cub scout bear requirements adventures

Cub Scouting is all about adventure!  To earn their rank badge, Bear Cub Scouts complete seven “adventures,” which are collections of themed, multidisciplinary activities.  They also complete safety exercises.  Below, you'll find the exact requirements.

For your convenience, this page also has the activities to be completed for each adventure. Look for them further down the page.

Bear Rank Requirements

1. Complete each of the following Bear required adventures with your den or family:

  • Bobcat
  • Bear Habitat
  • Bear Strong
  • Paws for Action
  • Standing Tall
  • Fellowship

2. Complete one Bear elective adventure of your den or family’s choosing.

and watch the Protect Yourself Rules video for your grade.

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Click on the arrow by the adventure you want to review.  This will show the activities for the adventure and will give you a link to a page with the articles I've written to help you and your Cub Scout complete them.

Bear Required Adventures

Your Cub Scout must complete all six of these adventures to earn his Bear badge.

Bear Adventure: Bobcat

  1. Get to know the members of your den.
  2. Recite the Scout Oath and the Scout Law with your den and den leader.
  3. Learn about the Scout Oath. Identify the three points of the Scout Oath.
  4. With your den, create a Den Code of Conduct.
  5. Learn about the denner position and responsibilities.
  6. Demonstrate the Cub Scout sign, Cub Scout salute, and Cub Scout handshake. Show how each is used.
  7. Share with your den or family a time when you demonstrated the Cub Scout motto “Do Your Best.” Explain why it is important to do your best.

At home, with your parent or legal guardian, do the activities in the booklet “How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide.”

Bear Adventure: Bear Habitat

  1. Prepare for a one-mile walk by gathering the Cub Scout Six Essentials and weather-appropriate clothing and shoes.
  2. “Know Before You Go” Identify the location of your walk on a map and confirm your one-mile route.
  3. “Choose the Right Path” Learn about the path and surrounding area you’ll be walking on.
  4. “Trash Your Trash” Make a plan for what you’ll do with your personal trash or trash you find along the trail.
  5. “Leave What You Find” Take pictures along your walk or bring a sketchbook to draw five things that you want to remember on your walk.
  6. “Be Careful With Fire” Determine the fire danger rating along your path.
  7. “Respect Wildlife” From a safe distance, identify as you look up, down, and around you, six signs of any mammals, birds, insects, or reptiles.
  8. “Be Kind to Other Visitors” Identify what you need to do as a den to be kind to others on the path.
  9. With your den, pack, or family, go on your one-mile walk while practicing your Leave No Trace Principles for Kids.

Bear Adventure: Bear Strong

  1. Sample food from three of the following food groups: protein, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and grains.
  2. Be active for 30 minutes with your den or at least one other person in a way that includes both stretching and moving.
  3. Be active for 15 minutes by doing personal exercises that boost your heart rate, use your muscles, and work on flexibility.
  4. Do a relaxing activity for 10 minutes.
  6. Review your BSA Annual Health and Medical Record with your parent or legal guardian. Discuss your ability to participate in den and pack activities.

Bear Adventure: Paws for Action

Bear Cub Scout Paws for Action

Paws for Action adventure suggestions

  1. Familiarize yourself with the flag of the United States of America including the history, demonstrating how to raise and lower the flag, how to properly fold and display, and the United States flag etiquette.
  2. Identify three symbols that represent the United States. Pick your favorite and make a model, work of art, or other craft that depicts the symbol.
  3. Learn about the mission of any nonprofit. Find out how they fund their activities and how volunteers are used to help.
  4. Participate in a service project.

Bear Adventure: Standing Tall

  1. With permission from your parent or legal guardian, watch the “Protect Yourself Rules” video for the Bear rank.
  2. Complete the Personal Space Bubble worksheet that is part of the Protect Yourself Rules resources.
  3. With your parent or legal guardian, set up a family policy for digital devices.
  4. Identify common personal safety gear for your head, eyes, mouth and nose, hands, and feet. List how each of these items protect you. Demonstrate the proper use of personal safety gear for an activity.

