The Woodbury Public Safety sponsors Police and Fire Explorer Posts. Exploring is a vocation-based program of "Learning for Life," a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, for youth ages 14 through 20.

For young men and women who are interested in careers in the field of law enforcement or the fire service, Exploring offers experiential learning with hands-on activities that promote the growth and development of youth.

The Woodbury Public Safety Explorer posts are youth-led and supported by adult advisors dedicated to help youth develop leadership, master technical skills, engage in community service and experience the profession of public safety. It is the mission of Learning for Life to enable young people to become responsible individuals by teaching positive character traits, career development, leadership and life skills.

The Woodbury Public Safety Department has several officers and firefighters who began their career as Explorers. For more information, contact the Public Safety Department at 651-714-3600 or by e-mail at police@ci.woodbury.mn.us or fire@ci.woodbury.mn.us.

Police Explorers
In 1992, the Woodbury Police Department became the sponsor of a Police Explorer Program. The Police Explorer Post is designed to provide its members with the experiences and training that will demonstrate the nature of law enforcement in order to better prepare these members in making a decision about entering the law enforcement profession.

During the school year, the youth meet once a week and learn about all facets of law enforcement. Some of the topics that are covered are traffic stops, search and arrest, hostage negotiations, bomb scene search, crime scene search, domestic crisis, traffic accident investigation, burglary response, crime prevention, emergency field first aid and decision making.

The Midwest Law Enforcement Explorer Conference is held at the end of April. At this conference, the explorers are able to apply the training they have received in practical scenarios to see how effectively they can handle different situations. There are approximately 400 explorers from all over the state who attend this conference.

Fire Explorers
In 2007, the Woodbury Fire Department began to charter a Fire Exploring Post. This post is dedicated to introducing its members to the technical and team-oriented skills used in the vocation of firefighting, rescue and emergency medical services (EMS).

The group meets on most Monday evenings throughout the year. Each of these meetings focuses on hands-on firefighting and EMS training, and prepare the Explorers for participation in various competitions, and real-world firefighter activities. In 2010, the Woodbury Post won the Governor's Cup — a statewide Fire Explorer competition held at the State Fair.

The training follows the firefighter training curriculum taught to rookie firefighters throughout the nation, and covers a broad range of emergency skills, including fire suppression, salvage and overhaul, search and rescue, and emergency medicine.

In addition, Fire Explorers serve the department and the community by participating in public education events, block parties, parades, drills and many other Fire Department activities. They also are eligible to respond to certain calls to support real-world fire ground operations.