As an Eagle Scout myself, definitely a good way to learn life long skills. If he chooses to take it in and retain it rather than use it to get through just for the career benefits, he will be ahead of gas peers in the long run.
Look into Venture Scouting and The Explorer program as well. They are both much less known, and have some advantages over regular Boy Scouts, one of which is co-ed. I was a Venture Scout myself, achieved the Bronze Award, but the interest from the rest of the group wasn't there. It will open up opportunities for summer camps, regional, and national events that will be experiences they will never forget.
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^^ all of this!
When I saw the thread title, Scouts was my first thought.
He's 11 now - going into the 5th grade, or 6th? If 6th, this is just when most boys cross over from Webelos.
Also an Eagle, and now an assistant scoutmaster (after being a leader in almost every position in Cub Scouts too).
I can tell you for sure... Eagle Scout or not... the life skills learned in Scouting are invaluable. Mostly regarding how to learn to do stuff, and perhaps more importantly how to be a leader - and be led when appropriate - among your colleagues.
When we interview students for internships here, having experience in Scouts is a major bonus for me.
Also, definitely research Troops in the area. There are not all created equal by any means.
I will disagree slightly with the comment above re: size - small is not necessarily bad, and really big isn't necessarily good. Tiny (like < 10 boys) can be awkward, and there is definitely an economy of scale regarding access to equipment, funding, - this is where giant troops are really good at self perpetuation - but it's also easy for boys to get lost in the crowd. And in my experience, giant troop tend to really be run by adults, not boys (see below). IMO ideal size is between 25 and ~40 active boys.
But what REALLY MATTERS - ask to what degree it is a "boy run" troop. This is where the differences come in, and it depends on what kind of experience you want your son to have.
Boy Scouts is ideally totally run by the boys. They make their plans for outings, they choose the outings, they do the organizing, they do the packing, they have their own set of leaders... and they also often fail and/or flounder is at least one of these aspects... because they are just boys! IMO In a good troop, the leaders let the boys fail at things and not be good all the time. They let them occasionally show up to a campout w/o all their gear, or missing tent parts b/c they (the boys) didn't properly check it over before leaving. They let them eat horribly overcooked food b/c the new kid is just learning how to use a skillet. They let them experience blisters from poor footwear... etc etc. They learn more from the adversity of failure - and being creative to deal with the consequences - than always having an adult make sure things are going well.
All that aside, I'd also like to throw in a vote for FIRST Lego League, or FIRST Tech Challenge once a little older. These are great programs to learn robotics, programming, and teamwork.