Bear Adventure: Fellowship

Bear Cub Scout Fellowship and Duty to God
  1. With your parent or legal guardian, talk about your family’s faith traditions. Identify three holidays or celebrations that are part of your family’s faith traditions. Make a craft, work of art, or a food item that is part of your favorite family’s faith tradition holiday or celebration.
  2. With your family, attend a religious service OR other gathering that shows how your family expresses reverence.
  3. Carry out an act of kindness.
  4. With your parent or legal guardian, identify a religion or faith that is different from your own. Determine two things that it has in common with your family’s beliefs.

Bear Elective Adventures

Your Bear must complete ONE of these adventures to earn his Bear rank badge.  But you aren't limited to just one–your family or your den may choose to do as many of these as you would like.

Bear Elective Adventure: A Bear Goes Fishing

Bear Cub Scout A Bear Goes Fishing

A Bear Goes Fishing adventure ideas

  1. Learn about three types of fish in your area.
  2. Learn about your local fishing regulations with your den leader or another adult.
  3. List three of the regulations you learned about and one reason each regulation exists.
  4. Become familiar with the safe use of the fishing equipment you use on your outing.
  5. Learn the proper way to attach the hook, lure, or fly to the line.
  6. Go on a fishing adventure, and for 30 minutes or more, put into practice the things you have learned about fish and fishing equipment.

Bear Elective Adventure: Balancing Bears

  1. Make trail mix using trail mix math.
  2. Identify an animal that has a pattern to its physical appearance. Investigate how the animal uses its pattern.
  3. Find examples of bilateral symmetry in nature.
  4. Find examples of radial symmetry in nature.

Bear Elective Adventure: Baloo the Builder

Bear Baloo The Builder

Fun ideas for the Baloo the Builder adventure

  1. 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.
  2. Practice using four of the tools you learned about in requirement 1.
  3. Choose a project to build.
  4. Determine the tools and materials needed to build your project in requirement 3.
  5. Build your project.

Bear Elective Adventure: Bears Afloat

  1. Before attempting requirements 6 and 7 for this Adventure, you must pass the BSA swimmer test.
  2. Pick a paddle craft you’ll use to complete all requirements: canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddle board.
  3. With your den or an adult, discuss the role of qualified adult supervision at a paddle-craft activity.
  4. Explain the safety rules to follow when safely using a paddle craft.
  5. Discover how to tell if a life jacket is the correct size and approved for your paddle-craft activity. Demonstrate how to wear it.
  6. Explore how your paddle craft responds as you move your paddle through the water from different places.
  7. Have 30 minutes, or more, of canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddle board paddle time.

Bear Elective Adventure: Bears on Bikes

  1. Show how to properly wear a bicycle helmet.
  2. Decide what you should wear when riding a bike.
  3. Demonstrate proper hand signals.
  4. Demonstrate how to adjust saddle height.
  5. Demonstrate how to operate brakes.
  6. Learn how to use a pump to inflate your tires. Discuss why riding with low-pressure or flat tires is unsafe and can cause damage to your bike.
  7. With your den, pack, or family, follow the buddy system, and go on a 30-minute bike ride.

Bear Elective Adventure: Champions for Nature

  1. Discover natural resources.
  2. Discover what happens to the wastewater in your community.
  3. Investigate soil.
  4. Investigate air pollution.
  5. Participate in a conservation project.

Bear Elective Adventure: Chef Tech

  1. Pick a kitchen appliance that uses technology to complete the following requirements.
  2. With an adult, review the safety guidelines in the owner’s manual and follow all safety guidelines.
  3. With adult supervision, download a cooking app or search online to find a recipe.
  4. With adult supervision, follow the selected recipe and make the recipe.
  5. Think of a way technology can improve the appliance used to make your recipe.

