Career Education & Character Development
Exploring
Discover Your Future Through Real-World Career Experiences
Why Exploring?
Exploring provides exciting activities and mentorship for youth looking to discover their future. Whether you’re a local organization looking to strengthen the community or a young person wanting to uncover the possibilities of your future, Exploring is a great place to start.
What is Exploring?
Exploring exists to teach important life and career skills to young people from all backgrounds through immersive career experiences and mentorship provided by community and business leaders like you. Together, we equip young people with character, leadership and life skills that can be used both today and in their future careers.
Exploring is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth and the organizations in their communities. Businesses and community organizations initiate a career-specific Exploring post or club by matching their people and organizational resources to the career interests of youth in the community. The result is a program of interactive activities that helps youth pursue their special interests, grow, and develop.
We work with thousands of local, regional, and national businesses and organizations to deliver the Exploring programs representing hundreds of different career fields.
Post or Club?
Exploring serves two different age groups, both coed. The program model is the same for both age groups – hands-on and interactive character and career activities are facilitated by trained business leaders in your local community.
Exploring Clubs
Ages 10-14 (Middle School)
Exploring clubs serve middle schoolers in sixth through eighth grades, introducing them to various career fields through interactive activities.
Exploring Posts
Ages 14-20 (High School & Beyond)
Exploring posts serve older youth with deeper career exploration and hands-on professional experiences in specific fields.
Good Turn for America & Journey to Excellence
We want to know what your unit (pack/troop/crew) is doing for Good Turn For America and encourage you to report the details of your service projects.
Career Fields
Healthcare
Explore medicine, nursing, dentistry, and other health professions through hands-on experiences.
Law Enforcement
Learn about police work, forensics, and criminal justice through real-world scenarios.
Engineering
Discover various engineering disciplines through design challenges and innovation projects.
Business
Gain insights into entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, and business management.
History of Exploring
Exploring began as a senior program in early Boy Scout troops. These older boys carried out high-adventure activities and service projects, and gave leadership to young Scouts. In 1935, senior Scouts were called Explorers for the first time, and many were organized in separate Exploring crews in troops, using a senior Scout program.
In May 1949, the National Executive Board revised senior Scouting to recognize as Explorers all young men in posts, Sea Scout ships, Air Scout squadrons, and all Boy Scouts over age 14 in troops.
A major transformation occurred in 1971 when young women became eligible for full membership in Exploring, and the upper age limit was increased to 20. This led to rapid growth and the development of national specialty programs in aviation, business, science and engineering, law and government, law enforcement, health careers, outdoor, Sea Exploring, sports, career education, arts, skilled trades, social service, fire and rescue, and communications.
In 2013, Learning for Life obtained official approval to start the Exploring club career education program for young men and women who have completed the fifth grade and are at least 10 years old but have not completed the eighth grade and are not yet 15 years old.
Later in 2013, Learning for Life approved its first fully functioning executive board and now functions as an affiliate of Scouting America.
Ready to Explore Your Future?
Join Exploring today and discover career possibilities through hands-on experiences and mentorship from industry professionals. Whether you’re interested in starting a post or joining as a participant, we’re here to help.