Arrow of Light
The Arrow of Light
To begin earning an Arrow of Light Badge Scouts must be active in their Webelos den for at least six months since completing the fourth grade or for at least six months since becoming 10 years old. (Being active means having good attendance paying your den dues, and working on den projects.)
To earn the Arrow of Light Badge the Cub Scout should follow the "Arrow of Light Adventure" by completing4 Defined "Adventures" and 3 elective chosen by your den or family. Your scout will need a Webelos Handbook to begin his Adventure. Below is an outline of the material covered in the handbook. As with all Cub Scout ranks, you must first earn the Webelos badge to be eligible to work for this award.
REQUIRED ADVENTURES
Building a Better World Explain the history of the United States flag. Show how to properly display the flag in public, and help lead a flag ceremony.
Learn about and describe your rights and duties as a citizen, and explain what it means to be loyal to your country.
Discuss in your Webelos den the term “rule of law,” and talk about how it applies to you in your everyday life.
Meet with a government leader, and learn about his or her role in your community. Discuss with the leader an important issue facing your community.
Learn about your family’s expenses, and help brainstorm ways to save money. Plan and manage a budget.
Learn about energy use in your community and in other parts of our world.
Identify one energy problem in your community, and find out what has caused it.
With the assistance of your den leader or parent, participate in an event that would help lead others in recycling and conserving resources.
Show that you are an active leader by planning an activity without your den leader’s help.
Do one of these:
a. Learn about Scouting in another part of the world. With the help of your parent or your den leader, pick one country where Scouting exists, and research its Scouting program.
b. Set up an exhibit at a pack meeting to share information about the World Friendship Fund.
c. Find a brother den in another country.
d. Under the supervision of your parent, guardian, or den leader, connect with a Scout in another country during an event such as Jamboree on the Air or Jamboree on the Internet or by other means.
CamperDo all of these:
With the help of your den leader or family, plan and conduct a campout. If your chartered organization does not permit Cub Scout camping, you may substitute a family campout or a daylong outdoor activity with your den or pack.
On arrival at the campout, with your den and den leader or family, determine where to set up your tent. Demonstrate knowledge of what makes a good tent site and what makes a bad one. Set up your tent without help from an adult.
Once your tents are set up, discuss with your den what actions you should take in the case of the following extreme weather events which could require you to evacuate:
a. Severe rainstorm causing flooding
b. Severe thunderstorm with lightning or tornadoes
c. Fire, earthquake, or other disaster that will require evacuation. Discuss what you have done to minimize as much danger as possible.
On a pack campout, work with your den leader or another adult to plan a campfire program with the other dens. Your campfire program should include an impressive opening, songs, skits, a Cubmaster’s minute, and an inspirational closing ceremony.
Show how to tie a bowline. Explain when this knot should be used and why. Teach it to another Scout who is not a Webelos Scout.
Go on a geocaching adventure with your den or family. Show how you used a GPS unit or a smartphone with a GPS application to locate a geocache.
Recite the Outdoor Code and the Leave No Trace Principles for Kids from memory. Talk about how you can demonstrate them while you are working on your Arrow of Light. After one outing, list the things you did to follow the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace.
Duty to God in ActionDo Either requirement 1 OR requirement 2:
Earn the religious emblem of your faith for Webelos Scouts, if you have not already done so.
Do requirement 2a and any two from requirements 2b–2e:
a. With your parent, guardian, or religious or spiritual leader, discuss and make a plan to do two things you think will help you better do your duty to God. Do these things for a month.
b. Discuss with your family how the Scout Oath and Scout Law relate to your beliefs about duty to God.
c. For at least a month, pray or reverently meditate each day as taught by your family or faith community.
d. Read at least two accounts of people in history who have done their duty to God. (This can include family members and ancestors.) List their names and how they showed their duty to God.
e. Under the direction of your parent, guardian, or religious or spiritual leader, do an act of service for someone in your family, neighborhood, or community. Talk about your service with your family and your Webelos den leader. Tell your family, den, or den leader how it related to doing your duty to God.
