The BSA Capitol Area Council has started a new program that concentrates on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). On September 28-30 some of the Scouts from Blanco Troop 497 went to the 1st annual STEM campout at Lost Pines Boy Scout Camp in Bastrop, Texas. The boys were split up into Patrols of six scouts from different troops. Every Scout earned their Engineering and Chemistry badges during numerous workshops that focused on the requirements for the two badges. Instructors involved in the workshops were experts in their fields of study and involved the boys in real-life situations. Classes included different types of chemistry experiments, from DNA testing to a criminal case on an oil spill. The scouts enjoyed the developing, designing, building and testing a catapult, particularly the catapult ‘shoot off’ on the last day.