Bear Elective Adventure: Critter Care

Bear Cub Scout Critter Care

Suggestions for the Critter Care adventure

  1. Identify an animal that would be a good pet for your family.
  2. Choose two animals that are allowed as pets in your community. Compare and contrast why these pets may be a good choice for you.
  3. Based on your choice in requirement 1, investigate how to properly care for your chosen animal.
  4. Discover three ways a pet can help people.

Bear Elective Adventure: Forensics

Bear Cub Scout Forensics

Fun ideas for the Forensics adventure

FORENSICS ADVENTURE

  1. Explore the term “forensics” and how it is used to help solve crimes.
  2. Analyze your fingerprints.
  3. Make a shoe imprint.
  4. Do an analysis of four different substances: salt, sugar, baking soda and cornstarch.
  5. Learn about chromatography and how it is used in solving crimes.
  6. Find out how officers collect evidence.

Bear Elective Adventure: Let's Camp

  1. Review the buddy system and how it works in the outdoors.
  2. Pack your Cub Scout Six Essentials for the campout.
  3. In addition to your Cub Scout Six Essentials, show the personal items you need for your campout.
  4. Help set up a tent. Determine a good spot for the tent. Explain why you picked the spot.
  5. Attend a council or district Cub Scout overnight camp or attend an overnight campout with your pack.

Bear Elective Adventure: Marble Madness

Bear Cub Scout Marble Madness

Marble Madness adventure activities

  1. Make a marble bag.
  2. Learn five words that are used when talking about marbles.
  3. Play three different marble games.
  4. Build a marble racetrack with at least two lanes.
  5. Build a marble maze.

Bear Elective Adventure: Race Time

  1. With an adult, build either a The Pinewood Derby® and Raingutter Regatta™ .
  2. Learn the rules of the race for the vehicle chosen in requirement 1.
  3. Identify how you could increase the speed of your chosen vehicle.
  4. Before the race, discuss with your den how you will demonstrate good sportsmanship during the race.
  5. Participate in a Pinewood Derby or a Raingutter Regatta.

Bear Elective Adventures: Roaring Laughter

Bear Cub Scout Roaring Laughter

Suggestions for the Roaring Laughter adventure

  1. Think about what makes you laugh. Discuss these with your den or family.
  2. Practice reading tongue twisters.
  3. Play charades with your den or family.
  4. Have a “funniest joke contest” with your den or family.
  5. Practice “run-ons” with your den or family.

Bear Elective Adventures: Salmon Run

Bear Cub Scout Salmon Run

Salmon Run adventure recommendations

  1. With your den or an adult, identify the attributes of qualified adult supervision at a swimming activity.
  2. Learn the three swimming ability groups for the Boy Scouts of America and the water depths appropriate for each.
  3. Go swimming with your den, pack, or family for 30 minutes using the buddy system.
  4. Demonstrate the use of the buddy system, buddy checks, and ability groups with your den or an adult.
  5. Attempt the BSA beginner swim test.
  6. Demonstrate both a reach rescue and a throw rescue.

Bear Elective Adventure: Summertime Fun

Anytime during May through August participate in a total of 3 Cub Scout activities.

Bear Elective Adventures: Super Science

Bear Cub Scout Super Science

Fun ideas for this adventure coming soon!

  1. Ask a question. (What do you want to discover?)
  2. Do research. (What have other scientists already learned?)
  3. Make a good guess at the answer. (This guess is called a hypothesis.)
  4. Test your hypothesis with an experiment. (This is the fun part!)
  5. Decide whether your hypothesis was supported by the information you collected.
  6. Share what you discovered.

Bear Elective Adventure: Whittling Adventure

  1. Read, understand, and promise to follow the “Cub Scout Knife Safety Rules.”
  2. Demonstrate the knife safety circle.
  3. Demonstrate that you know how to care for and use your pocketknife safely.
  4. Make two carvings with a pocketknife.