Scouting AdventureDo all of these:
Prepare yourself to become a Boy Scout by completing all of the items below:
a. Repeat from memory the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout motto, and Scout slogan. In your own words, explain their meanings to your den leader, parent, or guardian.
b. Explain what Scout spirit is. Describe for your den leader, parent, or guardian some ways you have shown Scout spirit by practicing the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout motto, and Scout slogan.
c. Give the Scout sign, salute, and handshake. Explain when they should be used.
d. Describe the First Class Scout badge, and tell what each part stands for. Explain the significance of the First Class Scout badge.
e. Repeat from memory the Outdoor Code. In your own words, explain what the Outdoor Code means to you.
Visit a Boy Scout troop meeting with your den members, leaders, and parent or guardian. After the meeting, do the following:
a. Describe how the Scouts in the troop provide its leadership.
b. Describe the four steps of Boy Scout advancement.
c. Describe ranks in Boy Scouting and how they are earned.
d. Describe what merit badges are and how they are earned.
Practice the patrol method in your den for one month by doing the following:
a. Explain the patrol method. Describe the types of patrols that might be part of a Boy Scout troop.
b. Hold an election to choose the patrol leader.
c. Develop a patrol name and emblem (if your den does not already have one), as well as a patrol flag and yell. Explain how a patrol name, emblem, flag, and yell create patrol spirit.
d. As a patrol, make plans with a troop to participate in a Boy Scout troop’s campout or other outdoor activity.
With your Webelos den leader, parent, or guardian, participate in a Boy Scout troop’s campout or other outdoor activity. Use the patrol method while on the outing.
Do the following:
a. Show how to tie a square knot, two half-hitches, and a taut-line hitch. Explain how each knot is used.
b. Show the proper care of a rope by learning how to whip and fuse the ends of different kinds of rope.
Demonstrate your knowledge of the pocketknife safety rules and the pocketknife pledge. If you have not already done so, earn your Whittling Chip card.
Elective Adventures For Webelos
Adventures in Science
Do all of these:
An experiment is a “fair test” to compare possible explanations. Draw a picture of a fair test that shows what you need to do to test a fertilizer’s effects on plant growth.
Visit a museum, a college, a laboratory, an observatory, a zoo, an aquarium, or other facility that employs scientists. Prepare three questions ahead of time, and talk to a scientist about his or her work.
Complete any four of the following:
a. Carry out the experiment you designed for requirement 1, above. Report what you learned about the effect of fertilizer on the plants that you grew.
b. Carry out the experiment you designed for requirement 1, but change the independent variable. Report what you learned about the effect of changing the variable on the plants that you grew.
c. Build a model solar system. Chart the distances between the planets so that the model is to scale. Use what you learn from this requirement to explain the value of making a model in science.
d. With adult supervision, build and launch a model rocket. Use the rocket to design a fair test to answer a question about force or motion.
e. Create two circuits of three light bulbs and a battery. Construct one as a series circuit and the other as a parallel circuit.
f. Study the night sky. Sketch the appearance of the North Star (Polaris) and the Big Dipper (part of the Ursa Major constellation) over at least six hours. Describe what you observed, and explain the meaning of your observations.
g. With adult assistance, explore safe chemical reactions with household materials. Using two substances, observe what happens when the amounts of the reactants are increased.
h. Explore properties of motion on a playground. Does the weight of a person affect how fast they slide down a slide or how fast a swing moves? Design a fair test to answer one of those questions.
i. Read a biography of a scientist. Tell your den leader or the other members of your den what the scientist was famous for and why his or her work is important.
Aquanaut
Complete 1–5 and any two from 6–10.
State the safety precautions you need to take before doing any water activity.
Recognize the purpose and the three classifications of swimming ability groups in Scouting.
Discuss the importance of learning the skills you need to know before going boating.
Explain the meaning of “order of rescue” and demonstrate the reach and throw rescue techniques from land.
