Webelos Parents,

We’re off to a great start to the new Scout year.  Thanks to Dave LaDuke and Tom Baldwin for helping the boys earn their first activity badge for Aquanauts!  In October, Rob Luster and Bruce Cardinal will be heading up the Fitness/Athlete activities to help the boys work toward their next badge and Pete Gilmore is set to work on the Citizen Badges in November.  In all, there are 20 badges that they can earn over the next two years and the goal is to do one per month.   Please look through the list of activities below and see if there is something in your area of expertise that you would be willing to organize and a month that might work with your schedule.  The Activity Badge Directory below includes links to an outline of each activity and the requirements to earn the badge.  Please email me back with the activity you would like and your preferred month. 

In the mean time, we’ve been busy uploading the photos to the new website.  It’s a slow process but I’m adding some every night until they’re all in.  It’s easy to do, if you have any photos you would like to share!  I’m happy to walk you through the process if you need help.  www.mvpack34.org

Best,

Lisa Gilmore (Edward’s mom)

ACTIVITY BADGES FOR WEBELOS SCOUTS 
Twenty Opportunities for Webelos to Excel 

HOW ACTIVITY BADGES WORK

As a Cub Scout, you have a chance to earn four badges - Tiger Cub, Bobcat, Wolf, and Bear. A Cub may also have gotten some arrow points and Progress Toward Ranks beads. But in Webelos Scouting, a Webelos Scout can earn 22 badges! First, there are 20 activity badges. A Webelos Scout can earn all 20 or as many as he likes. To assist the Webelos Scout along the road towards earning his Activity Badges, theCompass Points emblem is awarded as an incentive. Activity badges are metal emblems that are pinned on the Webelos cap or"Webelos colors". A Webelos Scout can earn them by completing the requirements during den meetings and at home. Some activity badges are for sports like swimming and boating, baseball andbasketball. Others are for crafts. Still others are earned by exploring careers likeengineering and Geology. Most of the activity badges will help you prepare to become a Boy Scout. The 20 activity badges are shown here. Notice that they are in groups. For theWebelos badge and Arrow of Light Award, you must earn certain badges. Be sure to check which ones you need when you start working on the Webelos badge and Arrow of Light Award. The twenty Activity Badges are divided into five groups of four activities each. The Groups and Activities are illustrated in the menu to the left.

ACTIVITY BADGE DIRECTORY 
(Select Group or Badge)

September 30, 2009

Hi Scouts and Parents of Pack 34,

Hey everybody,

At the Aquanaut meet we chose an animal totem for our Webelos den... or perhaps, it chose us...

We are now officially the Webelos Eagle Patrol... we'll get patches for the boys before the next meeting.

"Like all birds of prey, eagles have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong muscular legs, and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen eyesight which enables them to spot potential prey from a very long distance."

Go Eagle Patrol!

The following boys participated:

 

Avi Perkoff, Christian Rodriguez, Connor Cardinal, Ed Gilmore, Ian Pratt, Joeseph Rico, John Luster, Jonny LaDuke, Jordan Baldwin, Max Johnson, Nico Brown, Pearson Ames, Sawyer Shine

 

We have great opportunity thanks to Cora Nelson’s help with the Young Eagles Program. It’s an organization that allows youth to experience flying in airplanes. This is for scouts that are 8 and above. See attached flyer for information. We need to get a head count of who can attend. The date is October 3rd , 9:00-12:00 and the location is knoss field in Novato. I need 

1) If you plan on attending

2) Fill out application and mailed to me, I need it by this Saturday. Mail to, or drop off in my mailbox.

90 Laverne ave.
Mill Valley, Ca 94941

3) What is a good time between 9:00 -12:00. They will assign us shifts. So let me know if you have another event, like soccer.

Doug Gelbach

Let me know if you have any questions.

(download)

Check out our new Flickr photo stream!

 

 

 

Hi everybody,

Here is information about the upcoming Star Party on Mt. Tam. All cub scouts parents and friends are invited. Lets hope for clear skies!

