OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Plan a Summer of Fun!
Get them OUTDOORS

Three quarters of
SCOUTING is OUTING

Kommissioner Karl

If your pack has not already planned some activities this summer, DO IT NOW!  Go fishing or hiking in June, day camps and Resident Camp are in July, and have an ice cream social, family picnic or family camping overnight in August.  Remember, you will need to promote and remind parents of your events to make sure they remember to attend!

Where to go – What to do?

Summer program is very important in northern areas.  By not having an outdoor program for Cubs, you are missing out on the best three months of weather you get!  Outings can be den, pack or family oriented.  Here are a few ideas:

• Family Overnight campout at an approved Cub Scout facility.  These should have flush toilets for the convenience of younger boys and family members less comfortable with camping.  Be sure your destination is approved by calling the Council office and asking if the facilities meet the Guide To Safe Scouting. requirements.
• Amusement Parks – almost everyone has an amusement or water park someone close.  Call the park and ask about discount to groups or scouts.  Many have special days with low rates just for scouts and families.
• Family Picnic – a bring a dish, softball/volleyball/ scavenger hunt can be great fun, with very little work.  There are a number of facilities to go to in the area, including pavilions for sunny or wet days.  Check with the park department to see if you reserve a pavilion – or if it is first come first serve.  You may need to send someone there early to make sure you get your spot.
• Day Hike and campfire – have them brush up on all the skits you taught them from Roundtable and come out for a big campfire.  Plan a short walking hike to areas of interest ahead of time.  Many County and State parks (For you Ohioans - like Fort Laurens in Zoar, and the Towpath trail) are great places to take short hikes – before settling in for a campfire or picnic.
• Parent-Son baseball game – nothing caps off the baseball season like a parent- son baseball game.  You can divide up the teams – with a parent going to one side and the son to other team.  This usually keeps things calm for those that are overcompetive.  You can play parents against the boys (usually great fun) but adults play opposite handed.  They bat and throw with there non-dominant hand.  Ok to catch the ball with either hand.  If you have a Mom that was a softball champion, you may have her bat opposite handed too.
• County and state parks often have ample facilities for a pack, a great nature lodge, and fishing.  Usually there is a great picnic area.  Call your park for information.
• A pack fishing derby is enormous fun.  A few trophies is all it takes.  Make sure to give out prizes for the biggest and most fish.  Don’t know how to do this?  Find a local fishing derby and have your pack go and participate with everyone else in the community.
• Derby Days – hold a raingutter regatta, space derby – and second pinewood derby race – for no prizes.  Have a Dad’s division so they can build their own car and leave Jr’s alone next year.
• Look for District or Council summertime events to take part in as a pack.  Day camps, resident camps, Parent-Child campouts.  These count toward your award, and make planning a whole lot easier.
• Minor league Ball games – Most minor league ball teams hold a scout night with a sleepover in the outfield.  Check out your local team!!  And the cost is usually very reasonable.  The Wilmington Blue Rocks are about $6 a ticket.  Or if not a sleepover – a fireworks night!!

Or how about an
Inter-Pack Sports Day. 

Get together with another pack (or two or three or more) and plan a day of sporting adventures.  Solicit ideas for large group games from the participants.  Fill in with other games from the How To Book.  Suggestions could include - holding races – crab walk, gorilla race, kangaroo race (See Bear book), an inter-pack kickball or volleyball tournament. 

Ask, too, for individual things boys (and/or siblings) can do – e.g. fishing, physical fitness course (See Wolf book), and/or a specialty hike along a marked trail, disc golf. 

The CS Academics and Sports Program Guide has a plan for setting up a Pack Sports Event or Tournament and the Special Pack Activities section of the How To Book has ideas for Cub Scout Field Day, Summer Celebration, Welcome to the Midway, and Western Rodeo.  All these could be blended into a special program of activities selected just for your group.

Maybe you want to teach them how to play Ultimate and hold a game.  Or choose another sport.

PACK AND DEN ACTIVITIES

• 400 grit wet/dry silicon carbide paper (sandpaper with tougher grit to you  and me)
• ¾” wide double stick foam tape (better) or carpet tape
• ¾” wide tongue depressors (sold now as craft sticks!)

Instructions

• Cut a 4 ½” long piece of the tape
• Cut a piece of the sandpaper – ¾” by 4 ½”
• Stick tape to tongue depressor
• Stick paper to tape
• Your done
• Read instructions on knife sharpening in Scout books

Many apologies to Norm.  I hope he is still reading Baloo.  Norm sent me this about 6 months ago and it got lost and / or forgotten until my son and I were asked to teach Whittlin’ Chip.  I am so sorry.  It is such a great idea!!  And all the Cubs at the Encampment loved them!!  CD

Den Activities
Great Salt Lake Council

Wolf Elective            5 g    Make a model rocket

Bear Achievement      21 f   Make a model of a rocket

        Elective           1 d    Build a model of a rocket or space satellite

Webelos

        Scientist          5       Show the effects of air pressure

                              6       Show the effects of water and air pressure

                              7       Build and launch a model rocket

Ideas for your Den and Pack
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council

• Have a July 4th Outdoor Flag Raising Ceremony at your Chartered Organization site or a local school or church.  This is a great opportunity for the boys to participate in a flag raising and share some flag protocol. Follow up with a “parade” for kids on bikes, in wagons, on big wheels, etc.  It’s even more fun it they are decorated.  Have a contest for the best decorated or give everyone a prize for participation. (See ideas for decorating bikes under crafts)  If this is a Pack Event, you could have a pancake breakfast following.

