Annual Activities
Each year, scouts in Pack 1280 engages in a variety of scouting activities. Below you'll find a listing of activities we have planned for this year.
Please note that for each activity, Pack 1280 will follow all safety protocols recommended by Scouts BSA and Montgomery County, Maryland.
Pack 1280 is divided into Dens by grade level. Each den meets once or twice a month to complete adventures required for their rank. Adventures can include hiking, observing wildlife, creating a skit, camping, cooking, first aid, whittling, knot tying, playing games, exercising, participating in a flag ceremony, and many others!
Each month, the entire Pack comes together for a combined meeting. Historically, our pack meeting starts at 6:45pm every second or third Friday of the month at St. Raphael School during the school year. The Pack Meetings are 1 hour long and can include a flag ceremony, skits, games, awards, projects, and community service.
The popcorn program launches in August each year! When Scouts sell popcorn, they learn goal setting, money management, public speaking, and more! Plus, Scouts who participate in our annual fundraiser receive 16.5% on all sales in the form of Scout Dollars, which can be used to fund their personal Scouting experience including annual dues, uniforms, camping, and more! This is in addition to the Amazon gift cards they earn from Trail's End, our popcorn provider.
Visit our popcorn web page for details and downloads for this year's program.
Spend the night camping or just come for the hike, fire-cooked dinner, and s’mores before returning home to sleep! Traditional Scout camp skits and songs round out the evening. Camping equipment is often available to borrow from an older scout troop if your family doesn’t own a tent, etc.
Our Family Campouts are usually in Sept/Oct and April/May at Little Bennett Campground. Families can arrive Friday and camp Friday and Saturday night or just come for Saturday. Little Bennett usually has fun activities Friday night such as laser tag, haunted hike, dance parties, and movies under the stars. Can't make it for the overnight? Come Saturday afternoon for the fun and leave after campfire.
Cub Scout's Nova program is designed to allow Scouts to "explore the basic principles of STEM and discover how fun and fascinating STEM can be. " Pack 1280 sponsors 2-3 NOVA Awards each year for Scouts to work on.
Congratulations to the Pack 1280 Scouts who participated in the NOVA Out of This World adventure. Scouts attended a star party, visited the Gaithersburg Observatory, and had a special behind the scenes tour at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Learn more about past NOVAs on our News page!
Each November, Scouts around the country participate in Scouting for Food, a service oriented activity to help with food insecurity in our communities.
We partner with Manna Food Center in Montgomery County, Maryland, which serves over 50,000 people in our community.
Each spring, Scouts around the country participate in the annual Pinewood Derby. Scout design their cars and learn science, artistry, and how to use tools along the way! The Pinewood Derby is usually scheduled for the first or second weekend in March.
Pack 1280 schedules an optional hike each month for all scouts. This is a great opportunity to get some outdoor exercise and explore nature! Hiking locations in the past include Little Bennett Regional Park, Fort Stevens, Blockhouse Point, Rock Creek Park, Great Falls, Lake Needwood, and many others.
One of the essentials of Scouting is Service. Through service, Scouts learn about citizenship and doing good for the community.
Service activities vary year-to-year, but in past years we have done the following:
Collected & donated new socks to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.
Collected & donated excess Halloween candy to the Mother Theresa Lunch, hosted by our sponsoring organization, Saint Raphael’s.
Collected & donated new, unopened toys to the Toys for Tots program
Wrote & delivered birthday and holiday cards for residents of Raphael House Assisted Living.
Participated in stream and park clean-ups/ plogging.
Special events vary year-to-year, but in past years we have done the following:
Went tubing/ skiing at Whitetail Resort.
Gone ziplining at Sandy Spring Adventure Park & Tree Trekkers
Indoor Skydiving at iFly
Boating at Black Hill Regional Park
Spent the night at the Baltimore Science Museum & onboard the USS Constellation.
Went to a Frederick Keys ball game and camped on the field.
Participated in the NCAC Akela Chess Classic Scout Tournament.
Took a White House Christmas tour.
