2 Hour Activities

I would like some ideas and help from seasoned leaders about ideas for 2 Hour...read "all in one night" challenge activities for building outdoor skills.

If you have thoughts, lets get them here. I would like ideas on knot skills development, outdoor cooking, astronomy, orienteering and other such engaging and fun topics. I want to build a program that keeps the cubs/scouts out of the meeting hall and in their local environment.

Thanks in advance!

Scouter Cheryl

Hi Cheryl:

Great question!

For me, one of the best things is also one of the most simple: a campfire. Not a "formal campfire" with songs, skits and cheers; a "working" campfire around which the whole meeting is centred. I live in a suburb but "rural" is minutes away and some of our Scouters have fire pits in their backyards. Even better, a "retired" Scouter who's about 15 minutes away has a few wooded acres that he lets us use. Even if you are in an urban locale, you may be able to do this or parts of it in someone's back yard (e.g. by using charcoal in a metal garbage can lid, or with the right civic permit).

We've done a variety of things around the campfire with a Pack or a Troop. We've done the usual outdoor skills like fire building, axe & saw permits, etc. and (Cub version) knife permits with the Cubs. Another really cool thing to do is... have dinner. Whether it's foil dinners, boil bags or any of the many cool campfire cooking techniques it's all good fun and good skills. I want to get dutch ovens and start teaching that skill. A few meetings "at the campfire" will let us all try out a few recipes to find the keepers for camp.

The great things about doing dinner at a meeting are that it let's the kids work out the "bugs" without the consequences they would have at camp and it takes time pressure off the parents who don't have to get their kid fed before the meeting, especially if the drive is a little longer. (Heck... feed the parent too...)

Thanks Andrew, That is a great idea.

In fact, I have a fire pit in my back yard which is quite large for an urban setting. What a way to start the year with our "Bring A Friend" Theme!
Keep them copming everyone!

Fun to be had in the dark... We took our pack on a night hike during one of our regular meetings. BUT no flashlights allowed.. it was a great way to teach our cubs how the dark works.. One of the things we want to teach them is how their eyes adapt in the dark.. We also want them to understand , that when their eyes cannot see well, the rest of our senses go on overdrive.. Thats why we get more scared at night , we hear much better, and our sense of touch is very sensitive..

During a night hike, we did many activities with the pack.. Ended it with a hot chocolate.

Here are the highlights..

Guess that crayon colour
Give each cub a small scrap of paper and a crayon. Have them examine the crayon and determine its color. Tell them to write their answer on the piece of paper. Nine times out of ten they will be wrong. You can check to see who was right and who wasn't at the end of the hike back at the building. (The guess will be written in the color of the crayon.)

Explanation: Colors are nearly impossible for humans to see at night. We have two types of cells in our eyes called rods and cones. Rods are light sensitive cells helpful with seeing at night and cones allow for seeing in color. Humans have many more cone (color) cells than rod (night vision) cells; therefore, our color vision is great (during the day) and our night vision is poor. The only other animals that can see colors nearly as well as humans are diurnal (active during the day) birds. How do we know this? Many female birds choose their mates by the bright coloration of the males. Owls on the other hand, have mostly rods in their eyes so their low-light vision is very good.

The Brightest Match in the World
Tell the cubs that they are going to see the brightest match in the universe. Have them stand in a circle and cover one eye - it doesn't matter which one. (Tell them to cover it well so that no matter what, no light will enter that eye.) Students should leave the other eye open. Explain that you are going to light a match (or candle) and you want them to stare at the flame until you blow it out (10 - 15 seconds). Light the match. After you blow it out, have the students open and close each eye, switching from side to side. Ask students to describe any differences between what they can see with the eye that was covered and with the uncovered eye.

Explanation: Looking with what had been their covered eye, things should appear clearer and brighter. This is due to a chemical called rhodopsin. Our eyes produce this chemical in low-light situations to improve our night vision. In fact, within five minutes of being in the dark, we can see 1000 times better than when we initially went into the dark. When our eyes are exposed to light, all of the rhodopsin we have been producing is instantly destroyed, making our night vision poor again. Our eyes will not be able to produce the rhodopsin again until we are out of the light.

Lifesavers Sparks
Have the cubs form a circle. Pass one wintergreen lifesaver to each cub. Tell them to put the lifesaver in their mouth and chew with their mouths open! (Something they aren't allowed to do at home). Look in each other's mouths and observe what is happening.

Explanation: The lifesavers will spark. Why? When the sugar crystals break, they release a weak burst of ultra-violet energy. This energy excites the molecules of the wintergreen oil in the lifesavers and causes the oil to glow, or fluoresce. A similar effect can be seen when two pieces of quartz are struck together.

We have a cubcast on our site under the archive called: Kept in the dark..

Marc
www.knwcubs.com

OOhh, neat. Works for Beavers at camp, too.