Hiking and Photography with the Cub Scouts

Last week, Steve and I hosted a Hiking and Photography Belt Loop Night for our Cub Scout den. Similar to the Astronomy Night we did during Trevor's Tiger Year, we created a fun evening that covered each of the three requirements for the two Belt Loops.  With the Belt Loop program ending in just over one year, we're eager to help Trevor and his friends earn as many of the loops and pins as they can.

Before the boys arrived, I filled each of the gold eggs leftover from Trevor's Angry Birds Party with the name of a digital camera part (such as lens, battery, zoom, viewfinder, memory card, etc), then I hid the eggs in our backyard.  We started our evening with the egg hunt.  When they found all the eggs, we sat in a circle and the boys opened the eggs one by one and read the word.  We talked about what the word meant, then each boy found it on his particular camera.

The eggs turned an ordinary vocabulary lesson into something really engaging.

I asked about the importance of photography and why people take pictures.  The boys were quick to mention memory-keeping, but it took some prodding for them to think about other uses, including photography in advertisements, as a way to relay news, and for government-issued ID.

Once I finished with the Photography lesson, Steve talked about hiking safety and preparedness. He showed the boys his hiking equipment and attire, then discussed when each would be used. The boys were very interested and attentive.

Finally, it was time to set out on our hike.  Trevor was so excited.  

Our destination was a hill near our house.  It doesn't look very high from the ground; everyone is always surprised by how steep it feels when you're on the trail! 

The boys each took dozens of pictures along our hike.  These are some of my favorites of Trevor's.

 Obviously, Trevor didn't take this one!  I did.  Happy hikers at the summit.

Steve took this picture of us headed down the hill.  I'm the one in the black sweater toward the middle of the pack.

I'm pointing myself out because it turns out I took a picture looking up the hill at exactly the same time as Steve took the one looking down.  The two pictures together give a better idea of the size of the hill.

It was getting increasingly windy as we hiked.  On the way down, 

the boys kept one hand on their hats and one on their cameras.

When we got to our house, we had a snack and then I asked the boys to review their pictures and share the best with each other.  They all were very proud of the photos they'd taken.  And I was proud of the boys: Photography and Hiking Belt Loops officially earned!