CAMP AGAWAM, Lawrence County — Scouts gathered to train their Jedi powers Sept. 24 at Camp Agawam.

The ‘Star Wars’-themed Fall Camporee attracted 86 scouts from the Glacier Ridge District, which services Butler County, and the River Valley District, which services Armstrong and northwestern Westmoreland counties.

Steve Loeffler, activities organizer for the Glacier Ridge District, said the event planners hoped to draw extra interest from the movie franchise and its wide-ranging fan base.

“We thought it would be cool to do the ‘Star Wars’ theme,” he said. “We usually either do Camporees around a theme for fun or around scouting requirements and merit badges.”

Some scouts camped at the site Friday night and watched the “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” movie, while others attended only Saturday, which boasted a full schedule of events.

Joining the scouts on Saturday were a bunch of armor-clad stormtroopers from the Garrison Carida Chapter of the 501st Legion, an organization that does a wide array of costumed charity and nonprofit events.

The group is a nonprofit organization that helps raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation through T-shirt sales, but mainly they like dressing up and bringing joy to children through wacky and playful demeanors in their villainous costumes, according to Jessica Linn, the group’s event coordinator for Western Pennsylvania.

The troopers visit children in hospitals during the holidays and make appearances at a number of scout functions, sporting events and conventions.

“The kids enjoy it when we play off each other and make fun of each other,” Linn said. “Even if it’s a bad guy, the kids love seeing it.”

Linn said their costumes help intrigue children and give the volunteers a realistic look. She said some of the costumes can range from $150 to $1,000.

“Our motto is: ‘Bad guys doing good,’” Linn said. “Our goal is to make kids’ days better and make them smile.”

The group played along with the scouts during Saturday’s activities, including themed variations of corn hole, bowling and tag. While others already were scouting games that happened to tie in well with the theme.

One game resembled the way the movie’s characters use a psychic power called the Force to move objects.

Using their minds, but without the psychic ability, the scouts maneuvered a ball atop a small black platform, which they controlled using strings attached to the disc. The scouts had to communicate as they lifted the ball from a starting point and gently positioned it onto a small pipe without dropping the ball.

Another activity challenged scouts to decipher a code by using a compass to navigate to various orange cones with letters imprinted on them.

Loeffler said he was happy with the effort the planners put into the games, and he was glad they managed to incorporate scouting aspects. Loeffler said he could tell the scouts were having a good time.

“They seemed pretty energized,” he said.

Danny Orsborn, 12, of Butler City Troop 6 said he is a big fan of the movies, a trait he shares with his father. He said he enjoyed the camp’s “Star Wars” games and atmosphere.

Orsborn said he liked learning about cooking Saturday morning breakfast. He also enjoyed making new friends.

“I think the camp was really cool,” Orsborn said. “It’s fun sleeping in a tent with the friends you’ve made.”

Orsborn said it was also nice to be able to interact with characters from his favorite movie too.

“I think they’re really awesome how they made their own costumes,” he said.

Alex Schulthies, 16, of Mars Troop 400 wore a friend’s gas mask for his costume. He said he also thought it was fun that the troopers were there.

“The 501st are awesome, and they look pretty genuine,” he said. “It shows they have a passion for ‘Star Wars.’”

Schulthies said he also liked that the activities were themed, but practiced scouting skills too.

“I can’t think of anything else ‘Star Wars’-related that goes with scouting,” he said. “They did a great job.”

Schulthies said fun events like the Fall Camporee will draw more attention to scouting.

“If you associate scouting events with fun aspects, it will definitely get people into scouting,” he said. “Especially ‘Star Wars.’”