WHEN

June 27, as soon as it gets dark... sunset is at 8:36PM, so a little while after that. Given how close we are to the summer solstice, good viewing will be a bit late. A waxing crescent moon (not quite 1st quarter) will be up all night.

LECTURE

Professor Lynn Cominsky, Sonoma State University: "Exploring the Extreme Universe with Fermi"

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly known as GLAST) is exploring the most energetic and exotic objects in the cosmos: blazing galaxies, intense stellar explosion and super-massive block holes. Fermi probes the Universe on scales from the infinite to the infinitesimal, and future observations may shed light on the nature of dark matter.

The lectures aren't too technical, and usually have cool graphics. I think the kids will enjoy learning about super-massive black holes!

SKY VIEWING AND VIEWING ETIQUETTE

After the lecture, telescopes brought by San Francisco Amateur Astronomers will be available for public viewing. The observing sessions are courtesy of the astronomers - so be nice to them, and ask politely before attaching a cub to their telescope. The equipment is their personal property. Please do not handle or adjust any equipment without the explicit permission of the owner(s). Use only filtered (preferably red) light around the telescopes (more on that, below).

The observing sessions last about 1 to 1 1/2 hours after the lecture.

WHAT TO WEAR, WHAT TO BRING

Wear layers... no need to wear the cub uniform but it is always nice. Bring a flashlight with a red filter or red LEDs. Multi-color LED flashlights are pretty common these days at hardware and drug stores. I think green LEDs is probably fine, but red is more usual. (White light prevents the eye from becoming dark adapted - a process that can take 20-30 minutes - so shining a regular flashlight around can annoy astronomers. There will be "greeters" at the Mountain Theater with spare red filters and possibly red flashlights for loan/sale - but we're a large group so don't count on it.)

DRIVING AND DIRECTIONS

Lets carpool. I can take about 2 parents / 3 kids - so if you are in my den, let me know if you'd like a ride. Otherwise, organize carpools with your friends.

From Highway 101 take the Highway 1, Stinson Beach exit. At Tam Junction (the first stop light), turn left onto the Shoreline Highway (also called Highway 1). In about 2 miles turn right onto Panoramic Highway. In another 3/4 miles the road splits 3 ways. Take the middle fork. In about 5 miles the Pan Toll Ranger Station will be on your left. Turn right through the gates across the road from the station and continue for about another 1 1/2 miles to the Rock Springs parking area.

Mountain Theater: the lecture, held in the outdoor amphitheater, is about a three-minute walk from from the parking area. By the time the program is concluded (45 minutes to 1 hour) it will be dark. There will be lanterns along the path and on the stairs at the theater, but if you feel that you need any assistance please do not hesitate to ask one of the State Park Volunteers to help you.
PARKING

Parking: Parking is free but limited.

When you approach the Rock Springs Parking Area, you will find the lot has been divided into two sections by a string of orange cones. Astronomers with telescopes park to the left of the cones, while the general public is asked to park to the right. There will be signs and volunteers to assist you. If the lot is filled, there will be a sign directing you to the upper parking lot. Go past the entrance to the Mountain Theater for about another 1/4 mile. The road will be closed by a gate, and there will be a sign directing you to park in the lot to your right. There is a short trail from the lot to the Mountain Theater. It is recommended that if you wish to observe after the program and you are in the upper lot, that you take the trail back to your car then drive down to Rock Springs for the observing. Some patrons do not stay for the observing, so you should find a parking space.

SAFETY

It gets dark so the parent kid ratio should be as close to 1:1 as possible. Be there for your kid, or have an adult appointed to watch out for them. There's no way the cub scout leaders will be able to track everyone at this event.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN!
Dave

You can download them here. There's no indication yet from the Obama Transition Team whether they're going to make it harder to achieve Presidential and National fitness levels - so these are the goals to strive for now. Good luck! Remember, you and your cub can keep trying.