What Do Scouts Prize?

 

X PRIZE Education spent the last ten days at the 2010  Centennial Boy Scout Jamboree in Fort A. P. Hill, VA, sharing the X PRIZE experience with scouts who had traveled from all 50 states to be part of the Jamboree. This is what 46,000 Boy Scouts, leaders and volunteers look like when they are all assembled for a stage show.

 

Mike Rowe, Eagle Scout and host of DIRTY JOBS was a big hit with the troops during the evening awards ceremony. He stressed the value of hard work and perseverance... and reminded them that even though  “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.", is it is OK to get dirty once in a while in pursuit of a goal.  He congratulated them on their accomplishments and told them that he would absolutely not be where he is today without the influence that being a Boy Scout has had on his life.

X PRIZE Headquarters at the BSA Centennial Jamboree!   Our tent in the Technology Quest pavilion was a whirlwind of activity as thousands of scouts stopped by to experience  X PRIZE and learn about our educational resources, opportunities and activities for young people.

 The X PRIZE experience included an overview of what X PRIZE is all about with a description of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, the Archon Genomics X PRIZE and the Google Lunar X PRIZE.  When we asked each group to guess what our latest challenge, launched while we were at the Jamboree, might be they guessed correctly every single time.  So the scouts have certainly validated the need for the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE!

 

The X PRIZE overview was  followed by a screening of various X PRIZE promotional spots including the new “What Do You Prize?”  video. The presentations  sparked much discussion as the scouts pondered future prizes and challenges.

 

 

 

Next the scouts visited our mobile tech lab,  took an online survey about their favorite current PRIZE and  shared  their ideas for the next X PRIZE competition.

   

 Some of the scouts even took the opportunity to tell us what they prize…

  
And finally they had the opportunity to create their own version of an X PRIZE themed Boy Scout merit badge based on current and future X PRIZE competitions.  

This “low tech” activity proved to be very popular and we collected stacks and stacks and stacks of impressive badge designs and project ideas to post online and share with scouting officials.

 

 

 

And all the while, much interviewing, blogging, taping, editing and posting was underway to keep X PRIZE followers up to date on the Jamboree. Our tent neighbors conducted continuous DNA collection sessions and explained how DNA information is used in the study of land and marine animals.  DNA goes way beyond what you’ve learned from CSI!

We were impressed and inspired by the scouts' ideals and their ideas. 

What do you prize?