What Do Cub Scouts Do?
Cub Scouting is an active program. Boys learn by doing, and there's no end to the fun things that Cub Scouts do in their dens, as a pack, and at special events. With activities held at every level—family, den, and pack—Cub Scouting provides a year-round program of fun and learning for boys and their families. The following is a portion of activities we do.
Cub Scout Camping
Outings and Field Trips
Cub Scout Derbies
Service Projects
Den and Pack Meetings
Special Events
Camping takes you on exciting adventures into the natural world. You'll learn to live with others in the out-of-doors. You'll learn to be a good citizen of the outdoors.
Camping is fun, and it's good for your mind, body, and spirit. It helps you learn to rely on yourself—on your own skills and knowledge. When you go camping as a Cub Scout, you get skills you will learn and use more, later, as a Boy Scout.
Cub Scout camping has day camps, resident camps, Webelos den overnight campouts, family camps, and pack overnighters.
Summer Day Camps
Summer day camp is organized by the District, usually during June after kids get out of school. The program runs from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm for 5 days. Campers do not stay overnight. Over the 5 days, the kids rotate through various activities including knife safety, engineering, leatherwork, cooking, knots & lashings, racing, skit practice, soap carving, kickball, swimming, archery, and bb range, just to name a few. It is super fun and not to be missed. Visit this website for more information.
Resident / Family Camps
Cub Scout Family Camping is a council organized, theme-oriented overnight camping program. It operates for at least two nights and is conducted under certified leadership at a camp approved by the council. The whole family is invited to attend Cub Scout Family Camping. For more information and upcoming schedule, check the Council website.
Webelos Den Overnight Campouts
Webelos dens go on overnight campouts. Each Webelos Scout camps with his parent or guardian with him on these campouts. The campers learn the basics of Boy Scout camping, under the direction of the Webelos den leader. Sometimes, leaders from a Boy Scout troop may join you.
Pack Overnighters
Our Pack organizes overnight campouts for the families throughout the year. We have camped in regional parks, by the beach, by the lake, aboard a World War I US submarine, and we are constantly looking for fun places to go!
Excursions and field trips provide some of the most exciting parts of Scouting. Cub Scouts enjoy many outdoor experiences as they participate in the variety of activities that can be held outside, such as field trips, hikes, nature and conservation experiences, and outdoor games. Sport teams, museums, business establishments, and performing groups organize Scout Days / Nights throughout the year, providing numerous valuable opportunities for young Scouts to experience different aspects of life.
Racing in a Cub Scout derby is great fun. You'll get to design your racing vehicle, work with a parent to build it, and see it perform on race day. Win or lose, you'll take pride in having done your best. When you race in a Cub Scout derby, you learn craft skills, the rules of fair play, and good sportsmanship—things you will remember all your life.
The main types of derbies are the pinewood derby, raingutter regatta, space derby, and Cubmobile derby.
Pinewood Derby
The pinewood derby is one of the most popular and successful family activities in Cub Scouting. Pinewood derby cars are small wooden models that Cub Scouts make with help from their families. Then they race the cars in competition. The cars are powered by gravity and run down a track. Most packs have a pinewood derby every year. It can be run indoors or outdoors. Every boy can design and build his own "grand prix" car to enter in the race.
Raingutter Regatta
In the raingutter regatta, boats race down a narrow channel. There are two versions. The wind-powered version uses sailboat designs, and the boats are blown down the channel. The propeller-powered version uses motorboats driven by propeller.
Space Derby
Another popular family-son project is the space derby. It's like the pinewood derby except the models are miniature rockets. The rockets "fly" along a heavy line that hangs in the air. They're driven by propellers powered by rubber bands.
Cubmobile Derby
Each den works together to build a "Cubmobile," a pint-sized racing vehicle. Each den has one racer, and each Cub Scout in the den races in the car once. Usually, a ramp helps start the cars, and they roll downhill to the finish line. The race is held on a smooth street that slopes downhill.
Coyote Creek Services
Throughout the year, the Pack volunteers to help in various school activities including Welcome back Howling Social, Bingo nights, ice-cream social at Family fun nights, etc. The Scouts also help in sorting and bagging items in Lost & Found and delivering them to the needy.
Scouting For Food
Over the years the Scouting for Food effort has truly been one of the most impressive undertakings by the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, Sea Scouts, Explorers and their leaders and parents. It has been a coordinated team effort that feeds the hungry. Cub Scouts participate in distributing door hangers; and collecting bags of food the following week that is given to the local food bank for distribution to families in need.
Memorial Day Flag Planting
We pay tribute to the veterans by joining Scouts throughout the Bay Area in Flag-Planting ceremony at San Francisco National Cemetery on the Saturday before Memorial day.
July 4th Parade
The annual Danville July 4th Parade, organized by the Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley, attracts over 40,000 attendees including local community residents as well as friends and family from areas far beyond Danville. Funds raised in this event are distributed back to local organizations that provide services and/or opportunities to local youth and elderly. For more information of the Kiwanis Club and the parade, visit their website at http://www.kiwanis-srv.org/.
Boys in Cub Scouting meet regularly. Weekly den meetings are like stepping-stones: each week a boy progresses a little further toward the next rank, learning skills as he goes. The monthly pack meetings are like milestones that mark achievements along the Cub Scout trail and celebrate accomplishments along the way.
Den Meetings
Each week, your son attends a den meeting with a small group of boys in his grade level. The meeting is conducted by a den leader and an assistant. The den may meet at the home of one of the leaders or at another suitable location. Tiger Cubs attend their den meetings with their adult partners, but Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts attend den meetings on their own.
While the meetings include games and other activities that are fun for the boys, program delivery is the main goal. Boys participate in activities and work on projects that are related to a monthly theme and that help them learn the skills they need to progress in rank. The boys also prepare to do their part in the monthly pack meeting. Complete den meeting plans can be downloaded at the Boys Scout of America website.
Pack Meetings
The monthly pack meeting brings together boys from every den, their leaders, and their families for a large-scale event that showcases all that the boys have learned and done in their individual den meetings. Such a gathering gives the boys a larger experience beyond their own den. It also helps them see how their individual activities fit into the bigger Cub Scout program.
A typical pack meeting begins with a formal opening ceremony. Next, in the program section of the meeting, dens may give presentations and performances that demonstrate what they learned during the month. The program section may also include activities that involve the entire audience, or a featured event.
Another important part of the pack meeting is the formal recognition given to the Scouts who have earned badges, Arrow Points, beads, or other awards, and to leaders who have earned training awards, religious emblems, or other community awards. This is followed by some general announcements and a formal closing ceremony to end the meeting.
Besides bringing together the boys in the pack, Cub Scout pack meetings are family events. Parents or guardians, brothers, sisters, and other family members attend. The pack meeting is a social event for the community, bringing together the families of many boys. Monthly Pack meeting plans can be downloaded at the Boys Scouts of America website.
Halloween
Our annual Halloween party is a fun-filled event with dens running a variety of fun games and families dress up in costumes. By playing games, the boys earn Boo bucks that can be used to purchase cool prizes of their choice.
Blue and Gold Banquet
In February, when Scouting celebrates its "birthday," packs across the country hold blue and gold banquets. Our pack celebrates this special event at the pack meeting for February. It brings families together for an evening of fun and cheer.
The purpose of the blue and gold banquet is to celebrate the pack's anniversary, thank pack leaders and other adults who have helped the pack, and inspire the leaders, Scouts, and parents.
