What activities does Cub Scouting include?

Your organization will work most closely with the Cub Scout pack, a group made up of several dens. The pack includes not only the boys in the dens but also their families and leaders.

Pack Activities

Most packs meet once a month, usually in a meeting room provided by the chartered organization, though pack meetings and activities are often held outdoors when the weather permits. Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, leaders, parents, and other family members attend the pack meetings. This meeting follows a program that includes opening and closing ceremonies, recognition of boys who have earned awards, presentation of skits and stunts by dens, and exhibits of things the boys have made at home and at den meetings during the month.

In addition to regular pack meetings, occasionally the pack may take field trips and conduct service projects or money-earning activities. During the summer, the pack might conduct outdoor activities such as a swimming party, a family picnic, or various outdoor sports. There may be a "pack overnighter" for boys and their families at an established campground, and the pack may participate in organized family camping.

Den Activities

A den is a group of six to eight boys within the pack that meets several times a month between pack meetings. In most instances, it is not necessary for your organization to provide facilities for den meetings and activities; dens often meet at the den leader's home or another location convenient to the members of the den. The activities of each Cub Scout den will differ, based on the age of the boys:

For younger Cub Scouts (grades one through three), den meetings are planned and run by an adult den leader, with the help of an assistant den leader and den chief. These meeting activities are planned around a monthly theme and include playing games, making handicrafts, taking hikes and pursuing other outdoor fun, practicing skits and stunts in preparation for the next pack meeting, and taking part in simple ceremonies and songs. They may go to day camp and participate with their families in pack overnighters and family camping.

Older Cub Scouts (grades four and five), participate a different program. They work on activity badges at each den meeting. Their meetings also include games, songs, stunts, preparation for the den's part in the pack meeting, and work on other advancement requirements. . Besides day camp, camp overnighters, and family camping, older Cub Scouts also have opportunities for overnight den campouts and joint activities with a Boy Scout troop.