Scouting facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids

Scouting

Country

Worldwide
United Kingdom (origin)

Founded

1907, Brownsea Island

Founder

Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell

Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide group for young people. It was started in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell. He first created it for boys.

Baden-Powell got many ideas from a group of boys called the Mafeking Cadet Corps. These boys helped during a war called the Second Boer War. They mainly carried messages. This helped soldiers focus on defending their city.

At first, Scouting was only for boys. A similar group for girls, called "Girl Guides," started in 1910. Today, many Scout groups welcome both boys and girls.

In Scouting, young people learn to work together. They also learn to be good people and responsible adults. Scouts usually make a promise to live by certain rules. They also promise to help others whenever they can.

Scouts love to spend time outdoors. Their outdoor activities include camping, woodcraft, and hiking. They also enjoy aquatics, backpacking, and sports.

Scouts are often recognized by their special uniform. This uniform includes a neckerchief and a campaign hat or other headwear. Important symbols are the fleur-de-lis and the trefoil. Scouts also earn merit badges and other patches.

How Many Scouts There Are
How Scouting Started
The Original Scout Law
The Promise of 1907
Age Groups and Sections
Other Scout-Like Groups
Images for kids
See also

How Many Scouts There Are

Indonesian Scouts at a big meeting in 2003.

Scouts and Guides from many countries meet in Sweden in 1996.

In 2007, Scouting and Guiding had over 38 million members. These members were in 216 countries. There are several big international groups for Scouts:

World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is for boys-only and mixed groups.
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is mainly for girls-only groups. It also accepts mixed groups.
World Federation of Independent Scouts
World Organization of Independent Scouts
Order of World Scouts
International Union of Guides and Scouts of Europe
Confederation of European Scouts

How Scouting Started

This stone on Brownsea Island remembers the first Scout camp.

The first parade of Armenian Scouts in 1918.

Robert Baden-Powell was a military officer. He was in India and Africa in the late 1800s. He loved woodcraft and military scouting since he was young. He taught his soldiers how to survive in nature. He saw that if soldiers learned to be independent, they would think for themselves.

In 1896, Baden-Powell met Frederick Russell Burnham. Burnham was a British Army Chief of Scouts. Baden-Powell learned about cowboy and Indian scouts from him. He even started wearing a scout hat like Burnham's. They talked about a training program for boys.

Three years later, Baden-Powell was stuck in the town of Mafeking. A much larger army surrounded the town. This was during the Second Boer War. A group of young people, the Mafeking Cadet Corps, helped the soldiers. They carried messages. This freed the men for fighting. It also kept the boys busy during the long wait. The Cadet Corps did a great job. This experience helped Baden-Powell decide to start the Scouting movement. Each boy in the corps got a badge. It looked like a compass point and a spearhead. This badge was similar to the fleur-de-lis, which became a Scouting symbol.

In the United Kingdom, people followed Baden-Powell's fight in Mafeking through newspapers. After the siege, he became a national hero. This made a small book he wrote, Aids to Scouting, very popular. It was about military scouting.

When he returned to England, he saw that boys were very interested in his book. Teachers and youth groups also used it. Many people told him to rewrite the book for boys. He visited the Boys' Brigade, a large youth group. Baden-Powell thought his ideas could make a bigger movement. He studied other programs and used parts of them for Scouting.

The Original Scout Law

Australian Scouts at a special Scouting ceremony.

Here are the first rules, or "laws," that Scouts followed:

A Scout's honour is to be trusted. This means a Scout tries their best to do what they promise.
A Scout is loyal. They are loyal to their country and their leaders.
A Scout's duty is to be useful, and to help others.
A Scout is a friend to all, and a brother to every other Scout. Scouts help each other, no matter their background.
A Scout is courteous. They are polite and helpful to everyone, especially women, children, and older people. They do not expect payment for helping.
A Scout is a friend to animals. They do not hurt animals without a good reason.
A Scout obeys orders. They follow instructions, even if they do not like them.
A Scout smiles and whistles.
A Scout is thrifty. They avoid wasting money.
A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed (This rule was added later).

These laws were made in 1907. At that time, there were no Girl Scouts. But these laws apply to Girl Scouts too.

The Promise of 1907

In his first book about Scouting, Baden-Powell wrote the Scout promise. Here is what it said:

Before he becomes a scout, a boy must take the scout's oath, thus:

On my honour I promise that---

I will do my duty to God and the Queen.

I will do my best to help others, whatever it costs me.

I know the scout law, and will obey it.

While taking this oath the scout will stand, holding his right hand raised level with his shoulder, palm to the front, thumb resting on the nail of the little finger and the other three fingers upright, pointing upwards:--- This is the scout's salute and secret sign.

This promise was later changed for different countries and organizations.

Age Groups and Sections

A group of Hong Kong Cub Scouts.

Scouting and Guiding groups are often divided by age. This allows activities to fit the members' age and maturity. These age groups have changed over time. They adapt to local cultures and environments.

Scouting was first for teenagers, usually from 11 to 17 years old. In most groups, this age is called the Scout or Guide section. Programs were also made for younger children (ages 6 to 10). And for young adults (18 and older, later up to 25). Scouts and Guides were later split into "junior" and "senior" parts. Some groups even removed the young adult section. The exact ages for programs are different in each country and group.

Traditional age groups from 1920 to 1940:
Age range	Boys section	Girls section
8 to 10	Wolf Cubs	Brownie Guide
11 to 17	Boy Scout	Girl Guide or Girl Scout
18 and up	Rover Scout	Ranger Guide

Programs for younger children include Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, Brownies, Daisies, Rainbow Guides, Beaver Scouts, Joey Scouts, Keas, and Teddies.

Programs for young adults include the Senior Section, Rover Scouts, Senior Scouts, Venture Scouts, Explorer Scouts, and the Scout Network. Many groups also have programs for members with special needs. This is often called Extension Scouting.

The Scout Method has also been changed for special programs. These include Air Scouts, Sea Scouts, and Rider Guides.

In many countries, Scouting is organized into neighborhood Scout Groups. These groups have one or more sections. Each section is divided by age. They have their own names and leaders.

Other Scout-Like Groups

A young Indiana Jones is shown as a Scout in a movie.

After the Scouts started, other groups similar to them were formed. These groups are a bit like Scouts. But they focus more on different things. For example, some groups focus more on religious education. In countries like Cuba or China, groups similar to Scouts were formed. But they left out some parts that their governments did not like.