When you’re a kid, fun comes first. Cub Scouts lets kids have fun while teaching them skills that will help them later on. From the thrill of shooting an arrow to learning how to transform a block of wood into a race car, Cub Scouts is one thrill after another. With a program expertly tailored to match each age in a young child’s life, Cub Scouts learn that even when fun isn’t easy, it’s always an adventure. In Scouting, everything has a purpose. And it shows kids that doing their best is the most fun of all.
The Cub Scout program is centered primarily in the den, the home, and the neighborhood, but often takes place in the outdoors. It leads to advancement through six ranks, which are grade- or age-based.
Cub Scouts do not “go back” and work on ranks designed for earlier grade levels, even if missed due to their time of joining. Likewise, Cub Scouts do not “move ahead” to the next rank until the completion of the current school year (or until their next birthday if their chartered organization transitions by age).
Overview of the New Cub Scout program and changes
The Cub Scout program has been updated. Over the past several years, the National Cub Scouting Committee identified four areas to improve the Cub Scout program to ensure that it is fun, simple, and easy.
The four areas of improvement are the Bobcat badge, Cub Scout Adventures, Webelos, and Cub Scout Awards.
Bobcat is no longer a badge that is earned once when a Cub Scout joins. It is a required Adventure for each rank and earned each year. The requirements for the Bobcat Adventure are different for each grade to make them age-appropriate.
Cub Scout Adventures have been improved to make it easier to deliver the program to multi-rank dens or as a Pack. To earn each rank in Cub Scouting will require a Cub Scout to earn the six required Adventures and two elective Adventures. Required Adventures reflect the aims and focus areas of the BSA. The number of elective Adventures increases. The new Adventures program has several adventures with an activity that crosses multiple dens and, in some cases, all dens. This affords the Pack the opportunity to work on those adventures together at the same meeting.
Webelos and Arrow of Light are now separate programs. Webelos is the 4th-grade program in Cub Scouting. Arrow of Light is a stand-alone badge of rank for 5th graders and is no longer associated with Webelos. Arrow of Light is the program that prepares Cub Scouts to join Scouts BSA.
Cub Scouts Awards are reimagined as Cub Scout Adventures. Topics like camping, STEM, and range and target sports will remain and are reimagined into elective Adventures that can be used towards earning a badge of rank.
The changes took effect officially on June 1, 2024. Use the link below for specifc information and resources for the Cub Scout program.
