Creating a Tiger Time Capsule

Hello fellow Scouters,

If you are a Tiger leader, you are taking on your first steps on a truly wonderful adventure. Your boys will be in the same den until sometime towards the end of the 5th grade (the exact time in the year depends on when your pack bridges to Boy Scouts). Since your boys are so young, and just starting the path of Scouting, a great way to preserve this time in their lives is by making a Tiger time capsule. (Please note that this is directed primarily to Tiger den leaders, but any rank can do this.)

You can add anything you want in your Tiger time capsule. You can include: photos of the individual scouts, a beginning den photo, a sheet written by them of what they like to do, games they like to play, etc, a note from their parents, a craft they did, and anything else you can think of. And the container can be anything you want, as long as it fits what you put in it. I would highly recommend labeling the container clearly, to help it stay visible throughout the years.

For my Tiger den, I did a photo-only time capsule. I took two sheets of large construction paper, pasted a picture of each boy on it and had them sign their names. I also had a picture from our first den meeting. My time capsule wasn’t very imaginative, and I wish I had done more. But at least we had something to pull out at the end of our time as Cub Scouts this past February.

Also, you don’t have to keep it sealed until the boys complete the Cub Scout program. It can be opened and added to each year – even if just a photo of the scouts or a den photo. But please treat it as gold! It’s something you don’t want to lose, so be careful who you entrust it to.

At our last den meeting this past February, I created a slide show of our years in the program. It was different than the slideshow that I created for our Blue and Gold banquet. The one I had for the den was much more personal. We had 6 of our original Tigers still in the den, and it was a great time to reflect on our years together, before we went our separate ways. And the memories we had from our Tiger year were the most special.

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The 5 years of Cub Scouts goes so fast. Having a time capsule is a great way to preserve memories and teach the boys that memories need to be preserved. As we are at the beginning of our Cub Scout year, please consider taking a “snap shot” of the boys at this stage in their lives by creating a Tiger time capsule. And if you are not a Tiger leader, please pass this on to the Tiger leaders in your pack.  By making this time capsule, your Tiger den will have a wonderful reminder of the start of the Cub Scout journey when they are ready to move on to the adventure that awaits them in Boy Scouts.

In Scouting,

 – Scouter Jeff <><