Each June, the Pack decorates a float (typically using a car trailer) with a tent, campfire, picnic table, and anything else we can find, to participate in the Blaine Festival Parade. Families bring candy to hand out and we walk behind or ride along with the float as we make our way down the parade route.

Pack 508 Family Picnic, Lake George County Park & Beach or Coon Lake Park and beach. Bring your own picnic food. Parking permit required for Lake George.

Founded in 1992, the Young Eagles program is dedicated to giving youth ages 8–17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. These flights are offered free of charge and are made possible through the generosity of EAA member volunteers.

It’s the only program of its kind, with the sole mission to introduce and inspire kids in the world of aviation.

Today, the Young Eagles program has flown over 2 million kids.

For more information from EAA headquarters about the Young Eagles program, visit www.youngeagles.org

Each year the council secures discount tickets to various sporting events which our Pack has occasionally attended. Scouts are often asked to participate in some aspect of the pregame show, and we have had Scouts from our Pack participate in an opening flag ceremony at a Timberwolves Game. The Pack even attended a Saints game where we were invited to watch Star Wars on the big screen after the game, and camp overnight on the field.

Festival of the Voyageur, North West Company Fur Post, Pine City, MN. 250-300 costumed re-enactors. Pay at the door $6.00 per person for Pack 508 members. 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M., lunch at A&W Hamburger Stand, determine your own cost for lunch. We carpool and meet at the A&W Stand in Pine City for lunch before attending the Festival. We will leave the Festival before supper.

Basecamp offers many activities that can be attended by the Pack. They also will serve as a host for activities such as archery, rock climbing, and overnights as desired.

This is an alternative to the Festival of the Voyageur which the Pack has done many times. The Pack meets at the North Star Commuter train station in Coon Rapids or Anoka. We take the train to Target Field, and then take the light rail to Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis. We tour Minnehaha Falls and have lunch at Minnehaha Park. Then we hike to Fort Snelling on the Minnesota Valley State Trail along the Mississippi River. After touring Basecamp at Fort Snelling, we catch the light rail at the nearby station and retrace our path back to the station in Coon Rapids or Anoka.

Variations on this include attending an event at Basecamp, hiking from Basecamp back to Minnehaha Falls, skipping the hike and taking the train on a hot day, or a tour of Fort Snelling.

The St Anthony Falls lock and dam is managed by the Army Corp of Engineers, and they offer tours. For this event we took the North Star train and light rail as close as we could to the falls, and then hiked to the lock and dam for a tour. The tour continued with a hike across the stone arch bridge.

There have been 242 species of birds reported in the park, which is an astounding number when you consider the Minnesota DNR lists 246 birds as breeding in the state. It should be no surprise then that the longest ongoing program in the 50-year history of the center is bird banding. - Lowry Nature Center

The raingutter regatta is a racing event for Cub Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America that is the sailboat equivalent of the pinewood derby. Within the basic design rules, Scouts are free to paint and decorate their sailboats as they choose. Modifications for speed include the placement of the keel and rudder and the size, shape and location of the sail. - Wikipedia

The space derby is a racing event for Cub Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America that is similar to the pinewood derby car race. Cub Scouts race miniature balsa wood gliders that are propelled by a rubber band and propeller. - Wikipedia

Our American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim Program provides instruction to help swimmers of all ages and abilities develop their swimming and water safety skills. The objective is to not only teach people how to swim: but to be safe in, on, and around the water. We have also combined this curriculum with all current Boy Scouts of America swimming awards. We have spent a lot of time and effort in order to cross-reference requirements from both organizations so that we may teach matching skill sets in our swim program.

All students who participate in the Learn-To-Swim courses will receive a checklist of all requirements passed while in the course, including corresponding Scouting requirements.

The pinewood derby is a racing event for unpowered, unmanned miniature cars. With the help of adults, Scouts build their own cars from wood, usually from kits containing a block of pine wood, plastic wheels, and metal axles. - Wikipedia

Each year Cub Scouts celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Scouting in the U.S. by having a Blue and Gold Banquet in February. This is a sit-down dinner that the entire family is encouraged to attend. The oldest Scouts in the Pack are recognized as the bridge to a Troop in an impressive ceremony that the remaining Cub Scouts will look forward to participating in themselves someday.

If you are interested in assisting with the banquet, please contact the Pack Committee Chair.

Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, Scouts BSA, and Venturers can now earn the STEM Nova Award at any U.S. iFLY location!

Scouts will get fired up about math and physics when they see it come to life in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel.

Our highly trained STEM educators guide students through an immersive, hands-on experience that consists of:

• An interactive presentation on real-world STEM applications led by STEM Educator.
• Lab activity and immersive experiments (based on grade level).
• Physics demonstrations in the wind tunnel.
• One-on-one flying with a certified world-class iFLY flight instructor.

It’s so much more than a lesson — it’s an enriching day of fun and learning that they’ll remember the rest of their lives!

While second year Webelos graduate to Scouts BSA during the Blue and Gold Banquet, the remaining Dens graduate to the next rank in May when they are presented with their rank award, and the handbook, neckerchief and slide for the next rank they will work on. This is typically done during a potluck and cookout.