The 2026 National Jamboree will feature amazing experiences for everyone at the National Jamboree. The program begins long before the National Jamboree and the memories will remain long after we leave the Summit Bechtel Reserve. The National Jamboree activities will inspire your Scouts to plan, train, and prepare as they form in their units before the National Jamboree. Afterwards, Scouts will have experiences to reflect on and learn from for days, months, and years after the last bus departs. All of this is part of the 2026 National Jamboree theme, “Elevate”, which will challenge our Scouts to grow and excel in ways they never thought possible, push them past the limits of what they thought they could achieve, and build character throughout the experience.

The 2026 National Jamboree program is designed to prepare Scouts for a life of purpose and impact.

This vision is the difference between sending a Scout to the Summit Bechtel Reserve and sending a Scout to the National Jamboree. It is the difference between sending a Scout to two weeks of summer camp and sending a Scout to the National Jamboree. Our promise is to help prepare each Scout for a life of purpose and impact

We will do so through programs that touch on these nine pre-requisites to living a life of purpose and impact:

• Purpose (3)
  • A clear set of values
  • Knowledge and mastery of what brings you joy
  • Knowledge of the world’s greatest needs
• Impact (6)
  • Ability to lead yourself
  • Confidence in your ability to overcome obstacles and challenges to achieve difficult things
  • … and a source of renewal when you encounter these obstacles and challenges
  • Ability to inspire others to join your journey
  • Ability to make risk-reward decisions
  • Ability to coordinate actions and activities

Our planning has matured, and we have a clearer view of staff sign-ups, so we are excited to confirm the programs below will be offered at the 2026 National Jamboree. The list below is at times different from what was described in the March 2026 Contingent Guide, so please use this updated description in promoting the Jamboree.

The National Jamboree planning team requests that each council promote Staff opportunities so that, collectively, we can deliver the program that each Scout deserves.

The Summit Center and Basecamps A and B

The beating heart of the National Jamboree, this area is jam-packed with exciting, interactive experiences that Scouts and visitors will remember for a lifetime. From stadium shows to challenging games, outdoor skill-building experiences, career- and hobby-related investigations, and “preview versions” of adventure activities at Action Point and Boulder Cove, Scouts and visitors will experience challenges across topics both familiar and new, finding hobbies and pursuits that bring them joy. These programs will be offered by Scouting organizations, corporate and nonprofit partners, professional and hobby organizations, conservation groups, government agencies, military, and educational groups – all passionate experts on their subject materials. Some of the “Only at the National Jamboree” program areas include:

• BizHive
• Congressional Medal of Honor Society
• Conservation Trail
• Duty to God and Country
• K2BSA (Amateur Radio)
• Mission-Ready Medicine
• Merit Badges
• Mining Rocks
• Military Exhibits
• National Eagle Scout Association
• Outdoor Recreation
• Patch Trading
• Public Service Academy
• Scouting Alumni
• Sea Scouts
• Sharing Scouting
• Skilled Trades
• Special Needs and Disabilities
• STEM Quest
• World of Creativity
• World Scouting

Jamboree Scouting Skills Challenge

Arrival day is not just for setting up camp, it’s for demonstrating your expertise!  Consistent feedback from Scouts has told us they want more chances to demonstrate their Scout Skills in a meaningful way at the National Jamboree. And so, we give you the Scout Skills Challenge, a fast-paced, high-energy competition designed to test patrols around some of Scouting’s core skills: knots and pioneering, first aid, fire making, and the patrol method.

Units are encouraged to practice the Scout Skills Challenge at their shakedown event (details on the Challenge can be found here) and arrive at the Jamboree ready to show their skills (after setting up the unit campsite, of course!). The Jamboree Scout Skills Challenge will be offered on Wednesday, July 22 and Thursday, July 23. Location details will be in the Jamboree App.

