Bear Trail

Required Bear Adventures

Bobcat

1. Get to know the members of your den.

2. Recite the Scout Oath and the Scout Law with your den and den leader.

3. Learn about the Scout Law.

4. With your den, create a den Code of Conduct.

5. Demonstrate the Cub Scout sign, Cub Scout salute and Cub Scout handshake. Show how each is used.

6. Share with your den, or family, a time when you demonstrated the Cub Scout motto “Do Your Best.”

7. At home, with your parent or legal guardian do the activities in the booklet “How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide.”

Paws for Action

1. Familiarize yourself with the flag of the United States of America including the history, demonstrating how to raise and lower the flag, how to properly fold and display, and the flag etiquette.

2. Identify three symbols that represent the United States. Pick your favorite and make a model, work of art, or other craft that depicts the symbol.

3. Learn about the mission of any non-profit. Find out how they fund their activities and how volunteers are used to help.

4. Participate in a service project.

Fellowship

This adventure may be earned by completing the requirements below OR by completing a Religious Emblem of the Cub Scouts family’s choosing.

1. With your parent or legal guardian talk about your family’s faith traditions. Identify three holidays or celebrations that are part of your family’s faith traditions. Make a craft, work of art, or a food item that is part of your favorite family’s faith tradition holiday or celebration.

2. With your family, attend a religious service OR other gathering that shows how your family expresses reverence. (See our Duty to God: Reverence Hub)

3. Carry out an act of kindness.

4. With your parent or legal guardian identify a religion or faith that is different from your own. Determine two things that it has in common with your family’s beliefs.

Bear Habitat

1. Prepare for a one-mile walk by gathering the Cub Scout Six Essentials and weather-appropriate clothing and shoes.

2. “Know Before You Go” Identify the location of your walk on a map and confirm your one-mile route.

3. “Choose the Right Path” Learn about the path and surrounding area you will be walking on.

4. “Trash your Trash” Make a plan for what you will do with your personal trash or trash you find along the trail.

5. “Leave What You Find” Take pictures along your walk or bring a sketch book to draw five things that you want to remember on your walk.

6. “Be Careful with Fire” Determine the fire danger rating along your path.

7. “Respect Wildlife” From a safe distance, identify as you look up, down, and around you, six signs of any mammals, birds, insects, reptiles.

8. “Be Kind to Others” Identify what you need to do as a den to be kind to others on the path.

9. With your den, pack, or family, go on your one-mile walk while practicing your Leave No Trace Principles for Kids.

Bear Strong

1. Sample food from three of the following food groups: protein, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and grains.

2. Be active for 30 minutes with your den or at least one other person in a way that includes both stretching and moving.

3. Be active for 15 minutes by doing personal exercises that boost your heart rate, use your muscles, and work on flexibility.

4. Do a relaxing activity for 10 minutes.

5. Review your BSA Annual Health and Medical Record with your parent or legal guardian. Discuss your ability to participate in den and pack activities.

Standing Tall

1. With permission from your parent or legal guardian, watch the Protect Yourself Rules video for the Bear rank.

2. Complete the Personal Space Bubble worksheet that is part of the Protect Yourself Rules resources.

3. With your parent or legal guardian, set up a family policy for digital devices.

4. Identify common personal safety gear for your head, eyes, mouth and nose, hands, and feet. List how each of these items protect you. Demonstrate the proper use of personal safety gear for an activity.

Elective Bear Adventures

Bears on Bikes (E)

1. Show how to properly wear a bicycle helmet.

2. Decide what you should wear when riding a bike.

3. Demonstrate proper hand signals.

4. Demonstrate how to adjust saddle height

5. Demonstrate how to operate brakes.

6. Learn how to use a pump to inflate your tires. Discuss why riding with low-pressure or flat tires is unsafe and can cause damage to your bike.

7. With your family, den, or pack, follow the buddy system and go on a 30-minute bike ride.

Let’s Camp! – Bear (E)

1. Review the buddy system and how it works outdoors.

2. Pack your Cub Scout Six Essentials for the campout.

3. In addition to your Cub Scout Six Essentials, show the personal items you need for your campout.

4. Help up a tent. Determine a good spot for the tent. Explain why you picked the spot.

5. Attend a council or district Cub Scout overnight camp or attend a campout with your pack.

Critter Care (E)

Objective: Learn how to take care of a pet.

1. Identify an animal that would be good pet for your family.

2. Choose two animals that are allowed as pets in your community. Compare and contrast why these pets may be a good choice for you.

3. Based on your choice in requirement 1, investigate how to properly care for your chosen animal.

4. Discover three ways a pet can help people.

Roaring Laughter (E)

Objective: Develop confidence presenting in front of others.

1. Think about what makes you laugh. Discuss these with your den or family.

2. Practice reading tongue twisters.

3. Play charades with your den or family.

4. Have a “funniest joke contest” with your den or family.

5. Practice “run-ons” with your den or family.

Champions for Nature – Bear (E)

Objective: Create awareness of the surrounding environment and natural resources.

1. Discover natural resources.

2. Discover what happens to the wastewater in your community.

3. Investigate soil.

4. Investigate air pollution.

5. Participate in a conservation project.

A Bear Goes Fishing (E)

1. Learn about three types of fish in your area.

2. Learn about your local fishing regulations with your den leader or an adult.

3. List three of the regulations you learned about, and one reason each regulation exists.

4. Become familiar with the safe use of the fishing equipment you will be using on your outing.

5. Learn the proper way to attach the hook, lure, or fly to the line.

6. Go on a fishing adventure for 30 minutes or more. Put into practice the things you learned about fish and fishing equipment.

