Santa Maria Cub Scout Camp offering kids a fun and educational experience

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A group of local Cub Scouts are taking part in a weeklong camp in Santa Maria that offers boys and girls a wide variety of fun and educational experiences.

Held at Pioneer Park, the camp is for kids ages 5-to-10-years-old who are in involved with local Cub Scout packs located in Northern Santa Barbara County.

Over the course of each day, campers rotate to several different stations where they take part in Scout-related activities.

"They're learning but they're having the time of their lives, and they don't that they're learning," said April Wright-Litchfield, Los Padres Council District Director. "That's the best part about it. We are sneaking in that little educational component while they're having a good time."

On Thursday, some of the activities Scouts included shooting BB guns, working with leather, playing homemade musical instruments, and performing physical fitness routines.

"This is really important for these young scouts because it gets to teach them a lot of skills that they don't normally get to learn at their house or any other places," said Boy Scout Travis Hinshaw, who once attended the camp as a Cub Scout, but is now serving as a counselor. "These are unique skills that I think are really forward in moving forward in their lives."

Guest speakers are also part of the camp schedule. On Thursday, campers were visited by a member of the U.S. Forest Service.

Due to the pandemic, the long running camp has been canceled for the past three years, so this year's edition, which is themed "Wild Wild West," marks the return of the event for the first time since 2019.

"I was really upset with that because I honestly really enjoy going to this camp and participating, and so this year once I found out it's happening again, I was really excited to get going."

The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day and will conclude on Friday, July 14.