Attempt the BSA swimmer test.
Demonstrate the precautions you must take before attempting to dive headfirst into the water, and attempt a front surface dive.
Learn and demonstrate two of the following strokes: crawl, sidestroke, breaststroke, or elementary backstroke.
Invite a member or former member of a lifeguard team, rescue squad, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, or other armed forces branch who has had swimming and rescue training to your den meeting. Find out what training and other experiences this person has had.
Demonstrate how to correctly fasten a life jacket that is the right size for you. Jump into water over your head. Show how the life jacket keeps your head above water by swimming 25 feet. Get out of the water, remove the life jacket and hang it where it will dry.
If you are a qualified swimmer, select a paddle of the proper size and paddle a canoe with an adult’s supervision.
Art Explosion
Do all of these:
Visit an art museum, gallery, or exhibit. Discuss with an adult the art you saw. What did you like?
Create two self-portraits using two different techniques, such as drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and computer illustration.
Do two of the following:
a. Draw or paint an original picture outdoors, using the art materials of your choice.
b. Use clay to sculpt a simple form.
c. Create an object using clay that can be fired, baked in the oven, or air-dried.
d. Create a freestanding sculpture or mobile using wood, metal, papier-mâché, or found or recycled objects.
e. Make a display of origami or kirigami projects.
f. Use a computer illustration or painting program to create a work of art.
g. Create an original logo or design. Transfer the design onto a T-shirt, hat, or other object.
h. Using a camera or other electronic device, take at least 10 photos of your family, a pet, or scenery. Use photo-editing software to crop, lighten or darken, and change some of the photos.
i. Create a comic strip with original characters. Include at least four panels to tell a story centered on one of the points of the Scout Law. Characters can be hand-drawn or computer-generated.
Choose one of the following methods to show your artwork:
a. Create a hard-copy or digital portfolio of your projects. Share it with your family and members of your den or pack.
b. Display your artwork in a pack, school, or community art show.
Aware and Care
Do all of these:
Develop an awareness of the challenges of the blind through participation in an activity that simulates blindness.
Participate in an activity that simulates severe visual impairment, but not blindness.
Participate in an activity that simulates the challenges of being deaf or hard of hearing.
Engage in an activity that simulates mobility impairment.
Take part in an activity that simulates dexterity impairment.
With your den, participate in an activity that focuses on the acceptance of differences in general.
Do two of the following:
a. Do a Good Turn for residents at a skilled nursing facility or retirement community.
b. Invite an individual with a disability to visit your den, and discuss what activities he or she currently finds challenging or found challenging in the past.
c. Attend a disabilities event such as a Special Olympics competition, an adaptive sports event, a performance with sign language interpretation, or an activity with service dogs. Tell your den what you thought about the experience.
d. Talk to someone who works with people who have disabilities. Ask what the person does and how he or she helps people with disabilities.
e. Using American Sign Language, sign the Scout Oath.
f. With the help of an adult, contact a service dog organization, and learn the entire process from pup training to assignment to a client.
g. Participate in a service project that focuses on a specific disability.
h. Participate in an activity with an organization whose members are disabled.
Build It
Do all of these:
Learn about some basic tools and the proper use of each tool. Learn about and understand the need for safety when you work with tools.
With the guidance of your Webelos den leader, parent, or guardian, select a carpentry project and build it.
List the tools that you use safely as you build your project; create a list of materials needed to build your project.
Put a checkmark next to the tools on your list that you used for the first time.
Learn about a construction career. With your Webelos den leader, parent, or guardian, visit a construction site, and interview someone working in a construction career.
Build My Own Hero
Do all of these:
Discover what it means to be a hero. Invite a local hero to meet with your den.
Identify how citizens can be heroes in their communities.
Recognize a hero in your community by presenting him or her with a “My Hero Award.”
Learn about a real-life hero from another part of the world who has helped the world be a better place.
Learn about a Scout hero.
Create your own superhero.
