Bear Elective Adventures

To earn the Bear Badge a Scout must complete the six required adventures and at least one elective adventure of your den or family’s choosing completion

Although the Scout is welcome to earn as many electives, the Pack dues will include the elective awards completed as a Pack or Den. Electives earned outside of these activities will need to be purchased by the family. The Advancement Chair can secure these for the Scout, but the Pack will require reimbursement.

Remember, there are NO performance requirements for a boy. Simply participating and doing one's best in an activity constitutes completion.
Note: Be sure to sign off on each elective in the handbook and report it to your Den Leader at least one week before the Pack Meetings. It is up to you and your Den Leader to ensure the scout gets the proper recognition at the Pack Meetings.

Baloo the Builder
  1. Discover which hand tools are the best ones to have in your toolbox. Learn the rules for using these tools safely. Practice with at least four of these tools before beginning a project.
  2. Select, plan, and define the materials for the projects you will complete in requirement 3.
  3. Assemble your materials and build one useful project and one fun project using wood.
  4. Apply a finish to one of your wood projects.
A Bear Goes Fishing


  1. Discover and learn about three types of fishes in your area. Draw a color picture of each fish, record what each one likes to eat, and describe what sort of habitat each likes.
  2. Learn about your local fishing regulations with your leader or a parent or guardian.
  3. List three of the regulations you learn about and one reason each regulation exists.
  4. Learn about fishing equipment, and make a simple fishing pole. Practice casting at a target.
  5. Go on a fishing adventure, and spend a minimum of one hour trying to catch a fish. Put into practice the things you have learned about fish and fishing equipment.
Bear Picnic Basket
  1. Do the following:
    • Create your own Bear cookbook using at least five recipes you can cook or prepare either on your own or with some adult help. Include one page with information about first aid. You should include one recipe for a breakfast item, one for lunch, and one for dinner, and two recipes for nutritious snacks.
    • Prepare for cooking by explaining the importance of planning, tool selection, and cooking safety.
    • Go on a grocery shopping trip with your den or with an adult. Check the price of different brands of one single item, and compare the price of a ready-made item with the price of the same item you would make yourself.
  2. Do the following:
    • With the help of an adult, select one food item and follow a recipe to prepare it for your family in your kitchen. Clean up after the preparation and cooking.
    • With the help of an adult, select one food item, and follow a recipe to prepare it outdoors for your family or den. Clean up after the preparation and cooking.
  3. Select and prepare two nutritious snacks for yourself, your family, or your den.
Beat of the Drum
  1. Learn about the history and culture of American Indians who lived in your area at the time of European colonization.
  2. Write a legend.
  3. Make a dream catcher.
  4. Make a craft.
  5. Make a drum. Once your drum is complete, create a ceremonial song.
  6. Visit an Order of the Arrow dance ceremony or American Indian event within your community.
  7. Learn and demonstrate ceremonial dances and learn dance steps.
  8. Create a dance.
Critter Care
  1. Care for a pet for two weeks. Make a list of tasks you did to take care of the pet. If you do not have a pet, research one that you would like to have and write about the care it needs.
  2. Learn more about your pet or a pet you would like to have. List three interesting facts that you learned about your pet.
  3. Make a poster about your pet or a pet you would like to own. Share your poster with your den, pack, or family.
  4. Do your best to train a pet to perform a trick or follow a simple command, and explain how you trained it. (If your pet is a hermit crab, fish, snake, or the like, you may skip this requirement.)
  5. Tell three ways that animals can help people.
  6. Tell what is meant by an animal being “rabid.” Name some animals that could have rabies. Explain what you should do if you are near an animal that might be rabid.
  7. Visit with a local veterinarian or animal shelter caretaker. Find out what types of animals he or she might see on a regular basis. Ask what type of education is needed to become a veterinarian or shelter caretaker and why he or she choose to pursue this career.


