What is Scouting?

Scouting America is one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations, providing programs for young people – boys and girls – that build character, train them in the responsibilities of participatory citizenship and develop personal fitness. For more than 100 years, Scouting America has helped build future leaders by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun.

Scouting Programs & Units

Scouts are organized into various units depending on their age and program. Your unit is chartered to a church, school or other group in the community (also known as a Chartered Organization). This group, along with the families and leaders in the unit, make sure your unit has strong volunteer leaders, a place to meet and exciting things to do.

Cub Scouts

Boys & Girls Kindergarten into Fifth Grade

Cub Scouts is a year-round family program that develops ethical decision-making skills for youth in kindergarten through fifth grade. Activities emphasize character development, citizenship training and personal fitness.

Cub Scouts belong to units called packs. Each pack is divided into smaller groups called dens. A den is a group of (ideally) about six to eight Cub Scouts in the same grade and of the same gender, although dens of boys and dens of girls may do their activities together if the leaders and families wish (many do). Dens allow Scouts to get to know each other and better engage in activities that would be difficult to accomplish in the larger pack meetings.

4th and 5th grade dens participate in more advanced activities that begin to prepare them to advance to Scouts BSA Troops, and in the second part of the 5th grade year they are encouraged to “cross over” and join a Scouts BSA Troop.

Scouts BSA

Boys & Girls age 10 or 11-18 (late 5th through 12th Grade)

Scouts BSA is a year-round program designed to achieve the aims of Scouting through an outdoor program and peer group leadership.  Youth may join at age 11, or in the 5th Grade at age 10 if they’ve either earned the Arrow of Light in Cub Scouting or are joining after March 1. Scouts BSA youth are part of a troop. There are girl troops and boy troops, and they function independently (though many linked troops do many activities together), allowing for a gender specific learning environment. Inside the troop, smaller groups, called patrols, are formed and led by the Scouts themselves. Empowering youth to be leaders is what Scouting is all about.

Venturing

Young Men & Women age 14 (or 13 and completed the 8th grade) through 20

Venturing is a year-round program for young men and women to provide positive experiences through exciting and meaningful youth-run activities that help them pursue their special interests, grow by teaching others and develop leadership skills.

Exploring

Young Men & Women age 10 through 20 (6th Grade and up)

Exploring is a career education program for young men and women.  Exploring “clubs” serve middle schoolers, aged 10 - 14, in sixth through eighth grades.  Exploring “posts” serve older youth who are between 14 and 20 years old. Exploring is all about helping young adults make more informed decisions about future careers and determining if a particular career is right for them. Through our program, youth will take part in hands-on career experiences in fields they are interested in learning more about.

OR

Young Men & Women age 14-20 (8th Grade and up)

Exploring is a career education program for young men and women.  Exploring “posts” serve older youth who are between 14 and 20 years old. Exploring is all about helping young adults make more informed decisions about future careers and determining if a particular career is right for them. Through our program, youth will take part in hands-on career experiences in fields they are interested in learning more about.