More than 1,500 Scouts and Scout leaders attended the 2026 Scout Expo at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs from October 16–18, with nearly 1,000 of them pitching tents and camping overnight under the Mojave Desert sky. The weekend gathering, themed Unplugged Adventures, offered more than 40 merit badges alongside outdoor competitions, skill-building stations, and games for Scouts who traveled in from Las Vegas and northern Arizona.
KSNV reported more than 1,500 attendees and nearly 1,000 overnight campers at the Expo. The council itself has deep roots in the region, having been chartered in 1944 as the Boulder Dam Area Council before adopting its current name in 2005, and it now oversees Scouting programs stretching across Clark and Nye counties in Nevada, into southeastern California, and over into Mohave County, Arizona, according to Wikipedia.
AY Young, a national recording artist and Eagle Scout who grew up in Troop 24 in Kansas City, Missouri, gave a special performance at the Expo. The station's report notes that Young credits Scouting with shaping his values and confidence, and he has said Scouting is part of who he is and taught him to serve, lead, and use his passions to help others.
Young's Scouting and Clean-Energy Work
Young has kept his ties to Scouting alive throughout his music career, appearing at national and local Scouting events and folding council visits into his touring schedule. Per the same account, he wrote the original Scouting song “Be Prepared,” inspired by the Scout motto and values from his own experience, and the track has since become part of his performances and engagement with Scouts.
In 2023, Young officially released “Be Prepared (scout anthem).” He performed the track during a Times Square concert on September 21, 2023.
The United Nations Youth Office identifies Young as a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals. He was selected in 2020 as the cohort’s sole U.S. representative. His Battery Tour has operated in 17 countries, using renewable energy stored in batteries.
A Special Performance for Scouts
Young performed for Scouts at the Las Vegas Expo.
The Expo itself unfolded against a backdrop of historic scenery. Floyd Lamb Park covers 2,040 acres in northwest Las Vegas, and the City of Las Vegas acquired it in 1964, per Wikipedia. The park later shifted from Nevada state jurisdiction back to city management in July 2007. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981, the park features four public fishing ponds and free-roaming peacocks, according to Travel Nevada.
Part Of A Larger National Shift
The gathering also reflects broader changes within the organization that hosted it. The Boy Scouts of America announced a national rebranding to Scouting America on May 7, 2024, a shift that officially took effect in February 2025 to reflect the organization's expanded inclusion of female youth, according to the Scouting Newsroom.
That shift has coincided with measurable growth among young women. As of May 2024, the organization reported serving more than 176,000 female members, including more than 6,000 who had attained the rank of Eagle Scout, per The NonProfit Times.
For the Scouts who camped under its desert sky this time, the weekend combined badge-earning basics with a reminder that clean-energy advocacy and traditional Scouting ideals can share the same stage.
