Where We Meet
We meet at Covenant United Methodist Church on Duval Road in northwest Austin. Most of our scouts are from Davis Elementary School or nearby private and charter schools.
Covenant United Methodist Church
4410 Duval Road
Austin, TX 78727
When We Meet
Pack meetings are typically the second Sunday of each month at 4:00 pm.
Scouts also meet with their “den” (scouts of the same grade level) once a month to work on skills and activities appropriate for their age group. Den meetings are typically on the first Sunday of each month in the afternoon at a time chosen by the parent-volunteer den leader.
Den and pack meetings are usually 1 to 1.5 hours. Parents are expected to be present at most den and pack meetings, especially when their scout is younger. Meetings might slide to a different Sunday or be skipped altogether in months when there is a campout or major school holiday.
A full schedule of meetings, campouts, and special events is shared with parents at the beginning of the school year and managed in Scoutbook, our parents-only website.
Key dates for the 2023-24 school year can be found here.
Overnight Trips
Pack 421 organizes three overnight trips per school year:
a fall campout (typically in late October)
a spring campout (typically in late March), and
a sleepover at a zoo, science center, or cultural center (typically in early November or early December).
These overnights are for the whole pack and always lots of fun. Not to be missed! (Older dens for grades 4 and 5 may, in addition to the pack campouts, organize their own den campouts.)
One parent must attend the overnight with their scout; we welcome siblings to attend, as well. On campouts your scout will sleep with you in your tent. If your family is not accustomed to camping, don’t worry; the pack will help you prepare, and all of the meals are cooked in camp by the pack.
Total time away from home for an overnight trip is usually not more than 24 hours (midday Saturday to midday Sunday). Most campouts are at state parks within 1- to 1.5-hours drive from Austin. The science or cultural center sleepover may be a bit further, for example: NASA Space Center in Houston, the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, or the Dallas-Ft. Worth Zoo. Families normally drive themselves, but some families carpool.
Note: Every parent or legal guardian who attends an overnight trip is required to complete the BSA’s Youth Protection Training, a 70-minute online course. This training is valid for 2 years. If your scout will be accompanied by a relative or other adult who is not a legal guardian, additional requirements apply.
Special Events
Besides the overnight trips, there are two other major annual events on the pack calendar.
Pinewood Derby: Each year in the spring, our pack runs a Pinewood Derby where scouts race small, wooden toy cars that they build from a kit with the help of parents. Some scouts try to build the fastest car, while others focus on creative designs. We offer awards for both!
Blue & Gold Banquet: Also in the spring, our pack hosts an awards banquet where we celebrate the anniversary of Scouting and recognize our oldest Cub Scouts who are advancing from 5th grade to middle school where they will continue their Scouting journey in a Scouts BSA troop with other Scouts age 11-17 to hopefully earn the coveted Eagle Scout rank. Our pack feeds into several excellent, local Scouts BSA troops for boys and girls.
Summertime Activities
Pack Outings: During summer months (June, July, August) there are no pack or den meetings, but the pack does organize several “outings” for scouts who want to get together for a fun activity like roller skating, bowling, visiting a climbing gym, exploring a cave, touring the Texas Capitol, going to the top of the UT Tower, etc.
Summer Camps: Our local BSA council offers day camps and resident camps in the summer. At these camps, Cub Scouts can swim, fish, shoot archery and BB guns, do scoutcraft, and many other fun activities. These opportunities are normally advertised in the early spring.
Advancement
Scouting recognizes achievement through ranks and awards. This is called “advancement”.
In den meetings, scouts work toward their ranks together. Most tasks for advancement are completed at the den meetings or on the overnights, but a few requirements need to be done with the family at home. Scouts can also work on elective adventures to earn extra awards. Summer camps and other district/council events provide additional opportunities for scouts to earn achievements.
Den leaders and parents track advancement using a website called Scoutbook.
Click here if you’d like to learn more about advancement.
Learn about why we wear the cub scout uniform, our Pack’s “Class B” uniform, which uniform pieces we require, and even how you can easily sew badges in place! Click here to learn more about Cub Scout uniforms.