Cub Scout STEM Video Resources

STEM-Conifer Walk

In this video, Dr. Michael takes you on a short walk along the Reliez Valley Road walking path to look at five different native conifers. Just like the Plant Identification Hike, this could be used for the Bear Adventure-Fur, Feathers, & Ferns, the Webelos/Arrow of Light Elective Adventure-Into the Woods, or even for Scouts BSA for the First Class Requirement (#5a) to identify 10 native plants.

STEM-Plant Identification Hike

In this video, Dr. Michael takes you on a short hike in Briones Regional Park looking for different native plants. This could be used by Bear Scouts for Fur, Feathers, & Ferns, by Webelos and Arrow of Light Scouts for Into the Woods, or even Scouts BSA for the First Class Requirement (#5a) to identify 10 native plants.

STEM-Why Things Float!

In this video, Dr. Caroline leads you through an experiment on buoyancy and why things float, or don’t. This is a fun activity for all ranks, but it can be used to satisfy the Bear Elective Adventure Super Science–Requirement #3 (Do a Sink-Float Investigation. Explain what you have learned.)

STEM-Cartesian Divers

In this activity, Dr. Caroline leads you through an experiment in making a Cartesian Diver and pressure works. This is a fun activity for all ranks, but it can be used to satisfy the Bear Elective Adventure Super Science–Requirement #3 (Do a Sink-Float Investigation. Explain what you have learned.)

STEM-The Great Oil Spill Clean-Up!

In this video, Dr. Caroline leads you through an investigation of materials to clean up an oil spill. This activity can be used as a part of the Science Everywhere Nova Award.

STEM-How Hard Is Your Tap Water?

In this video, Dr. Caroline leads you through an investigation of water hardness. This activity can be used as a part of the Science Everywhere Nova Award.

STEM-related Cub Requirements

Lions

Gizmos & Gadgets

This adventures is all about forces, which is basic physics

Tigers

My Tiger Jungle

#2–Take a 1-foot hike. Make a list of the living things you find on your 1-foot hike. Discuss these plants or animals with your parent, guardian, other caring adult, or with your den.
#3–Point out two different kinds of birds that live in your area. With your parent, guardian, or other caring adult, or with your den, find out more about one of these birds.
#4–Be helpful to nature by planting a plant, shrub, or tree. Learn more about the needs and growth of the item you have planted.

Wolves

Air of the Wolf

1. Conduct two of the following investigations to see how air affects different objects:

Make a paper airplane and fly it five times. Try to make it fly farther by altering its shape. Fly it at least five more times to see if your changes were effective.
Make a balloon-powered sled or a balloon powered boat. Test your sled or boat with larger and smaller balloons.

Germs Alive!

Wash your hands while singing the “Happy Birthday” song
Play Germ Magnet with your den or your family. Wash your hands afterward.
Conduct the sneeze demonstration.
Conduct the mucus demonstration with your den or family.
Grow a mold culture. At a den or pack meeting, show what formed.

Bears

Fur, Feathers, & Ferns

While hiking or walking for one mile, identify six signs that any mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, or plants are living near the place where you choose to hike or walk.
Visit one of the following: zoo, wildlife refuge, nature center, aviary, game preserve, local conservation area, wildlife rescue group, or fish hatchery. Describe what you learned during your visit.
Name one animal that has become extinct in the last 100 years and one animal that is currently endangered. Explain what caused their declines.
Observe wildlife from a distance. Describe what you saw.
Use a magnifying glass to examine plants more closely. Describe what you saw through the magnifying glass that you could not see without it.
Learn about composting and how vegetable waste can be turned into fertilizer for plants.
Plant a vegetable or herb garden.

Forensics

Talk with your family or den about forensics and how it is used to help solve crimes.
Take your fingerprints and learn how to analyze them.
Complete one of the following:
1. Learn about chromatography and how it is used in solving crimes. Do an investigation using different types of black, felt-tip markers. Share your results with your den.
2. Do an analysis of four different substances: salt, sugar, baking soda, and cornstarch.
Complete one of the following:
1. Visit the sheriff’s office or police station in your town. Find out how officers collect evidence.*
2. Learn about the different jobs available in forensic science. Choose two, and find out what is required to work in those jobs. Share what you learn with your den.
3. Learn how animals are used to gather important evidence. Talk about your findings with your den.

Super Science

Make static electricity by rubbing a balloon or a plastic or rubber comb against another material, such as a fleece blanket or wool sweater. Explain what you learned.
Conduct one other static electricity investigation. Explain what you learned.
Do a sink-or-float investigation. Explain what you learned.
Do a color-morphing investigation. Explain what you learned.
Do a color-layering investigation. Explain what you learned.

Webelos & AOL's

Into the Wild

Collect and care for an “insect, amphibian, or reptile zoo.” You might have crickets, ants, grasshoppers, a lizard, or a toad (but be careful not to collect or move endangered species protected by federal or state law). Study them for a while and then let them go. Share your experience with your Webelos den.
Set up an aquarium or terrarium. Keep it for at least a month. Share your experience with your Webelos den by showing them photos or drawings of your project or by having them visit to see your project.
Watch for birds in your yard, neighborhood, or area for one week. Identify the birds you see, and write down where and when you saw them.
Learn about the bird flyways closest to your home. Find out which birds use these flyways.
Watch at least four wild creatures (reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, fish, insects, or mammals) in the wild. Describe the kind of place (forest, field, marsh, yard, or park) where you saw them. Tell what they were doing.
Identify an insect, reptile, bird, or other wild animal that is found only in your area of the country. Tell why it survives in your area.
Give examples of at least two of the following:
1. A producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in the food chain of an ecosystem
2. One way humans have changed the balance of nature
3. How you can help protect the balance of nature
Learn about aquatic ecosystems and wetlands in your area. Talk with your Webelos den leader or family about the important role aquatic ecosystems and wetlands play in supporting life cycles of wildlife and humans, and list three ways you can help.
Do ONE of the following:
1. Visit a museum of natural history, a nature center, or a zoo with your family, Webelos den, or pack. Tell what you saw.
2. Create a video of a wild creature doing something interesting, and share it with your family and den.

Into the Woods

Identify two different groups of trees and the parts of a tree.
Identify four trees common to the area where you live. Tell whether they are native to your area. Tell how both wildlife and humans use them.
Identify four plants common to the area where you live. Tell which animals use them and for what purpose.
Develop a plan to care for and then plant at least one plant or tree, either indoors in a pot or outdoors. Tell how this plant or tree helps the environment in which it is planted and what the plant or tree will be used for.
Make a list of items in your home that are made from wood and share it with your den. Or with your den, take a walk and identify useful things made from wood.
Explain how the growth rings of a tree trunk tell its life story. Describe different types of tree bark and explain what the bark does for the tree.
Visit a nature center, nursery, tree farm, or park, and speak with someone knowledgeable about trees and plants that are native to your area. Explain how plants and trees are important to our ecosystem and how they improve our environment.