scouting

Activities of various national and worldwide organizations for youth aimed at developing character, citizenship, and individual skills. Scouting began when Robert S. Baden-Powell published Scouting for Boys (1908), in which he described the games and contests he used to train cavalry troops in scouting, envisioning small groups of boys who would learn tracking, reconnaissance, mapping, and other outdoor skills under a peer leader. The Boy Scouts, as established by Baden-Powell, was for boys 11–15 years old. The concept became so popular that separate organizations for girls (Girl Guides, or Girl Scouts, 1910) and for younger boys (Wolf Cubs, or Cub Scouts, 1916) and older boys (Explorers) were also formed.