Leadership Heights

Scouts attending the National Jamboree are encouraged to embark on a journey of self-discovery at Leadership Heights. The updated program takes place in the heart of the Summit, with programs located in the Rex W. Tillerson Leadership Center, Summit Stadium, and Basecamps A and B. Leadership Heights provides opportunities for Scouts to participate in activities and games tailored to their unique leadership skill-set. The 2026 Leadership Heights program includes:

• Escape Rooms: Step into exciting and immersive Escape Rooms where you and your friends are the heroes of the story. Whether you’re gathering necessary survival supplies or solving a scientific breakthrough, your mission will require sharp thinking, strong collaboration, and smart decisions—all under a ticking clock. Scouts will test their problem-solving, communication, and time management skills as you attempt to beat the clock.
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library Exhibit: Leadership Heights’ collaboration with the  Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library engages Scouts with information about the United States’ only Eagle Scout president, Gerald R. Ford, and connects Scouts to topical questions and personal insight.
• Guest Speaker Keynote Series: In a world that calls upon Scouts to lead, Jamboree participants will benefit from seeing exemplary leadership live and in action. The Guest Speaker Keynote Series delivers opportunities for Scouts and Scouters to sit face-to-face with world-class generational talents as they draw from their experience, teaching lessons in leadership that broaden horizons and define new visions for the future.
• Jamboree-Wide Role-Playing Game: Leadership Heights does not end when you leave our program areas. Several time-displaced persons are running loose in the Jamboree, and we need all the help we can get to assist them and bring them home. If Scouts see someone who looks a little ~vintage~, say hi and see what sort of Jamboree Side Quest they might have in store!
• ScoutChat: ScoutChat is a high-energy, youth-led experience where Scouts take the stage and the spotlight. Designed like a live talk show, ScoutChat flips the script: the hosts are Scouts, the audience is Scouts, and the VIP guests are national leaders, adventurers, and changemakers who often were once Scouts or currently are Scouts themselves. In each session, Scouts interview inspiring figures about how Scouting shaped their character, leadership, and sense of adventure.

Challenge Base Camp

Challenge Base Camp is a hands-on experience of challenges, knives, regalia, cultures, sports, and history through seven programs at Basecamp B and one program at The Barrels. Acme Pioneering uses wood, ropes, and spars to make mallets and build merry-go-rounds, swings, and Ferris wheels. Buckskin Village (located at The Barrels) has black powder rifles, knife and tomahawk throwing, a blacksmith forge, ropemaking, branding, and other challenges of traditional 1800’s pioneer life. Color Run Alley provides multiple paintball ranges with a wide range of markers. Disc Golf offers courses and competition for the first-time player all the way to super-experienced players, with advice from professional disc golf players. Jambo Warrior provides inflatables and obstacles to test your fitness and speed. The Titan Challenge will have you stay low, crawl fast, climb, swing, carry, and flip over obstacles and inverted walls on one-mile or two-mile courses for individuals or teams. Allegheny Station offers the best of West Virginia.

Operation Arrow

Operation Arrow continues the Order of the Arrow’s rich legacy of providing cheerful service in support of the 2026 National Jamboree.

Since 1950, the OA Service Corps provides critical manpower support to the jamboree program. Arrowmen work to accomplish projects, big and small, and exemplify the OA’s tradition of providing ‘cheerful service’.

In addition, the Order of the Arrow will host a number of new program elements for units to participate in:

The OA Summit Circle Experience will bring our national ceremony site to life for the benefit of Jamboree participants and staff. Learn about the OA’s ceremonial history, find your lodge rock, all at the Summit Circle.

 The OA Legacy Experience at the Summit Center is not just an OA exhibition and activation station but includes daily live multi-media events that will showcase our new permanent Order of the Arrow display at the Summit.

Bring your sash and join thousands of your fellow Arrowmen and other interested Scouts at the OA Rendezvous on Sunday evening of the jamboree! Meet the national officers of the Order of the Arrow, see old friends and make new ones as we gather to celebrate over 110 years of cheerful service!

Be the Change

Learn through hands-on opportunities about being the change you wish to see in our world through:

• Water that sustains life,
• Food that nourishes communities,
• Infrastructure that connects us,
• Education that unlocks potential, and
• Mental health that ensures well-being

Come be entertained, educated, and inspired to bring home ways to unite us locally, nationally and globally as you pursue a life of purpose and impact.

Service and Impact

Scouts pledge to be “Helpful” and to do their best “to help other people at all times”. The National Jamboree’s Service and Impact program brings this to life. This program is designed to help Scouts learn more deeply about an issue facing our nation and how they can act at an individual, local, and national scale to address that issue. At the National Jamboree, Scouts will participate in a service project with national scale focused on supporting the people of West Virginia: building flood buckets and hygiene kits for those impacted by natural disasters.

