If you’re looking for a gift mark your Scout completing their time in Cub Scouts, you may want to consider:

• A Scouts BSA Handbook Cover (the standard cover is currently out of stock online, but limited quantities are available at the Butler and Pittsburgh Scout Shops.  You do NOT need to buy your Scout a Handbook as one will be provided to them when they attend their first Troop meeting after the crossover)
• A Merit Badge Sash
• Camping gear or a gift card to Public Lands or REI

Yes, you need a handbook.  The Scouts BSA handbook is a Scout’s official record of advancement and completion of requirements.

No, you do not need to buy one.  The Troop provides new members with their first handbook when they attend their first Troop meeting.  It is the Scout’s responsibility to replace the handbook if it is lost or severely damaged.

You do not need to buy anything specifically for your Scout’s crossover. Everything else needed for the meeting will be provided by the Pack or the Troop.

We recommend that Scouts have the tan Scouts BSA shirt before their crossover.

While the Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA programs cover similar topic areas and work to teach Scouts to live by the Scout Oath and Law, there are a few key things differences your Scout will experience as soon as they join the Troop:

• Unit Structure: The first difference your Scout will experience is in how a Scouts BSA unit is organized. Instead of Dens and a Pack, Scouts is organized in Patrols and a Troop. Unlike Dens in Cub Scouts, Patrols may be made up of Scouts of different school grades.
• Leadership & Chain of Command: In Cub Scouts, Scouts are led by adults who plan and conduct meetings and activities. In Scouts BSA, the patrols and Troop are led by our youth leaders who are guided and mentored by the adult leaders. That means that Scouts who have a question or problem go to their youth leader who then escalates those questions up the youth chain of command before they get to the adults.
• Advancement: Cub Scouts work together over the year to complete Adventures and earn a Rank. You do not need to earn all of the Cub Scout Ranks to earn the Arrow of Light. In the Troop, Scouts work independently to complete Rank Requirements and earn Merit Badges. Scouts set their own pace to earn their ranks with the only time limit being that you must complete all the rank requirements from Scout to Eagle Scout by your 18th birthday.
• Learning Methods: In Scouts BSA, Scouts learn by doing and ultimately teaching a skill to others rather than being taught by others like in Cub Scouts.
• Camping & Activities: Finally, activities are different in the Troop versus the Pack. The troop meets weekly with at least one outdoor activity each month. Scouts BSA members are able to participate in longer, overnight events (like Summer Camp) and parents are not required (but are highly encouraged) to attend outdoor events with their Scouts.

This is just a brief list of differences. LEARN MORE.