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Boy Scouts of America Pilots new NOVA, Super NOVA Science and Tech Awards in Long Beach

A BSA partnership with Exxon Mobil Corporation to make Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) more exciting for youth. A look at the NOVA and SuperNOVA awards.

I was pleased to witness several youth receiving their NOVA awards at the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Long Beach Area Council (LBAC) dinner, and at the Pack 007 meeting tonight. For those non-scouting readers, Pack 007 is the primary Belmont Shore group of cub scouts that meets at Lowell Elementary School.

NOVA, SuperNOVA Awards

The BSA Long Beach Area Council was given the opportunity by national scouting headquarters to pilot a new award, which encourages youth activities in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM).  The Long Beach Area Council is one of 21 councils chosen for this part of the pilot national program.

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The NOVA and Super NOVA awards are offered by BSA in partnership with Exxon Mobil Corporation, which has an ongoing commitment to support STEM programming.

There are two levels of the NOVA Award: Cub and Scout.  There are three levels of the Super NOVA Award that match the age progression in boy scouts: Cub, Webelos and Scout. (Webelos translation: We'll be loyal scouts.)

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The Test Group

Two council units (Cub pack 007 and Troop 120) were selected to be part of the NOVA/SuperNOVA pilot.  The goal is to determine the effectiveness of the program in inspiring scouts in the sciences, technology and engineering fields.

Pack 007 NOVA Activities

There are four major topic areas: Science Everywhere (Science), Tech Talk (Technology), Swing (Motion/Engineering), Designed to Crunch (Math).

In addition to taking the NOVA participants through various related details in each topic, the pack planned several activities and tours with the help of community individuals and groups.

Science Everywhere! - Weather

Guest speaker Meterologist Joe Sirard of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) visited the group and introduced the boys to a series of weather instruments, including an actual weather balloon that would grow to the size of a small house when inflated!  Visions of Up, Up and Away came to mind!  Most interesting to the cub scouts? The tornado machine!

Tech Talk - Long Beach Airport

The boys had the opportunity to visit the Long Beach airport on a Saturday.  We were thrilled to find that the guide, Ken, was an Eagle Scout!  The tour was filled with facts about airplane manufacture in the area during World War II, as well as the Long Beach Airport's place in aviation history.  Aside from the many air rallies in the area, Long Beach is especially known for Cal Rodgers' coast-to-coast flight in the Vin Fiz.  There were many stops (and crashes) on this trip, right up to the landing in the Pacific Ocean! It was the 100th anniversary of that flight on December 10, 2011.

Tech Talk - Proplas

The group had the opportunity to visit an injection molding plant in full swing.  We stopped at each machine and observed the parts being made by each one... The rhythmic movement of the molds as they came together, waited for the injection and setting of the material, then the removal of the waste material to a recycling area by a robotic arm overhead.  Parts in blue, smoke, white, clear, even multiple colors were delivered by the machine.  Our guide, Scott, talked us through the operation of the machines, and the children learned much about the manufacture of plastic parts.  Very impressive was the enormous all-warehouse crane that can lift molds weighing thousands of pounds and transport them on a track system that runs throughout the plant.

Swing - Playground Equipment design

The NOVA youth were provided with the engineering tools of the young... LEGO... and tasked to make playgrounds that included the use of levers in their design. 

Designed to Crunch - Abacus, Ciphers, Math pin

The scouts helped to make an abacus, learned to count with it and taught others how to use it.  They made ciphers and used them to encode messages and decode those of their friends.  They worked on their Math pin requirements, which spanned several weeks.

The roll-out of this beta in Pack 007 was made successful through the participation of the pack parents, the pack committee and many community members and community groups in Long Beach and the Los Angeles area.  Special thanks to Cubmaster Jon Shull and NOVA committee members Chris Errecart, Susan Kirk, Larry Fellows and Mary Aimone.  Packs, Troops and Crews outside of the beta group will be able to participate in the NOVA program starting in late May.

Trish Tsoiasue volunteers with the BSA Long Beach Area Council, Packs 007 and 25 and worked with substantial support of the Pack 007 Pack Committee to roll out the cub scout portion of the program.  The Troop 120 activities were guided by Bob Huss, who designed and delivered the Long Beach Area Council's robotics merit badge workshop activities.

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