Joey Scouts hop into camping

Squeals of laughter rang out over Glenfield Scout Activity Centre on the weekend, as about 80 Joey Scouts enjoyed the Hume Region Joeys STEM and Innovation Camp.

For many of Scouts NSW’s youngest members, this was their first taste of camping and making new friends from different Groups.

STEM and Innovation is one of the Special Interest Areas (SIA) in the Scouting program. This lesser-known part of the program allows Scouts to combine scientific and mathematical interests with more “traditional” Scouting, such as camping and vertical activities.

The Scouts NSW Marketing and Communications Team accompanied the Blue Beakers Patrol – made up of Joey Scouts from 1st Leumeah Scout Group, 1st Sefton Scout Group and 1st Yaralla Scout Group, along with their Leaders and parents – to see what Joey Camp was all about.

With a weekend of activities focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Joey Scouts (aged 5-8) had a chance to get hands on – riding the radio waves, making water wheels and volcanoes, learning about being a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire Service, and challenging themselves vertically through crate stacking and aerial sock wrestling.

For a generation growing up with the world at their fingertips, learning how to use a walkie-talkie and other radio devices was a real novelty. Under the guidance of Leaders Fox, Shepherd, Dingo and Aztec, the Joey Scouts played Battleship and asked questions over the radio. They also learnt about screen printing to make special mess kits to remember the camp.

One of the popular activities was “Gravity Defying”, where the Joey Scouts popped on their helmets and harnesses and took on the vertical space – and each other. Toes were exposed in aerial sock wrestling, where they were suspended from monkey bars in a battle to steal their friend’s sock off their foot. Verticality as fully embraced through crate stacking, with Sophia from 1st Sefton Scout Group pushing past her fears at eight crates high to surpass 15. Regardless of what they achieved, the entire Patrol were excited at the end of the activity.

As the sun went down, the Joey Scouts were introduced to one of the core parts of Scouting – campfire. With a mini-disco and some camp songs, they gathered together at the end of the day before (trying to) wind down for bed.

Sunday dawned with several tired Joey Scouts, who had spent a little bit too much time talking in their tent the night before. But they had a great time learning about fighting fires with the RFS – particularly using the fire hose – and got messy erupting volcanoes and making lava lamps.

Finally, it was time to get wet with the traditional water slide and water fight. With a final “hop, hop, hop” to the Leaders, parents and other volunteers who had helped over the weekend, the Joey Scouts headed home to showers and warm beds, worn out but having had the “best time ever!”