Castaway Do two of these:
a. With the help of an adult, demonstrate one way to light a fire without using matches.
b. On a campout with your den or family, cook two different recipes that do not require pots and pans. If your chartered organization does not permit Cub Scout camping, you may substitute a family campout or a daylong outdoor activity with your den or pack.
c. Using tree limbs or branches that have already fallen or been cut, build a shelter that will protect you overnight.
Do ALL of these:
a. Learn what items should be in an outdoor survival kit that you can carry in a small bag or box in a day pack. Assemble your own small survival kit, and explain to your den leader why the items you chose are important for survival.
b. Show you can live “off the grid” by minimizing your use of electricity for one week. Keep a log of what you did. Discuss with your den members how you adjusted to this lifestyle.
c. With your den, invent a game that can be played without using electricity and using minimal equipment or simple items.
d. Name your game, write down the rules once you have decided on them, then play the game at two different den meetings or outings.
e. Teach your game to the members of your pack or other Scouts.
f. With your den, demonstrate two different ways to treat drinking water to remove impurities.
g. Discuss what to do if you become lost in the woods. Tell what the letters “S-T-O-P” stand for. Tell what the universal emergency signal is. Describe three ways to signal for help. Demonstrate one of them. Describe what you can do you do to help rescuers find you.
h. Make a list of four qualities you think a leader should have in an emergency and why they are important to have. Pick two of them, and act them out for your den. Describe how each relates to a point of the Scout Law. Describe how working on this adventure gave you a better understanding of the Boy Scout motto.
Earth Rocks! Do the following:
a. Explain the meaning of the word “geology.”
b. Explain why this kind of science is an important part of your world.
c. Share with your family or with your den what you learned about the meaning of geology.
Look for different kinds of rocks or minerals while on a rock hunt with your family or your den.
Do the following:
a. Identify the rocks you see on your rock hunt. Use the information in your handbook to determine which types of rocks you have collected.
b. With a magnifying glass, take a closer look at your collection. Determine any differences between your specimens.
c. Share what you see with your family or den.
Do the following:
a. With your family or den, make a mineral test kit, and test rocks according to the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
b. Record the results in your handbook.
With your family or den, identify on a road map of your state some geological features in your area.
Do the following:
a. Identify some of the geological building materials used in building your home.
b. Identify some of the geological materials used around your community.
c. Record the items you find.
Do either 7a or 7b:
a. Go on an outing with your family or den to one of the nearby locations you discovered on your state map, and record what you see as you look at the geographical surroundings. Share with your family or den while on this outing what you notice that might change this location in the future (wind, water, ice, drought, erosion).
b. Do the following:
i. With your family or your den, visit with a geologist or earth scientist and discover the many career fields that are included in the science of geology.
ii. Ask the geologist or earth scientist about the importance of fossils that are found.
iii. Ask the geologist or earth scientist what you can do to help preserve our natural resources.
Do at least one earth science demonstration or investigation with your den or with adult supervision, and explore geology in action.
Engineer
Do all of these:
Pick one type of engineer. With the help of the Internet, your local library, or a local engineer you may know or locate, discover and record in your book three things that describe what that engineer does. (Be sure to have your Webelos den leader, parent, or guardian’s permission to use the Internet.) Share your findings with your Webelos den.
Learn to follow engineering design principles by doing the following:
a. Examine a set of blueprints. Using these as a model, construct your own set of blueprints or plans to design a project.
b. Using the blueprints or plans from your own design, construct your project. Your project may be something useful or something fun.
c. Share your project with your Webelos den and your pack by displaying the project at a pack meeting.
Explore other fields of engineering and how they have helped form our past, present, and future.
Pick and do two projects using the engineering skills you have learned. Share your projects with your den, and also exhibit them at a pack meeting.
Fix It
Do all of these:
Put a Fix It Tool Box together. Describe what each item in your toolbox can be used for. Show how to use three of the tools safely.