Each unit is asked to participate in the project and should budget approximately one hour for this activity. We are not assigning units a specific time to participate – the project is available during program hours.

Adventure Areas

The National Jamboree showcases the broad range of activities available within Scouting! Those activities are conducted at many adventure venues found at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. While youth attending the National Jamboree will have the chance to experience some of these adventure venues, capacity constraints and the sheer number of attendees will make their experience very different than one received during a Summit high-adventure experience. Contingent leaders should help youth and parents understand that the National Jamboree is primarily a social event that celebrates Scouting, not a high-adventure experience.

In addition, our ability to open adventure venues depends on the staff we are able to recruit. We request that each council help recruit Staff members so that we are able to open as many venues as possible. We will provide an update no later than February 2026 on our ability to run these venues.

The adventure areas will offer activity experiences to get the participants’ blood pumping. Most activities will be available on a first come, first served basis and will be designed for maximum throughput.

Aerial Sports and Climbing: Legacy Zip, Gateway Zip, Alexander Eagle Flight (formerly known as Big Zip), and Boulder Cove will be open at the 2026 National Jamboree. Spots on Alexander Eagle Flight will be allocated through an online lottery system, accessible through the Jamboree App.

Aerial Sports Activity Weight Guidelines – The engineering and safety systems used by the Summit’s aerial sports activities required participants to meet certain weight guidelines in order to safely participate in climbing, rappelling, bouldering, and zip-line activities. Participants in these activities must weigh between 50 pounds and 250 pounds, regardless of their height.

Thrasher Mountain is home to The Park and The Trax. The Park houses the Summit’s first-rate skateboarding facilities. At The Trax, participants will find the Summit’s thrilling BMX Course. The Summit Center’s Action Point will be the Jamboree’s mountain biking headquarters, with miles of trails available for thrilling riding. Action Point will also offer skateboarding and BMX activities.

The Bows and Barrels at the 2026 National Jamboree will offer the widest variety of range and target activities ever; shotguns, rifles, pistols (age and program restrictions apply), 3-D archery, and sporting arrows. Additionally, visit the Joe Crafton Hunter’s Hall and Laser Shot facility on Action Point.

Aquatics activities will be located at the Summit’s man-made Goodrich Lake (fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, and an expanded Water Reality obstacle course) and at the West End (SCUBA Experience). Additionally, the Jamboree offers an off-site Rafting adventure (contingents must sign up for this in advance).

Swim Classifications for Aquatics Program

For participants to participate in the unique aquatics activities at the Summit including the off-site River Rafting adventure, they will need to be classified for swimming prior to arrival at the National Jamboree. These classifications are non-swimmer, beginner, and swimmer. National Jamboree Scoutmasters, Advisors, and Skippers are responsible for swim classification checks prior to the National Jamboree and for reporting the abilities of each participant through the registration system.

Shows

A National Jamboree is a once-in-a-lifetime gathering — and a reason to celebrate together. The Jamboree’s shows bring every participant together to laugh, cheer, reflect, and be inspired.

Opening Show (Thursday, July 23):
The Jamboree kicks off with a high-energy Opening Show that unites Scouts from across the nation in music, inspiration, and the excitement of beginning an unforgettable adventure together.

Fireworks Show (Sunday, July 26):
On Sunday night, a spectacular fireworks display set to streamed music will light up the sky above the Jamboree, celebrating the spirit of Scouting with color, energy, and awe.

Elevation Celebration (July 27, 28, and 29):
On select evenings, each unit is invited to a lively celebration filled with music, entertainment, and social activities — the perfect way to unwind and end a day of adventure at the Jamboree. Units are invited to attend on whatever evening works best for them, though we encourage the Units camped in Basecamp C to attend on Monday, July 27 and the Units camped in Basecamp D to attend on Tuesday, July 28.

Closing Show (Thursday, July 30):
The Closing Show brings the Jamboree to a powerful finale with music, inspiration, and high-energy moments that “Elevate” your Scouting spirit long after the tents come down.

Hometown Celebration

Friday and Saturday night at the 2026 National Jamboree features the Hometown Celebration, an opportunity to see what’s important to other Scouts across the country, and a chance to reflect on and show off what makes you proud of where you live. Our goal is to highlight both what makes us unique and what binds us together.

