Archive: Around Town

Boy Scout Troop 48 from Lansing New York recently made the 6 hour journey from Lansing, NY to Annapolis, MD to visit the US Naval Academy. Troop 48, along with 900 other scouts and their adult leaders, attended the 2018 Naval Academy STEM Jamboree on January 19th to the 21st. This jamboree is run by the midshipmen who are Eagle Scouts.

The scouts from Lansing have a very local connection that helped the troop to be invited to attend. Joe Koch, an eagle scout from troop 48, is in his second year at the Naval Academy and contacted his former troop to let them know about the STEM event. The STEM Jamboree gives the scouts an opportunity to earn a merit badge being taught by naval midshipmen.


All of the merit badges are STEM based and the scouts from Troop 48 attended merit badge classes in nuclear science, aviation, robotics, chemistry, space exploration and programming. The scouts were also able to eat lunch where the midshipmen eat and to explore additional science labs at the academy that helped demonstrate additional STEM topics and activities such as building a straw rocket and being able to launch it.

And in true scout spirit, they even found time to get in a little 2 hour hike along a portion of the Appalachian trail on the trip down. Other than camping two nights in below freezing temperatures, the scouts thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had another great scouting adventure.

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