Marble Madness (E)

Objective: Learn how to play a game of marbles. Learn strategy, motor control, and sequencing.

1. Make a marble bag.

2. Learn four words that are used when talking about marbles.

3. Play three different marble games.

4. Build a marble racetrack with at least two lanes.

5. Build a marble maze.

Whittling (E)

Objective: Completing the Whittling adventure grants the Scout the privilege of carrying and using a pocketknife at Scout events.

1. Read, understand, and promise to abide by the “Cub Scout Knife Safety Rules.”

2. Demonstrate the knife safety circle.

3. Demonstrate that you know how to care for and use your pocketknife safely.

4. Make two carvings with a pocketknife.

Bear Afloat (E)

1. Before attempting requirements 6 and 7 for this Adventure, you must pass the BSA Swimmer Test.

2. Pick a paddle craft you’ll use to complete all requirements: canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard.

3. With your den or an adult, discuss the role of qualified adult supervision at a paddle craft activity.

4. Explain the safety rules to follow when safely using a paddle craft.

5. Discover how to tell if a life jacket is the correct size and approved for your paddle craft activity. Demonstrate how to wear it.

6. Explore how your paddle craft responds as you move your paddle through the water from different places.

7. Have 30 minutes, or more, of canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard paddle time.

Race Time – Bear (E)

1. With an adult, build either a Pinewood Derby® car or a Raingutter Regatta™ boat.

2. Learn the rules of the race for the vehicle chosen in requirement 1.

3. Identify how you could increase the speed of your chosen vehicle.

4. Before the race, discuss with your den how you will demonstrate good sportsmanship during the race.

5. Participate in a Pinewood Derby or a Raingutter Regatta.

Archery – Bears (E)

1. Identify and wear the appropriate safety gear.

2. Demonstrate the archery range safety rules and whistle commands.

3. Demonstrate proper range commands.

4. Identify the main parts of your shooting equipment and how to properly use them.

5. Demonstrate proper stance and shooting techniques.

6. Shoot 5 arrows at a target. Repeat twice and do your best to improve your score each time. Shoot at least 15 arrows.

7. Demonstrate how to safely retrieve your arrows.

BB Gun – Bears (E)

1. Identify and wear the appropriate safety gear.

2. Recite the four safety reminders.

3. Demonstrate proper range commands.

4. Show how to use the safety mechanism.

5. Demonstrate how to properly load, fire, and secure your BB gun.

6. Demonstrate one of the positions for shooting a BB gun.

7. Fire 5 BBs at the target and score your target. Repeat twice and do your best to improve your score. Fire at least 15 BBs.

8. Demonstrate how to put away and properly store your BB gun and shooting equipment after use.

Slingshot – Bears (E)

1. Identify and wear the appropriate safety gear.

2. Recite the safety rules for using a slingshot.

3. Demonstrate proper range commands.

4. Explore the parts of a slingshot and their usage

5. Discover the types of ammunition that may be used and types that may not be used.

6. Discover the types of targets that may be used and types that may not be used.

7. Shoot 5 shots at a target. Repeat twice and do your best to improve your score each time. Shoot at least 15 shots.

8. Demonstrate how to put away and properly store your slingshot and shooting equipment after use.

Baloo the Builder (E)

Objective: Introduce Scouts to intermediate woodworking skills and how to safely use basic woodworking tools.

1. Learn about some basic tools and the proper use of each tool. Learn about and understand the need for safety when you work with tools.

2. Practice using four of the tools you learned about in requirement 1.

3. Choose a project to build.

4. Determine the tools and materials needed to build your project in requirement 3.

5. Build your project.

Balancing Bears (E)

Objective: Explore the concepts of patterns and symmetry in nature.

1. Make trail mix using trail mix math.

2. Identify an animal that has a pattern to its physical appearance. Investigate how the animal uses its pattern.

3. Find examples of bilateral symmetry in nature.

4. Find examples of radial symmetry in nature.

Forensics (E)

Objective: Explore the science of forensics.

1. Explore the term “forensics” and how it is used to help solve crimes.

2. Analyze your fingerprints.

3. Make a shoe imprint.

4. Do an analysis of four different substances: salt, sugar, baking soda and cornstarch.

5. Learn about chromatography and how it is used in solving crimes.

6. Find out how officers collect evidence.

Super Science (E)

Objective: Explore electricity and chemistry.

1. Conduct a static electricity investigation.

2. Conduct the sink-or-float investigation.

3. Conduct the color-morphing investigation.

4. Conduct the color-layering investigation.

Chef Tech (E)

Objective: Explore how technology is used in the kitchen.

1. Pick a kitchen appliance that uses technology to complete the following requirements.

2. With an adult, review the safety guidelines in the owner’s manual.

3. With adult supervision, download a cooking app or search online to find a recipe that uses the appliance selected in requirement 1.

4. With adult supervision, follow the selected recipe and make the recipe.

5. Think of a way technology can improve the appliance used to make your recipe.

Summertime Fun – Bear (E)

Objective: Explore how technology is used in the kitchen.

1. Anytime during May through August participate in a total of three Cub Scout activities. (Get our Summertime Fun Adventure Tracker)

Salmon Run (E)

This elective adventure may be earned by completing the requirements below OR passing the BSA Swimmer Test OR taking swimming lessons.

1. With your den or an adult, identify the attributes of qualified adult supervision at a swimming activity.

2. Learn the three swimming ability groups for the Boy Scouts of America and water depths appropriate for each.

3. Go swimming with your den, pack, or family for 30 minutes using the buddy system.

4. Demonstrate the use the buddy system, buddy checks, and ability groups with your den or an adult.

5. Attempt the BSA swim beginner test.

6. Demonstrate both a reach rescue and a throw rescue.