Akelaland Cub Scout Camp in Jonas welcomed seasoned and brand-new Cub Scouts to their Fall Family Camp last weekend, where the kids got a taste of the scouting life with plenty of adventurous activities.

“This is our Fall Family Cub Scout event,” Paul Oswald, director of support services for Minsi Trails Council, said. “It coincides with our membership drive in September, where new Cub Scouts join, and existing Cub Scouts can come up and camp for the weekend.

Oswald said that more than 600 people camped out on the grounds on Friday night, and another 600 were expected Saturday to explore the grounds get an introduction to scouting staples like BB shooting, archery, fishing and more.

Shooting range

Last Saturday’s mild chill saw just about every parent and child sporting a sweatshirt, but it wasn’t cold enough to keep the Scouts from the shooting ranges.

“It’s been busy, we have over 1,000 kids in camp today,” camp worker Justin Lotito said at the BB range. “Our average week in the summer is about 100, 150 kids. This is a big thing, but it’s going very well. Everyone wants to shoot, everyone loves to shoot in Cub Scouts. It’s very popular.”

The Scouts were given a crash-course in shooting safety, followed by an opportunity to fire off a couple BBs at paper targets.

“I learned how to shoot a BB gun, and I hit the target,” said Aaron Gothard, 8, Pack 319 Cub Scout.

Each and every kid was clearly eager to take on the guns, and despite the limited experience, they seemed to do rather well.

“They’re not doing half bad,” he said. “I’ve been surprised at how good they are. Teaching a kid to shoot in 10 minutes is nothing easy, but the fact that they’re doing so well is very impressive and very promising.”

Right next door, the archery range also kept a consistently lengthy line throughout the day, with dozens of kids lining up to take a shot with a bow and arrow.

“I really liked the shooting sports,” said Cub Scout Braden Grim, 9, of Pack 8. He has been scouting for three years and attending the Akelaland event for two years.

Fishing

One of the grander highlights of the event was the chance to get in some fishing on the camp’s two lakes, a first-time opportunity for many of the kids. Oswald said that all new Cub Scouts who joined in September got a free fishing pole as part of the “Hooked on Scouting” campaign. Scouts lined the lakes throughout the day, patiently waiting for a bite on their lines. While many struck out, some lucky Scouts scored a few fish.

“My favorite thing so far with this camping trip was the fishing. I caught two fish,” Pack 3 Cub Scout Liam Torres, 8, said.

Den and Pack leaders were thrilled with all of the activities made available to their Scouts, and the huge turnout clearly showed a strong interest in the century-old organization.

“It’s very nice that they have a wide range of activities — shooting sports, fishing,” Pack 8 Den Leader Andrew Grim said. “We even saw a hayride earlier. There’s a great turnout today, I heard there’s over a 1,000 Scouts here this weekend. I think it’s a great chance for Scouts to come and see Camp Akelaland. That’s what it’s all about.”

Education

Educational elements, including Scout history, camping know-how, and even STEM-related activities fleshed out the wealth of options for Scouts and parents to explore.

“We have our heritage collective, which talks about the history of scouting to educate the new Scouts on what they’re about to do,” Oswald said. “We have a STEM-related area where we’re teaching kids about science, technology, engineering and math, as well as the outdoors activities — how to cook, how to set up a tent, those type of things. This is really our kickoff to the year.”

Those STEM stations included a stop where the Scouts could construct a paper rocket and launch by leaping on a 2-liter bottle that shot a gust of air through tubing capped off by the rocket. Post-launch, the kids would run around the field, hoping to position themselves in the perfect spot to catch their paper rockets.

The explosive success of the Scout-courting event certainly piqued the interest of prospective and rookie members, offering plenty of excitement and a dash of education for everyone. Oswald hopes that the weekend will serve as the start of a lifelong love of the outdoors and scouting community for the kids and parents, and judging by the reactions of the crowds at the Akelaland Cub Scout Camp, it most certainly will.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “What this does is, it gives that new kid and family a structure, to come to an event where safety needs are met, facility needs are met, and it gives them that introduction into scouting, so that they get excited and pumped up about it, and then head through their next programs, hopefully up to the point where they become Eagle Scouts.”