Tiger Scout Outings

As you embark on the journey of becoming the Tiger Scout den leader or assistant den leader, there is so much fun ahead for you and your scouts. The Tiger Scout year is full of fun crafts, games, and outdoor adventures to keep everyone interested and going strong throughout the year. With this comes many choices as well: would your group prefer being active or would they rather do quieter activities? This guide helps scout leaders to organize their Tiger Scout outings to plan for their upcoming year.

Tiger Scouts need to complete the 6 required adventures and 1 extra elective adventure in order to earn Tiger rank. There are so many different electives to choose from that this is where getting to know your group helps. Plus, one of the required elective is a family driven elective, so your group really needs to focus on only 6 electives to earn their Tiger rank. Of course many groups try to complete other electives as well because they have the time and desire.

Map out the Tiger Scout Schedule

Most Tiger groups meet 2 – 3 times a month. They usually plan 1 or 2 den meetings and 1 den outing each month. This may seem like a lot right now, but once you drive into planning, it is very manageable. Each adventure takes at least one meeting and sometimes two meetings to complete. Many adventures also have a required or optional outing to make planning outings so easy.

Tiger Scout Schedule Planning Tips

1. Be sure to check your calendar to see when the pack meetings and big events are so that you don’t plan a den meeting for the same day.
2. Mark out holidays and school events on your calendar (curriculum nights, conferences, open house)
3. Mark out pack and council big events (Pinewood derby, camp, overnight trips, campouts)
4. Talk with your den’s leaders to see if there are any conflicts with weekends or dates. These could be dance recitals, graduations, martial arts tournaments, etc. If a leader has a conflict, chances are that other scout families might too.
5. Once you have your dates planned, take a look at which adventures you want to work on. Begin with the required adventures then move on to the elective adventures. To see our plan, be sure to check out our First Tiger meeting and our Planning the Tiger Scout Year: Meetings posts.

You will need to plan a few outings throughout the year. These can be done in place of your den meeting or in addition to your monthly meetings. Many of these outings work best on a weekend, but some may be planned for during the week.

Tiger Scout OUTINGS for Required Electives

Required Outings – Hike and Service Unit Project

To earn the required adventures, you will need to plan at least 1 hike and 1 service project. Hiking can be done almost anywhere, but many of your local forest preserve systems have some great shorter hikes just right for Tigers. We have found that 1 – 2 miles is plenty for the beginning hikes. While on the hike, there are so many different requirements that can be completed. Grouping as many requirements together as possible makes your year more efficient and tracking easier. My Tiger Jungle 1 – 3, Tigers in the Wild 2 – 4, 6

For your hike, be as prepared as possible. Make sure that the Tiger Scouts bring their 6 essentials of hiking and know where you are meeting. To know exactly where to park, it is useful to take a drive over and scope out the hike before your den arrives. This way you know the closest parking lot and can all meet together.

Our pack does a great job of planning many different service projects for the scouts to participate in throughout the year. Our charter unit invites us to assist with their fish fry and tree/wreath sales. We usually have an event with Bernie’s Book Bank and Feed my Starving Children. If you need a service project that is easy, host a local park clean up day or contact one of the local Boy Scout camp locations to assist with clean up there. Team Tiger 4, Tiger Circles 4, Earning Your Stripes 6, Good Knights 6

Optional Tiger Scout Outings

To complete the required electives, there are also 3 different outings that can be included into your year to meet the requirements. These outings are optional for completing the adventures. Therefore, these outings can also be replaced with a different part of the adventure if you want to skip an other outing. However, if your scouts love getting outside or going somewhere knew, it might be a great idea to include these in your plans.

One is to attend a sporting event and talk with a player or coach. This is great for the winter when you want a change of pace. If any of your scouts has an older sibling, this can be a great way to plan for this outing while supporting your local community. Otherwise, college, high school and middle school teams love the support of the scouts and many minor league teams will take the time to talk with the scouts. Games Tigers Play 5

Also, the scouts should participate in an outdoor pack meeting or campfire. Our pack does a wonderful job of planning a variety of campfire opportunities and at least one outdoor pack meeting. If your pack is not as organized, you can plan a little campfire at home, a local park, or forest preserve. These are best planned for early evening and the scouts can roast marshmallows and perform jokes or skits. Tigers in the Wild 5

Lastly, you can visit a Nature Center, Zoo, or other outdoor place. We have had some great luck with little local nature centers in the area that welcome the scouts and love sharing their expertise. Plus, so many of these are free or only a few dollars a scout. Because many of these are smaller, they can involve a 1 – 2 hour outing. A trip to the zoo is usually a little more expensive and calls for a longer day. Again, scout groups may prefer to try these outings in the fall or spring, but usually nature centers and zoos are open year round. They also tend to be less crowded in the winter. Tigers in the Wild 7

Additional Tiger Scout Outings for Elective Adventures

We have found 8 of the elective adventures have an optional outing. Some of these electives require the outing and for other electives scouts can meet the requirements without the outing.

