Have you ever seen hundreds of Scouts on ice skates? On May 6, about 350 Boy Scout and Cub Scout families from the Tampa Bay area and beyond gathered at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel for the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council’s inaugural Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Fair.
Boys of all ages, along with their families, tried out ice skating on one of the new skating center’s four full-size rinks, while more than a dozen vendors showed off robots and gadgets on the adjacent rink.
“We’re going to do this again,” says Jeff Smith, a Boy Scout volunteer who was one of the event’s organizers. “We had about 100 people more than we were hoping for. It was a great turnout.”
He adds, “The facility was stellar. The majority of the people who came for the STEM Fair had never been there before. The parking was great and the staff offered tours of Florida Hospital Center Ice.”
When they weren’t skating, the kids got to watch drone demonstrations and a couple of different 3D printing demonstrations. They were able to interact with robots built by high school robotics clubs, such as Tampa’s Middleton High, and check out summer camps from Busch Gardens and MOSI. Firehouse Subs provided meals for purchase. A couple of colleges also were represented, where parents and older kids could ask questions about technology and medical fields.
“This is a way to embrace new technologies and get kids excited,” Smith says. “If all we teach boys is how to tie knots and make a fire with two sticks, Boy Scouts will become obsolete. So, Boy Scouts is embracing STEM as a way to stay relevant.”
To acknowledge the Boy Scouts’ new emphasis on STEM, a few attendees were presented with the Council’s first “Supernova” awards. The Supernova awards are part of an awards program that are, “designed to motivate youth and recognize…advanced achievement in STEM-related activities.”
Because the program is so new, only one Scout in the New Tampa area has earned it. Kenny Lewis, who is now a member of Boy Scout Troop 180, actually earned his Supernova award as a Cub Scout in Pack 801, which is based out of Hunter’s Green Elementary and where his father, Ken Lewis, is the Cubmaster.
Two other Scouts, one from Land O’Lakes and one from Bushnell, also were presented with Supernova awards.
Smith says he is now working with Florida Hospital Center Ice to make next year’s Boy Scout STEM Fair even bigger and better.
For more information about Boy Scouts and the STEM connection, visit TampaBayScouting.org.
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