Forensics
  1. Talk with your family and den about forensics and how it is used to help solve crimes.
  2. Analyze your fingerprints.
  3. Learn about chromatography and how it is used in solving crimes. Do an investigation using different types of black, felt-tip markers. Share your results with your den.
  4. Do an analysis of four different substances: salt, sugar, baking soda, and cornstarch.
  5. Make a shoe imprint.
  6. Visit the sheriff’s office or police station in your town. Find out how officers collect evidence.
  7. Learn about the different jobs available in forensic science. Choose two, and find out what is required to work those jobs. Share what you learned with your den.
  8. Learn how animals are used to gather important evidence. Talk about your findings with your den.
Make It Move
  1. Create an “exploding” craft stick reaction.
  2. Make two simple pulleys, and use them to move objects.
  3. Make a lever by creating a seesaw using a spool and a wooden paint stirrer. Explore the way it balances by placing different objects on each end.
  4. Do the following:
    • Draw a Rube Goldberg–type machine. Include at least six steps to complete your action.
    • Construct a real Rube Goldberg–type machine to complete a task assigned by your den leader. Use at least two simple machines and include at least four steps.
Marble Madness
  1. Discuss with your family and den the history of marbles, such as where and when the game began. Talk about the different sizes of marbles and what they are made of and used for.
  2. Learn about three different marble games, and learn to play the marble game “ringer.” Learn how to keep score. Learn and follow the rules of the game. Play the game with your family, friends, or your den.
  3. Learn four or five words that are used when talking about marbles. Tell what each of the words means and how it relates to playing marbles. Share this information with your den.
  4. With the help of an adult, make a marble bag to hold marbles.
  5. With your den or family, make a marble obstacle course or marble golf course. Share what you create. Invite everyone to go through your course.
  6. Create your own game using marbles, and design rules for playing the game. Share the game you created with your den, family, or friends. Explain the rules and how to play the game.
  7. With your den or family, create a marble race track. Have at least two lanes so you can race your favorite marbles against each other.
  8. Make a marble maze.
Roaring Laughter
  1. Think about what makes you laugh. Write down three things that make you laugh.
  2. Practice reading tongue twisters.
  3. Create your own short story. Remove some nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs from the story, leaving blanks. Without telling the story, have a friend insert his or her own nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in the story you created.
  4. With a partner, play a game that makes you laugh.
  5. Share a few jokes with a couple of friends to make them laugh.
  6. Practice at least two run-ons with your den, and perform them at a pack meeting or campfire program.
Robotics
  1. Identify six tasks performed by robots.
  2. Learn about some instances where a robot could be used in place of a human for work. Research one robot that does this type of work, and present what you learn to your den.
  3. Build a robot hand. Show how it works like a human hand and how it is different from a human hand.
  4. Build your own robot.
  5. Visit a place that uses robots.

Salmon Run
  1. Explain the safety rules that you need to follow before participating in boating.
  2. Identify the equipment needed when going boating.
  3. Demonstrate correct rowing or paddling form. Explain how rowing and canoeing are good exercise.
  4. Explain the importance of response personnel or lifeguards in a swimming area.
  5. Show how to do both a reach rescue and a throw rescue.
  6. Visit a local pool or swimming area with your den or family, and go swimming.
  7. Demonstrate the front crawl swim stroke to your den or family.
  8. Name the three swimming ability groups for the Boy Scouts of America.
  9. Attempt to earn the BSA beginner swim classification.
Super Science
  1. Make static electricity by rubbing a balloon or a plastic or rubber comb on a fleece blanket or wool sweater. Explain what you learned.
  2. Conduct a balloon or other static electricity investigation that demonstrates properties of static electricity. Explain what you learned.
  3. Conduct one other static electricity investigation. Explain what you learned.
  4. Do a sink-or-float investigation. Explain what you learned.
  5. Do a color-morphing investigation. Explain what you learned.
  6. Do a color-layering investigation. Explain what you learned.
A World of Sound
  1. Make an mbira.
  2. Make a sistrum.
  3. Make a rain stick.