Family Stories

For Family Stories, you can plan an optional trip to the local library where your scouts can learn more about their family heritage. This is a great trip to ask for a librarian to be available to assist the scouts and their families with locating books and using the library online resources.

If you plan a trip to the library, pair the trip with finding out what your name means and locating where your family is from on a map. This is a great time to call ahead to the librarian and ask them to pull some books for your scouts.

This trip is completely optional. The adventure can be earned without taking any trips.

Floats and Boats

Floats and Boats requires the use of a pool, lake, or other body of water. The scouts need to demonstrate how to enter the water safely, blow out their breath under the water, and prone glide.

This adventure requires this outing. You will need to meet at a body of water in order to meet the requirements for this adventure.

Rolling Tigers

Rolling Tigers asks for the scouts to go on a bike ride. Be sure to require the scouts to wear helmets if you choose this adventure. Also, plan to have a range of skills when planning the bike ride. Some scouts can ride a 2-wheel bike, while others will still need their training wheels. And of course, you will have some adult partners that are able to ride a bike and others that need to walk with their child. In addition, you may have some younger siblings too!

You can also visit a local police station for this outing to learn about bike safety. Be sure to let the office know that you want to focus on bike riding laws, especially those young children and their families need to know.

This adventure has two optional outings. While you can meet this adventure without completing either outing, we recommend pairing this adventure with the bike ride.

The Sky Is the Limit

The Sky is the Limit requires the scouts to observe the night sky using a telescope or binoculars. There are many amateur astronomy clubs around that would love to share their interests with the scouts. These types of clubs often set up their telescopes, viewers, and computers for anyone to take a peek. Plus many of these amateur astronomers love sharing their knowledge with young scouts. The trick here becomes finding a location with limited light pollution and clouds that will cooperate with the viewing.

This adventure requires this outing. You will need to observe the night sky in order to meet the requirements for this adventure.

Stories in Shapes

Stories in Shapes asks the scouts to visit an art gallery or museum to enjoy a variety of art. There are many local free exhibits at community colleges, art studios, and libraries. Sometimes you will get lucky and find a local children’s museum with an art exhibit. This can be extra fun for the scouts because they can view some incredible art but also make their own.

This outing is completely optional. The adventure can be earned during a Tiger Scout meeting by viewing and making your own art.

Tiger: Safe and Smart

Tiger: Safe and Smart has an option to visit an emergency responder station. The local fire department and police departments are great places to visit and they usually welcome the scouts. Other fun places to visit include community college fire and police services, helicopter or plane paramedics, airport fire and police services, private ambulance companies, and military bases. For more support, don’t miss our Tiger Safe and Smart meeting agenda with additional Bobcat rank activities.

This outing is optional. This adventure can be earned without visiting an emergency responder station, however, most Tiger Scouts love this type of outing. Plus the local fire and police departments love working with the scouts. Be sure to bring a treat to share with them and plan to drop off some thank you cards from the scouts.

You could even ask the fire department to talk about “Stop, Drop, and Roll” and how to use a fire blanket to meet the required aspects of the adventure.

Tiger Tales

Tiger Tales includes an optional outing to an historical museum or landmark. Your den can choose which they might wish to attend. These can be fun for your scouts to learn a little more about their town or community.

This trip is optional. This adventure can be earned without completing this outing.

Tiger Theater

Finally, Tiger Theater has the option to attend a play or story time. Local libraries usually have free plays and story times for the community. You can also find cheaper options by looking into the local high school or community college. Many of these offer programs for children in the fall or spring, so it is best to plan this early. And your local high school and community college would love the scout’s support. You may even find you can meet some of the actors or set designers.

This adventure can be meet without this outing. Attending a play or story time is completely optional.

If you have worked with Tiger Cub Scouts or are just starting your Tiger Scout year, drop us a comment below and let us know what you loved about Tiger Scouts, what you are most looking forward to, or what you would like more help with throughout the year. We are happy to provide any additional support we can and would love to celebrate your Tiger Scout year with you.

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.