Helping Boy Scouts of America Engage a New Generation

08/31/18

The Boy Scouts asked ViewPoint Interactive Solutions to create an interactive kiosk-based experience to share with Base Camp visitors information on scouting and provide details on the various activities available at the Milton facility. From archery, rock climbing and a 50-foot ropes course to outdoor-cooking, canoeing and swimming, the flagship Base Camp offers something for everyone.

ViewPoint’s user experience (UX) design team curated content provided by the Council to create a compelling digital experience that speaks to both campers and their parents. “We asked ViewPoint to help us enhance the way we communicate with our campers, their families and our other visitors,” said Chuck Eaton, Chief Executive Officer at Spirit of Adventure Council BSA. “We have a lot of information to convey in a short time frame, which is why it was so important our kiosk was really eye-catching and fun to use.”

The large-format interactive kiosk features three main categories of content: information on Base Camp itself, including interactive maps and details on activities; information on scouts, including a whole section of short bios on past troop leaders; and a link to sign up for BSA.

(Base Camp is open to the public — families, school groups, scout troops and corporate teams — so not all visitors are currently involved in scouts. The Council hopes to encourage BSA membership by making it simple and convenient to sign up.)

The kiosk is prominently positioned in the Base Camp lobby, drawing the attention of many of the more than 25,000 visitors who pass through annually, including 5,000 from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and the rest from New England.

About New England Base Camp

The Spirit of Adventure Council (the Council) is the largest Boy Scouts of America (BSA) council in Massachusetts, serving 77 communities in the Greater Boston and North Shore areas. The Council’s mission is to “serve others by helping to instill values in young people and in other ways prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime in achieving their full potential. ”

Outdoor skills and leadership development have been synonymous with the Boy Scouts for more than a century. Today, through the Council the Boy Scouts own and operate New England Base Camp at Blue Hills, a one-of-a-kind outdoor education adventure space in Milton, Mass. The flagship property is located in the Blue Hills Reservation, surrounded by 8,000 acres of wilderness.

"You guys are a joy to work with. Really responsive."

— Chuck Eaton, CEO, Spirit of Adventure Council BSA

Connecting Today's Campers with Yesterday's Scouts

While the interactive map gets a lot of use, it is the section on past scout leaders that really gets people talking. "We wanted a way to not only engage today's campers, but also help connect them to their parents' own experiences as scouts," explained Chuck Eaton, Chief Executive Officer at Spirit of Adventure Council BSA. "It provides parents with both a dose of nostalgia — I wonder what my troop leader is up to these days? — and an opportunity to share their fond recollections of scouting with their children."

Scout leaders from decades past are searchable by several metrics, including county and town. Can't find your leader? No worries. Eaton can easily add to the ViewPoint database.

"Everyone at ViewPoint has been really responsive. And creative," Eaton said. "We had a very general idea of what we thought our interactive kiosk could look like and ViewPoint took our concept and made it far, far better than we’d ever imagined."

— Chuck Eaton, CEO, Spirit of Adventure Council BSA