trace, and see if the pack can be quiet enough to avoid scaring away all the animals.