Be ready. With the help of an adult in your family, do the following:
a. Locate the electrical panel in your home. Determine if the electrical panel has fuses or breakers.
b. Determine what sort of heat is used to heat your home.
c. Learn what you would do to shut off the water for a sink, a toilet, a washing machine, or a water heater. If there is a main shut-off valve for your home, show where it is located.
Describe to your Webelos den leader how to fix or make safe the following circumstances with help from an adult:
a. A toilet is overflowing.
b. The kitchen sink is clogged.
c. SA circuit breaker tripped, causing some of the lights to go out.
Let’s Fix It. Select and do eight of the following. You will need an adult’s supervision for each of these Fix It projects:
a. Show how to change a light bulb in a lamp or fixture. Determine the type of light bulb you are replacing, and how to properly dispose of it.
b. Fix a squeaky door or cabinet hinge.
c. Tighten a loose handle or knob on a cabinet or a piece of furniture.
d. Demonstrate how to stop a toilet from running.
e. Replace a furnace filter.
f. Wash a car.
g. Check the oil level and tire pressure in a car.
h. Show how to replace a bulb in a taillight, turn signal, or parking light, or replace a headlight in a car.
i. Help an adult change a tire on a car.
j. Make a repair to a bicycle, such as adjusting or lubricating the chain, inflating the tires, fixing a flat, or adjusting the seat or handlebars.
k. Replace the wheels on a skateboard, a scooter, or a pair of inline skates.
l. Help an adult prepare and paint a room.
m. Help an adult replace or repair a wall or floor tile.
n. Help an adult install or repair a window or door lock.
o. Help an adult fix a slow or clogged sink drain.
p. Help an adult install or repair a mailbox.
q. Change the battery in a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide detector, and test its operation.
r. Help an adult fix a leaky faucet.
s. Find wall studs, and help an adult hang a curtain rod or a picture.
t. Take an old item, such as a small piece of furniture, a broken toy, or a picture frame, and rebuild and/or refinish it. Show your work to an adult or your Webelos leader.
u. Do a Fix It project agreed upon with your parent or guardian.
Game Design
Do all of these:
Decide on the elements for your game.
List at least five of the online safety rules that you put into practice while using the Internet on your computer or smartphone. Skip this if your Cyber Chip is current.
Create your game.
Teach an adult or another Scout how to play your game.
Into the Wild
Do six from requirements 1 through 9.
Collect and care for an “insect, amphibian, or reptile zoo.” You might have crickets, ants, grasshoppers, a lizard, or a toad. Study them for a while and then let them go. Share your experience with your Webelos den.
Set up an aquarium or terrarium. Keep it for at least a month. Share your experience with your Webelos den by showing them photos or drawings of your project or by having them visit to see your project.
Watch for birds in your yard, neighborhood, or town for one week. Identify the birds you see, and write down where and when you saw them.
Learn about the bird flyways closest to your home. Find out which birds use these flyways.
Watch at least four wild creatures (reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, fish, insects, or mammals) in the wild. Describe the kind of place (forest, field, marsh, yard, or park) where you saw them. Tell what they were doing.
Identify an insect, reptile, bird, or wild animal that is found only in your area of the country. Tell why it survives in your area.
Give examples of at least two of the following:
a. A producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in the food chain of an ecosystem
b. One way humans have changed the balance of nature
c. How you can help protect the balance of nature
Learn about aquatic ecosystems and wetlands in your area. Talk with your Webelos den leader or family about the important role aquatic ecosystems and wetlands play in supporting life cycles of wildlife and humans, and list three ways you can help.
Do ONE of the following:
a. Visit a museum of natural history, a nature center, or a zoo with your family, Webelos den, or pack. Tell what you saw.
b. Create a video of a wild creature doing something interesting, and share it with your family and den.
Into the Woods
Do all of these:
Identify three different groups of trees and the parts of a tree.
Identify six trees common to the area where you live. Tell whether they are native to your area. Tell how both wildlife and humans use them.
