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What Is Cub Scouting?

If you are a boy in first grade through fifth grade—or you're 7 to 10 years old—then Cub Scouting is for you. It's for your family, too. This is the first and the biggest of the three Scouting programs (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing) from the Boy Scouts of America.

What is a Den?

Cub Scouts Belong to Pack and Den

Every Cub Scout is a member of a Cub Scout pack. A pack is a large group of boys.

The pack is divided into smaller groups called dens. Each den has about six to eight boys. All of the Cub Scouts in a den are about the same age and live in the same neighborhood.  

The Purposes of Cub Scouting

Since 1930, the Boy Scouts of America has helped younger boys through Cub Scouting. It is a year-round family program designed for boys who are in the first grade through fifth grade (or 6,7,8,9, and 10 years of age). Parents, leaders, and organizations work together to achieve the purposes of Cub Scouting. Currently, Cub Scouting is the largest of the BSA's three membership divisions.

Character Development

Since its origin, the Scouting program has been an educational experience concerned with values. In 1910, the first activities for Scouts were designed to build character, physical fitness, practical skills, and service. These elements were part of the original Cub Scout program and continue to be part of Cub Scouting today.

Membership

Cub Scouting members join a Cub Scout pack and are assigned to a den, usually a neighborhood group of six to eight boys. Tiger Cubs (first-graders), Wolf Cub Scouts (second-graders), Bear Cub Scouts (third-graders), and Webelos Scouts (fourth- and fifth-graders) meet weekly.

 Once a month, all of the dens and family members gather for a pack meeting under the direction of a Cubmaster and pack committee. The committee includes parents of boys in the pack and members of the chartered organization.

Volunteer Leadership

Thousands of volunteer leaders, both men and women, are involved in the Cub Scout program. They serve in a variety of positions, as everything from unit leaders to pack committee chairmen, committee members, den leaders, and chartered organization representatives.

Who Pays For It?

Groups responsible for supporting Cub Scouting are the boys and their parents, the pack, the chartered organization, and the community. The boy is encouraged to pay his own way by contributing dues each week. Packs also obtain income by working on approved money-earning projects.

Advancement Plan

Recognition is important to young boys. The Cub Scouting advancement plan provides fun for the boys, gives them a sense of personal achievement as they earn badges, and strengthens family understanding as adult family members work with boys on advancement projects.

Activities

Cub Scouting means "doing." Everything in Cub Scouting is designed to have the boys doing things. Activities are used to achieve the aims of Scouting—citizenship training, character development, and personal fitness.

Many of the activities happen right in the den and pack. The most important are the weekly den meetings and the monthly pack meetings.

Camping

Age-appropriate camping programs are packed with theme-oriented action that brings Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts into the great out-of-doors. Day camping comes to the boy in neighborhoods across the country; resident camping is at least a three-day experience in which Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts camp within a developed theme of adventure and excitement.

Publications

Volunteers are informed of national news and events through Scouting magazine (circulation 900,000). Boys may subscribe to Boys' Life magazine (circulation 1.3 million).