Pittston Cub Scout receives Supernova Award

GARDINER — Cub Scout Pack 672 held its annual Blue and Gold awards night May 21 at Christ Episcopal Church. Many awards were earned by the Cub Scouts.

Drew Hill and his mother Lisa Hill at the Pack 672 Blue and Gold awards ceremony in Gardiner May 21. Submitted photo

Drew Hill, a Webelos Cub Scout from Pittston, received the Charles H. Townes Supernova Award for his efforts in the area of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

STEM is part of an initiative the Boy Scouts of America has taken on to encourage the natural curiosity of youth members and their sense of wonder about these fields through activities like archery and welding.

To support this initiative, Scouting has developed the STEM Nova Awards program so that youth members have fun and receive recognition for their efforts, according to a news release from Chuck Mahaleris, district chairman for the Kennebec Valley District of Scouting.

The Supernova award can be earned by Cub Scouts who are in second through fifth grade (Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and Arrow of Light). With help from parents and unit leaders, Cub Scouts select a council-approved Supernova mentor who is a registered Scouter.

Hill was mentored by Sarah Riddle with support from Cubmaster Scott St. Amand and leaders Drew and Christina Riddle.

“A large part of our lives is in experimentation, and this program encourages kids to experiment,” said Andy Hill, Drew’s father. “It really sparks interest in math and sciences.”

There are two Supernova Awards Cub Scouts can earn. The Dr. Louis W. Alvarez Supernova Award is available for Wolf (second grade) and Bear (third grade) Cub Scouts. Alvarez was an American experimental physicist, inventor, and professor who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968 for his discovery of resonance states in particle physics using the hydrogen bubble chamber.

Webelos (fourth grade) and Arrow of Light (fifth grade) members like Drew can earn The Dr. Charles Townes Supernova Award. Townes was the experimental physicist who invented the laser — now indispensable in science, technology, and medicine. Townes received the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work. More than a dozen subsequent Nobel Prizes have depended on the existence of lasers.