How long the trip must be
| Level | Expedition/Exploration |
|---|---|
| Bronze Certificate | 1 day, one or more trips |
| Silver Certificate | 2 days, one or more trips |
| Gold Certificate | 3 days, one or more trips |
| Bronze Medal | 2 days, 1 night, consecutive, one trip |
| Silver Medal | 3 days, 2 nights, consecutive, one trip |
| Gold Medal | 5 days, 4 nights, consecutive, one trip |
What counts
- New to you. The trip should take you out of your daily routine and comfort zone into something unfamiliar.
- 6 to 8 hours a day. A day counts toward the requirement only with 6 to 8 hours of immersive activity.
- You plan it. You need real control over the preparation, the daily activities and the itinerary. Adults, parents included, can help and come along, but a trip planned mostly by others does not qualify.
- No “sign up and go” trips: not camps, mission trips, cruises, competitions, conferences, shadowing, internships or work-study.
- Medals: consecutive days and nights on one trip, and only one trip per Record Book.
- Certificates: you can add up several trips.
- Travel and college visits: one travel day each way can count, and so can college visits after February 1, 2024, at most one per day.
- Longer trips can be used again: a trip that meets a higher level’s length can go with a lower-level Record Book and count again for the higher level, though the national office may still ask for revisions.
- It needs a Validator, like every goal. Parents and relatives cannot validate, so if you travel with family and no other adult knows the trip, your Advisor can validate it.
The national office’s FAQ adds a few points. School band trips and leadership workshops are “sign up and go” trips too, but Philmont Scout Ranch and Outward Bound may be accepted for their time, immersion and challenge. Group trips are fine if each of you has a strong role in planning and running the trip and writes your own write-up. And it does not have to cost much: a part of your own state or town you have never been to can count, though the medal levels still need the nights away.
Expedition or Exploration?
Either one meets the requirement. An Expedition is usually outdoors: camping, hiking and wilderness trips where you pack your own gear, set up a tent and cook over a fire. An Exploration takes you outside the community you know: a cultural exchange, a foreign country, or a city or neighborhood that is new to you, with research and preparation before you go. A family vacation can be an Exploration only if it brings real challenge and discovery, not just rest.
12 trips you can plan yourself
| Trip | What to plan | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Section hike on a long-distance trail | Pick the section, mileage per day, campsites, water and a bail-out route. | Medals: camp along the way. Certificates: day hikes add up. |
| Canoe or kayak trip | Map the put-in and take-out, daily distance, portages and weather backups. | Medals, with riverside or lakeside camping. |
| Town-to-town bike tour | Plan the route, daily miles, where you sleep and what you will see in each town. | Medals, with overnight stops. |
| National park deep dive | Combine hikes, ranger programs and a field journal on the park’s geology and wildlife. | Any level. |
| History trail | Visit a route of historic sites tied to a period or movement you want to understand, and research each stop first. | Any level. |
| A city you do not know | Explore its museums, neighborhoods, architecture and food history on a schedule you build. | Any level. |
| Coast or wetland field study | Tide pools, bird counts or water testing, with notes and photos each day. | Any level. |
| Dark-sky astronomy trip | Research a dark-sky place, the sky that week and what you will observe each night. | Medals, with nights under the stars. |
| College tour | Plan the route and fill each day with 6 to 8 hours of activity, campus included. | Any level, one college per day. |
| Family heritage trip | Visit the towns, museums and archives tied to your family’s history. | Any level. |
| Food and farming exploration | Farms, markets and producers in a region new to you, and how its food got there. | Any level. |
| Language and culture immersion | A community with its own language or traditions: events, museums and conversations you set up, perhaps staying with a local family. | Any level. |
Whatever you choose, write the plan before you go: the route, a schedule that fills 6 to 8 hours each day, safety and backup plans. Keep a journal and photos each day, and note your travel details: they become your Record Book entry.
What to write in your Record Book
Be specific and give details. The national office asks you to answer three questions, and its review looks for them especially at the medal levels:
- How did you prepare and plan?
- How was this different from anything you had done before?
- How were you self-reliant? Give examples of thinking on your feet and taking initiative.
The virtual option
Every participant can now choose a virtual Expedition/Exploration instead of an in-person one, but not a mix of the two. You pick one or more locations, complete activities about their history and culture, such as a virtual museum, national park or landmark tour, a documentary or book review, an interview with someone who lives there, cooking a local dish or researching its transport system, and answer the prompt for each. Then you write up the whole experience by answering seven questions.
| Level | Virtual requirement |
|---|---|
| Bronze Certificate | 1 activity, 1-page write-up |
| Silver Certificate | 2 activities, 2-page write-up |
| Gold Certificate | 3 activities, 3-page write-up |
| Bronze Medal | 4 activities, 5 to 6-page write-up |
| Silver Medal | 5 activities, 7 to 8-page write-up |
| Gold Medal | 6 activities, 9 to 10-page write-up |
Activities cannot be reused from an earlier submission: going from a Gold Certificate to a Bronze Medal means four new activities, though the location can stay the same. Padding the write-up with images or spacing to reach the page count gets it sent back.
Write it in your own words, for in-person trips too: the Congressional Award allows AI tools for research only, not to draft, proofread or revise Record Book answers, and suspected AI or copied work is sent back for a redo.
Track it with the rest of your award
The Congressional Award tracker plans your level and shows the hours and months left in the other three areas. To log your trip days and hours, start tracking free, or print the Congressional Award activity log (PDF), which has an expedition planner. For ideas in the other areas, see Congressional Award goal ideas.
Frequently asked questions
Does a summer camp count as a Congressional Award expedition?
No. The Program Book rules out “sign up and go” trips: camps, mission trips, cruises, competitions, conferences, shadowing and internships. You need to plan the trip and its daily activities yourself.
Do Philmont or Outward Bound count?
They may. The national office names Philmont Scout Ranch and Outward Bound as exceptions to the “sign up and go” rule because of their time, immersion and challenge.
Can I go with a group?
Yes, if each participant has a strong role in planning, preparing and running the trip and writes their own write-up.
What if I cannot afford a trip?
It can be close to home: a part of your state or town you have never explored can count. The medal levels still need overnight stays, or you can choose the virtual option.
Can a family trip count?
Yes, if you do most of the planning, each day has 6 to 8 hours of immersive activity, and the trip brings real challenge and discovery rather than just rest. Parents can help and come along, but cannot be your Validator.
Can I combine two trips for a medal?
No. At the medal levels the days and nights must be consecutive, on one trip. At the certificate levels you can add up several trips.
Do travel days count?
One travel day going and one coming back can count toward the days and nights, as long as each still has 6 to 8 hours in total. Describe your travel in the Record Book to avoid a revision.
Can I do a virtual expedition instead?
Yes. Every participant can now choose a virtual Expedition/Exploration with its own activity and write-up rules, but you cannot mix virtual and in-person parts.
Do college visits count?
Yes, college visits after February 1, 2024, at most one per day, and each day still needs 6 to 8 hours of activity, the visit included.