Hometown Celebration will take place over two nights. On one night, your unit – and all the other units in your Basecamp – will host a display that celebrates your hometown, for an audience of Scouts from across the Jamboree. The other night, the other Basecamp will host displays celebrating their hometowns that you can visit.

To help you decide on the content of your display, we have 3 guiding questions for you to consider what makes your home uniquely yours:

• How does where we live shape how we live?
  • Is there a local industry, architectural style, landmark, or kind of food that is unique because of your hometown’s geography?
  • Is there anything similar, yet distinct from other places?
    
    
• How do the stories told about us define us?
  • Are there stories told in your community about local legends or famous figures?
  • What stories are told about your community, and do you think these stories accurately represent what it’s like to live in your hometown
• What do people in your hometown do together?
  • What festivals, traditions, or local customs bring people together?
  • Would learning about these be surprising to someone not from your hometown?

Good hometown displays should help visitors find answers to these questions, but great content can always be enhanced by great presentation! Consider the following types of displays, as approaches to make your display more engaging:

• Passive – low maintenance experiences that Scouts can do at their own pace.
  • Photobooths or dioramas with text and images
  • Takeaway items, like stickers, nick-nacks, or a taste of local food
  • Pre-recorded music, photos, or videos
• Interactive – activities or games that give other scouts a chance to experience some small part of being from your hometown.
  • Lead visitors in playing a local sport or game
  • Guide a hands-on experience related to a local industry
  • Provide a “Build-your-own” station
• Performative – talks, demonstrations, or performances that bring your hometown to life with music, costumes, stories, or props.
  • Demonstrate how to prepare a local dish or use tools from a local industry
  • Use storytelling, skits, or reenactments to recount a local legend
  • Dress up as a locally famous figure and interact with visitors

Additionally, consider the number of people required to staff your displays – the fewer people required, the more time Scouts in your unit will have to explore on the night that your unit hosts.

This will be one of the earlier events at the Jamboree, taking place on July 24 and 25 between 7pm and 10pm – just two days after Scouts arrive at the Jamboree. While you’re planning your hometown displays, remember that they don’t need to be expensive or exorbitant to be engaging and informative!  The goal is to share a bit about your hometown with Scouts who are interested in learning more about where you come from.

Americana Extravaganza: Celebrating the U.S.A.’s Semiquicentennial

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.! The Americana Extravaganza is Scouting America’s official celebration of the United States of America’s Semiquincentennial, marking the nation’s 250th birthday. This special event will take place on Sunday, July 26th, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, offering a relaxing and enjoyable outdoor experience for all participants.

The Americana Extravaganza brings together three exciting elements: a relaxing and fun musical festival, classic lawn games, and inspiring opportunities to engage with civic leaders. These components come together to create a fun-filled afternoon designed to honor America’s milestone anniversary.

Stage performances: Throughout the afternoon, the Summit Stadium main stage will feature a variety of performances. Attendees can look forward to a wide range of American music, engaging demonstrations, and appearances by other talented performers, all contributing to the festive atmosphere of the event.

Lawn games: Classic lawn games will be set up at Summit Stadium for everyone to enjoy. Activities include horseshoes, cornhole, Kan Jam, Giant Jenga, Badminton, Spike Ball, Nine Square In the Air, Giant Chess, and many more. These games provide a chance for friendly competition and relaxation in the great outdoors.

Engagement with civic leaders: Scouts will have the unique opportunity to meet and participate in small-group discussions with current and former mayors, legislators, school board members, council members, and other community leaders from across the country. These exciting and inspiring chats with distinguished leaders will offer Scouts valuable insights into how they can make a positive impact in their neighborhoods and beyond, shaping the future of our country.

The Americana Extravaganza will conclude at 5pm, allowing units ample time to return to their campsites to prepare and enjoy dinner before the evening’s grand fireworks display.

Primary Reflection and Worship Services

A Scout is reverent, and we are setting aside the morning of Sunday, July 26th, for reflection and worship. The National Jamboree chaplains, working with their faith groups, will coordinate worship services for that morning, with a schedule to be released by the start of the National Jamboree in the National Jamboree App. Faith groups whose primary worship day is not Sunday may have their primary service on another day. Scouts who are not part of a faith group that has a worship service at the National Jamboree have the option of attending any one of the worship services or engaging in silent reflection. Sample reflection questions will be in the National Jamboree App.