What happens when you take 400-plus Boy Scouts, mix in high adventure, add the birthday of the telescope, and tons of astrononomers? You get a weekend event that lets Scouts aged 11 to 17 the ability to learn and have a ton of fun.

The Hemlock District of the Occoneechee Council held their District Camporee at Camp Durant located near Carthage, with the theme of the camporee being "Shooting for the Stars."

The Raleigh Astronomy Club made the camporee a five-star event with their fantastic stargazing equipment, allowing the boys to see the close up views of the stars and planets hundreds of millions of miles away. One Scout enthusiastically said, "I never knew that the sun looked so different through a telescope."

The Raleigh Astronomy Club set up a station in the new Grand Lodge and presented the international Webcast of the 400th anniversary of the telescope. It included an after-Webcast star party, where the Scouts were able to hone in on objects in the sky and see what Galileo saw as he looked into the heavens. Many of the Scouts came closer to earning merit badges that focused on astronomy, while others were able to focus on space exploration.

In addition to the astronomy part of the "Shooting for the Stars," there was also a high adventure aspect in which Scouts and Venturers could climb the Camp Durant Climbing Tower, test their skills with shooting sports on the rifle or shotgun range, or attempt to win big at the archery range, or there was the option to test the Scouts' shins with the newly created Mountain Biking Trail. The weekend was topped off with a cooking contest that pinned troops against each other. The theme ingredients were unusual, being Spam and vanilla pudding.

The Boy Scouts of America is now focusing on their 100th birthday next year with events all over the council starting in February with the Hemlock District planting 100 trees at a local park, a Scout-o-Rama and exposition show; highlighting over 100 years of Scout skills, and several community events and service projects.

The Occoneechee Council is the local Boy Scouts of America Council that serves some 20,000 youth and 7,000 adults in central North Carolina. The Occoneechee Council is the largest Boy Scout Council in North Carolina and serves Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Orange, Vance, Wake and Warren counties. These 12 counties are divided into 13 districts.

The Council headquarters is located in Raleigh. The Occoneechee Council operates three year-round camping properties, available for use by the units and districts of the Council and non-Scouting groups. The Occoneechee Scout Reservation, which includes Camp Durant and Camp Reeves, is a 2,400-acre wilderness property in Moore County. The other is Camp Campbell, a primitive camping facility is located on Kerr Lake, in Virginia.