Cub Scout and Boy Scout Programs

Bear Cub, Wolf Cub, and Webelos Scouts can earn or work towards badges through the Center for History's engaging programs. The Center's Boy Scout Badge Labs combine required Boy Scout activities with an interactive historical experience.

Cub Scout Programs

Marching in the Civil War
Cub Scouts will experience life as a Cavalry soldier in the Civil War during this interactive program. As the scouts take on the role of a soldier, they will have to pass some simple tests before they can be mustered into the army. They will explore camp life and the difference between the infantry, artillery and cavalry. The young men will practice marching in formation and realize how difficult it was to do drills on a horse; discover how to take care of their horse and search for food when military rations didn’t make it to camp; and hear true stories about life as a Civil War soldier. $6 per scout

Become a Cemetery Detective
Explore Wheaton Cemetery and search for mausoleums, monuments and headstones offering clues to the past and familiar family names. This intriguing guided tour of the cemetery investigates symbols on tombstones and reveals tales of former Wheaton residents. Program begins in front of the E. H. Gary mausoleum in Wheaton Cemetery, 1209 Warrenville Road, Wheaton. $7 per scout

What Makes A City?
Explore downtown Wheaton in a walking tour that will reveal the evolution of a city from its founding to the popcorn shop and beyond. Every town has a unique history but the story of Wheaton is filled with captivating tales of people, businesses, and how it became the county seat of DuPage. Everywhere you look there are clues to the development of Wheaton , such as the year the former train station was built or what it means when a building has two dates on it. Scouts will have fun looking high and low for answers to these and many more questions. $6.50 per scout

Boy Scout Programs

Civil War: Brothers Against Brothers program gives a first hand account of this treacherous battle in America from 1861-1865. Once the South divided the Nation and created the Confederacy, the wages of war effective everyone. This program will have students muster into the army and discover how males under 18 years of age or women successfully enter the military; complete tasks of cavalrymen and secure food for their mount; practice drills and formations for marching and during battle; discover 19th Century medical practices for wounded soldiers and what mothers, wives and siblings were doing to help on and off the battlefield. $6 per scout

History on Two Wheels
Hop on your bike and pedal into the past on a leisurely bike tour of north Wheaton narrated by museum staff. Begin at the museum at 606 N. Main Street and ride to Wheaton College, journey through downtown Wheaton on the Prairie Path, and tour neighborhoods to discover architectural styles and where some of Wheaton’s National Celebrities lived. The tour is a unique way to find out how a tiny Midwestern town grew into a prosperous suburban community. Tour ends at the museum at 315 W. Front Street. 2 hour tour - $10 per person (minimum 10 people, great for a father/son program)

NO RIGHTS! The Injustices of Slavery program covers slavery in America, abolition and the Underground Railroad. The five stations are: Capture in Africa and Passage to America; Control of the Enslaved; True Escape Stories; Life on the Plantation; Abolition & Shelter at an Underground Railroad Station. Each segment involves role-playing and participation from being taken from your home in Africa by people speaking a foreign language; boarding a ship then being sold to strangers; living in a cabin and forced to work; trying to run to be free; and reliving true escape stories. $6 per person

Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs can be scheduled any day and time convenient for your troop.

Programs are held at the museum, unless stated otherwise:
315 W. Front Street, 2nd Floor (above Gino’s East Pizza), Wheaton, IL

Please contact the Center for History for information on programs for Cub Scout, Bear Scouts or Webelos.