Star-Spangled Camporee

Wow-Cub Scouts has really started off with a BANG! this year! We've had a lot of fun activities and we just started the second month!

This weekend we participated in the Star-Spangled Camporee at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. This event was in honor of the 100th anniversary of Scouting and was put on by the Baltimore Area Council. The Boy Scouts camped for the weekend but the Cub Scouts just went up for the day on Saturday. The day was sandwiched between two major rainstorms and was gorgeous. We even came home a little sunburnt. :)

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Fort McHenry was the setting for the writing of the Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key. It's a must-see if you are visiting this area and yesterday made a great destination even better.

We brought 5 boys with us and added one more later in the day. We joined several thousand other Scouts for a day of activities, exhibits, entertainment, and education. We got to see demonstrations of all kinds--from firing of a cannon, to hide tanning, to playing marbles (which we learned and earned a Cub Scout belt loop for!). We got to participate in a flag ceremony and presented our folded flag to the park ranger. We met all kinds of celebrities, like the Baltimore City chief of police, the head of the Parks and Rec department, "Lord Baden Powell" (the founder of Scouting), and even former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld!

Checking out the artillery



Civil War Soldier



Getting ready to make the "Living Flag"



Meeting "Lord Baden Powell"



Met some soldiers on break



A real-life tanner



The tiny flag is a normal-sized flag. The other one is Fort McHenry's flag



The boys with their properly folded flag, presenting to the Park Ranger



Hanging with the soldiers

Playing a game to win a boomerang



He won!




Good buddies on a good day




Some of the goodies they brought home

 



Close-up of the patches