Boy Scouts of America at the State Fair (& Free Ropes Course!)

(This post is sponsored by Northern Star Council through the Amplify Influencer Network. All opinions are 100% mine.)

This weekend we headed to the Minnesota State Fair. We hadn’t gone the first weekend before – usually we head there on Labor Day – but we were in good company. There were a lot of people! But we still had a lot of fun and enjoyed many attractions and activities.

One booth we stopped at was the Boy Scouts of America booth – located at the intersection of Cooper and Randall, by the North Woods. If you have kids, you should check it out. There’s a FREE ropes course for kids to do. (I even did a brief (and very amateur) Facebook Live video while I was there!) It’s a great way to try out what scouting is all about. And besides, how often do kids get a chance to try out something like this for free?

I’ve been curious about the Boy Scouts for my own son, who is starting kindergarten this fall. I’ve been looking for something that teaches him valuable skills like leadership, service, and community with others. Plus I want him to have really cool adventures with other kids his age, and to have good role models to learn from. I know families whose kids are involved in Boy Scouts and they love it – these kids are confident, smart and take initiative – plus they have fun!

I talked to the super nice volunteers at the booth who answered questions about the Boy Scouts and how kids can try it out. Everything is local – families get to know other families in their neighborhood or school (the Boy Scouts have great relationships with local schools). I honestly didn’t realize how much they do – I figured they go out in the woods and learn camping skills, but they do SO much more! They do camping and hiking of course, but they also do Pinewood derbies and rocket launches, climb rock walls, tour police/fire stations, go on field trips to museums and art galleries, archery, etc.

The Boy Scouts also have an experiential learning facility called Base Camp, which is located at historic Fort Snelling and is open year-round. Here they have programs to help build confidence and leadership for youth here in the Twin Cities. Yes, that means it’s open to EVERYONE – girls included.

Everyone can learn more out Boy Scouts at their 2016 School Night on September 22nd. On that day they will have Cub Scout leaders in every elementary school from 6:00 – 7:00pm for the sole purpose of helping new families join Cub Scouts. We’ll be there at our local school!