Cub Scout Go See Its often entail a visit the local fire and police station. I’ve been to every station in a ten-mile radius and have come to the conclusion that the two are very different outings.
Local firemen love to put on a show for cub scouts, and a visit to the fire station is always a fun outing. When you visit the fire station, the scouts get to climb in the trucks, try on the gear, and learn all about fire safety, and they usually leave with handfuls of coloring books and stickers. The firemen know what little boys like! I think that the firemen have so much downtime that they are happy for the distraction, and honestly enjoy having ten young boys ooh-ing and ahh-ing over everything they do.
Not to knock the brave men and women of the local police force, but the men and women in blue tend to be a much more serious group, and in my experience, have not been great entertainers for young scouts. They might let you sit in the police cruiser (always a fun photo op, especially if you put them in the backseat) but they don’t like it when you ask to touch their gun or handcuffs. Of course, the one thing the scouts always want to see during a police station visit is the jail cells, but I have yet to see one on a Go See It — something about prisoner privacy rights — Boo, we want to see the jail! And, of course, one of your scouts will ask cringe-worthy questions that officers don’t take lightly.
Rather than going to the police station, our den has had much more fun when we’ve invited officers to our den meetings. The relaxed environment tends to make them much more forthcoming with their answers — but they still never let the boys play with their handcuffs!
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