This past weekend Troop 1 Katonah went to Alpine Scout Camp in Alpine, New Jersey, for the annual Muscoot Spring Camporee. For this camporee the theme was science-fiction, mainly Star Trek.
Troops from the district arrived Friday night and claimed one of the many campsites around the property. While it was raining hard in Katonah, by the time we got to New Jersey it had stopped. In the morning, troops were awakened and told to prepare for the big day ahead of them. Troops assembled on Bates Field for the opening ceremony, where our troop participated in the color guard. Once finished with that, troops were dismissed to the registry area. Once there, patrols had their model rockets (built beforehand) inspected, and were then sent to their assigned starting station run by Troop 371 Mahopac. Our patrol started out at the "SURFACE TEAM" station, which was a geology based activity We learned about different types of local rocks and went out to find a sample, bring it back, and properly identify it.
Next, we made our way to the "SICK BAY" station, which was a first aid activity run by our troop. We were given a scenario that included giving first aid to third-degree burns that were caused by a "phaser blast." We were then required to escort the victim on a stretcher back to safety. Seeing as that is what we practice the most during our troop meetings, we did the best on that station.
Then off we went to the "COMMUNICATIONS" station, operated by Troop 1 Mahopac. The objective of this was to communicate with your patrol members and use the "tractor beams" to flip all of the "switches" and contain the breached core. In reality this was a crane connected to four controlling cables, each manned by a Scout. The good communicating skills amongst the members of the patrol paid off, and we were able to control the tractor beam very easily.
Next we went to the "MAIN ENGINEERING" station, which was operated by Troop 1 Mount Kisco. We had to come up with some sort of bucket brigade method to transport the "anti-matter" from a failing warp core to a safe disposal area. Although we met the goal of safely getting the anti-matter from point A to point B, our relatively long transport time cost us several points, not giving us the high score we were hoping for.
We then took our lunch break. after lunch we went and did our rocket launch at the "LAUNCH PROBE" station, operated by Troop 1 Lewisboro in cooperation with a volunteer from the Garden State Spacemodeling Society. Our launch was successful in the sense that the rocket did not land in a tree (although Peter's Mad Monkeys Patrol was not so lucky-- Sorry, Pete!).
After we completed all the stations, we headed back to our campsite and began working on the "REPLICATOR" competition, which had to be some sort of simple machine lashed together from ropes and poles. For our troop's campsite, we constructed a swing that turned out to be a big hit amongst the troop members. It was awesome! That night for dinner, the patrols cooked up some pretty amazing dinners, including BBQ chicken, pork loin, and hot dogs, which all tasted delicious.
After dinner, members from Troop 1 Katonah hosted the campfire where skits were performed (one kid from 1 Mahopac played Pink Floyd on his acoustic guitar), awards were handed out, and candy was received. In the end, all three patrols from our troop emerged victorious above all! The event was a lot of fun, and it was interesting to go to another council's camp. Thanks to Greater New York Councils for letting us use Alpine. We're already looking forward to the Fall Event...
Troops from the district arrived Friday night and claimed one of the many campsites around the property. While it was raining hard in Katonah, by the time we got to New Jersey it had stopped. In the morning, troops were awakened and told to prepare for the big day ahead of them. Troops assembled on Bates Field for the opening ceremony, where our troop participated in the color guard. Once finished with that, troops were dismissed to the registry area. Once there, patrols had their model rockets (built beforehand) inspected, and were then sent to their assigned starting station run by Troop 371 Mahopac. Our patrol started out at the "SURFACE TEAM" station, which was a geology based activity We learned about different types of local rocks and went out to find a sample, bring it back, and properly identify it.
Next, we made our way to the "SICK BAY" station, which was a first aid activity run by our troop. We were given a scenario that included giving first aid to third-degree burns that were caused by a "phaser blast." We were then required to escort the victim on a stretcher back to safety. Seeing as that is what we practice the most during our troop meetings, we did the best on that station.
Then off we went to the "COMMUNICATIONS" station, operated by Troop 1 Mahopac. The objective of this was to communicate with your patrol members and use the "tractor beams" to flip all of the "switches" and contain the breached core. In reality this was a crane connected to four controlling cables, each manned by a Scout. The good communicating skills amongst the members of the patrol paid off, and we were able to control the tractor beam very easily.
Next we went to the "MAIN ENGINEERING" station, which was operated by Troop 1 Mount Kisco. We had to come up with some sort of bucket brigade method to transport the "anti-matter" from a failing warp core to a safe disposal area. Although we met the goal of safely getting the anti-matter from point A to point B, our relatively long transport time cost us several points, not giving us the high score we were hoping for.
We then took our lunch break. after lunch we went and did our rocket launch at the "LAUNCH PROBE" station, operated by Troop 1 Lewisboro in cooperation with a volunteer from the Garden State Spacemodeling Society. Our launch was successful in the sense that the rocket did not land in a tree (although Peter's Mad Monkeys Patrol was not so lucky-- Sorry, Pete!).
After we completed all the stations, we headed back to our campsite and began working on the "REPLICATOR" competition, which had to be some sort of simple machine lashed together from ropes and poles. For our troop's campsite, we constructed a swing that turned out to be a big hit amongst the troop members. It was awesome! That night for dinner, the patrols cooked up some pretty amazing dinners, including BBQ chicken, pork loin, and hot dogs, which all tasted delicious.
After dinner, members from Troop 1 Katonah hosted the campfire where skits were performed (one kid from 1 Mahopac played Pink Floyd on his acoustic guitar), awards were handed out, and candy was received. In the end, all three patrols from our troop emerged victorious above all! The event was a lot of fun, and it was interesting to go to another council's camp. Thanks to Greater New York Councils for letting us use Alpine. We're already looking forward to the Fall Event...
--Kyle W., Troop Historian