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Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth social movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports. Another widely recognized movement characteristic is the Scout uniform, by intent hiding all differences of social standing in a country and encouraging equality, with neckerchief and campaign hat or comparable headwear. Distinctive uniform insignia include the fleur-de-lis and the trefoil, as well as merit badges and other patches.

In 1907, Robert Baden-Powell, a lieutenant general in the British Army held a Scouting encampment on Brownsea Island in England. Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys (London, 1908), partly based on his earlier military books. The Scout Movement of both Boy Scouts and Girl Guides (renamed to Girl Scouts in some countries) was well established in the first decade of the twentieth century. Later, programs for younger children, such as Wolf Cubs (1916), now Cubs, and for older adolescents, such as Rovers (1918), were adopted by some Scout organizations. In 1910, Baden-Powell formed the Girl Guides, for girls in the United Kingdom which spread internationally as Girl Guides and includes age programs of (Brownie Guide, Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Ranger Guide).

In 2007, Scouting and Guiding together had over 38 million members in 216 countries. International umbrella organizations include: World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), for boys-only and co-educational organizations: World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), primarily for girls-only organizations but also accepting co-educational organizations, World Federation of Independent Scouts, World Organization of Independent Scouts, Order of World Scouts, International Union of Guides and Scouts of Europe, and Confederation of European Scouts. (Full article...)

Robert Baden-Powell with future Scouts on Brownsea Island

The Brownsea Island Scout camp was the site of a boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England, organised by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Boys from different social backgrounds participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. The event is regarded as the origin of the worldwide Scout movement.

Up to the early 1930s, Boy Scouts continued to camp on Brownsea Island. In 1963, a formal 50-acre (20 ha) Scout campsite was opened by Olave Baden-Powell when the island became a nature conservation area owned by the National Trust. In 1973, a Scout Jamboree with six hundred Scouts was held on the island. (Full article...)
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  • 1937 – First National Jamboree, held at Washington, DC. Ran June 30-July 9. Was to have been in 1935, but was cancelled due to a polio epidemic.
  • 1950 – Second National Jamboree, held at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, begins. Ran June 30-July 6.

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