29 Cubs and Scouts from 1st Purley & Pangbourne visited the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire during half term as part of a Scout Takeover Day fully supported and funded by the Royal Air Force.

Participants enjoyed a range of activities during the day, all linked to the staged Air Activities badge, as they immersed themselves into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The Cubs and Scouts started their experience with an introduction to weaponry, handling ammunition and controlling a Bofor and Bren gun. During their visit, they also learned about the phonetic alphabet, worked as a team to assemble a Hurricane, which they later saw for real in the museum. They built and launched cardboard gliders and had the chance to meet serving members of the RAF, who sponsor the Air Activities badges across all Scout sections.

The young people learned about onboard safety equipment to understand how pilots would be protected in the event of landing on water. They also got to ride on a 1920s bus, tried their hands at code breaking and watched some light aircraft taking off and landing, all while learning about airfield safety.

The feedback from those in attendance was unanimously positive with plenty of highlights:

“The best thing was aiming the gun!”

“I enjoyed the bus ride best of all.”

“I liked watching the planes taking off.”

“Learning about the uniforms and kit was really interesting.”

“I loved building the paper plane.”

One of the parents added: “I didn’t know if it was something that they would have liked but they loved it!”

Learn more about the Royal Air Force and their support of Scouting and keep an eye out for Scout Takeover Days taking place in 2025.