Identify six plants common to the area where you live. Tell which animals use them and for what purpose.
Visit a nature center, nursery, tree farm, or park, and speak with someone knowledgeable about trees and plants that are native to your area. Explain how plants and trees are important to our ecosystem and how they improve our environment.
Develop a plan to care for and then plant at least one plant or tree, either indoors in a pot or outdoors. Tell how this plant or tree helps the environment in which it is planted and what the plant or tree will be used for.
Make a list of items in your home that are made from wood and share it with your den. Or with your den, take a walk and identify useful things made from wood.
Explain how the growth rings of a tree trunk tell its life story. Describe different types of tree bark and explain what the bark does for the tree.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Do all of these:
Create a record of the history of Scouting and your place in that history.
With the help of your den leader, parent, or guardian and with your choice of media, go on a virtual journey to the past and create a timeline.
Create your own time capsule.
Maestro!
Do all of these:
Do a or b:
a. Attend a live musical performance.
b. Visit a facility that uses a sound mixer, and learn how it is used.
Do two of the following:
a. Make a musical instrument. Play it for your family, den, or pack.
b. Form a “band” with your den. Each member creates his own homemade musical instrument. Perform for your pack at a pack meeting.
c. Play two tunes on any band or orchestra instrument.
Do two of the following:
a. Teach your den the words and melody of a song. Perform the song with your den at your den or pack meeting.
b. Create original words for a song. Perform it at your den or pack meeting.
c. Collaborate with your den to compose a den theme song. Perform it at your pack meeting.
d. Write a song with words and music that expresses your feelings about an issue, a person, something you are learning, a point of the Scout Law, etc. Perform it at your den or pack meeting, alone or with a group.
e. Perform a musical number by yourself or with your Webelos den in front of an audience.
Moviemaking
Do all of these:
Write a story outline describing a real or imaginary Scouting adventure. Create a pictured storyboard that shows your story.
Create either an animated or live action movie about yourself. Your movie should depict how you live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
Share your movie with your family, den, or pack.
Project Family
Do 1 through 5, then choose two of 6 through 8:
Interview a grandparent, another family elder, or a family friend about what life was like when he or she was growing up. Share his or her story with another family member.
Talk with members of your family about your family name, history, traditions, and culture. Create a family tree of three generations or make a poster or Web page that shows the origins of your ancestors. Or choose a special celebration or holiday that your family participates in, and create either a poster, picture, or photo slideshow of it. Share this project with your den.
Show your understanding of your duty to family by creating a chart listing the jobs that you and other family members have at home. Choose three of the jobs you are responsible for, and chart them for two weeks.
Select ONE of the jobs below that belongs to another family member, and help that person complete it:
a. Create a grocery shopping list for the week.
b. Complete the laundry for your family one time.
c. Help prepare meals for your family for one day.
Create a list of community service or conservation projects that you and your family can do together, and present it to your family. Select one project, plan it, and complete it with your family.
With the help of an adult, inspect your home and its surroundings. Make a list of hazards or security problems you find. Correct one problem that you found, and tell what you did.
Hold a family meeting to plan an exciting family activity. The activity could include:
a. A family reunion
b. A family night
c. A family outing
Have your family event. Afterward, tell your parent or guardian what you liked best about the event.
Sportsman
Do all of these:
Show the signals used by officials in one of these sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, or hockey.
While you are a Webelos Scout, participate in two individual sports.
While you are a Webelos Scout, play two team sports.
Complete the following requirements:
a. Explain what good sportsmanship means.
b. Role-play a situation that demonstrates good sportsmanship.
c. Give an example of a time when you experienced or saw someone showing good sportsmanship.
Note to Parents
Your Den Leader will track the Den Activities
You should use the Scout Handbook to especially track each of the Adventures. There are places to "Sign Off" on each adventure in the handbook.
Start a Scout Folder to store papers and projects as your scout completes them.
Bring the Handbook (and folder) to a Den meeting to have your Adventures recorded by the Den Leader.