• Try out some of the ideas for Connecting Core Values with Outdoor Activities under Citizenship:
• Raise the flag at a local school for a specific period of time.
• Play a team sport and then discuss how the whole is greater than the individuals, relating this to society.
• Re-enact the signing of the Declaration of Independence or some other historic event at a campfire.
• While on a pack overnighter, boys make up “laws” to govern their “tent city.”  Discuss why it’s important to understand how good laws benefit all citizens.
• Host a Flag Retirement Ceremony - Advertise to collect flags that are dirty or tattered and invite everyone to attend an official retirement ceremony.  Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council has even gotten support from a regional grocery, (Raley’s) that prints fliers with instructions on the proper display of flags and collects old flags from their customers.  During an entire weekend at the local BSA camp, Camp Pollock, a fire is kept burning from Friday pm thru Sunday and flags are retired by all levels of scouts.  There is also a demonstration of lashing skills, living history events such as a visit from “Baden-Powell,” and opportunities to take bike or hike trails and work on badge or belt loop work.
• Make posters showing the correct way to display the flag – ask local retailers to display them.  You might also be able to put a display in your local library or community center – but be sure to put it up and take it down on time!
• Visit a local fireworks display as a pack.
• Ask an expert on rocketry to come and talk to your pack.  (check with local rocketry clubs or your local reference librarian or check the site listed below and contact a local museum to see if they have a speaker or can give a special tour)
• Visit a local museum with information about rockets – to find possibilities in any state, go to http://www.spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/museums/idex/shtml  Click on your state and you’ll get a scrolling list of locations with contact information
• Print out black and white pages of various flags used in American history, along with some information about what they were called, when they were used and other historical facts.  Have each boy color in the flag with the correct colors and display them at the Pack meeting.  (available online – one source is Enchanted Learning)
• Challenge each family to obtain an American Flag for their home and to fly it on National Holidays for the next year.  You might even take a photo of each family in front of their flag for the Pack or Den scrapbook.
• Attend the swearing in of some new citizens – find out what they had to learn in order to pass the test!  (Check with your local government officials to see when and where)
• Of course, many packs will be having a Space Derby this month – have a great race!

Build a Bubble-Powered Rocket!
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/rocket.shtml

Build your own rocket using paper and fizzing tablets! Watch it lift off. How high does your rocket go? Print this page for the instructions.

Materials:

• Paper, regular 8-1/2- by 11-inch paper, such as computer printer paper or even notebook paper.
• Plastic 35-mm film canister

The film canister MUST be one with a cap that fits INSIDE the rim instead of over the outside of the rim. Sometimes photography shops have extras of these and will be happy to donate some for such a worthy cause.

• Cellophane tape
• Scissors
• Effervescing (fizzing) antacid tablet (the kind used to settle an upset stomach)
• Paper towels
• Water
• Eye protection (like eye glasses, sun glasses, or safety glasses)

Directions

Keep in mind: Just like with real rockets, the less your rocket weighs and the less air resistance (drag) it has, the higher it will go.

Making the Rocket

• You must first decide how to cut your paper.
• You may cut it the short way or the long way to make the body of the rocket.
• There is no one right way to make a paper rocket.
• Try a long, skinny rocket or a short, fat rocket.
• Try a sharp nosecone or a blunt nosecone.
•  Try it with fins or without fins.
• Experiment!

Here's just one idea for how you might cut your whole rocket from one piece of paper:

Here are the basic steps:

Cut out all the pieces for your rocket.

Wrap and tape a tube of paper around the film canister.

Hint: Tape the canister to the end of the paper before you start wrapping.

Important! Place the lid end of the canister down.

Tape fins to your rocket body, if you want.

Roll the circle (with a wedge cut out) into a cone and tape it to the rocket's top.

Blasting Off

• Put on your eye protection.
• Turn the rocket upside down and remove the canister's lid.
• Fill the canister one-third full of water.
• Now work quickly on the next steps!
• Drop one-half of an effervescing antacid tablet into the canister.
• Snap the lid on tight.
• Stand your rocket on a launch platform, such as your sidewalk or driveway.
• Stand back and wait. Your rocket will blast off!

Baltimore Area Council

Ideas for Pack Activities:

• Visit Independence Mall, The Statue of Liberty, Any historical National Park,
• Visit the National Mall in Washington, DC, any of the Smithsonian Museums
• Launch 2-liter soda bottle rockets
• Visit the Cape Canaveral or the Goddard Space Flight Center
• Visit the Betsy Ross House or Flag House
• Hold a Space Derby
• Visit local Civil War Battlefields

Ideas for Den Activities:

• Have a patriotic picnic
• Build model rockets or Space Derby rockets
• Visit Fort McHenry (you may be able to help raise or lower the flag if you schedule in advance!)
• Go for a hike in a local park (Take plastic grocery bags and leave the place looking better than you found it!)
• Make red, “white” and blue Jell-O (cream cheese for white)
• Go as a Den with families to watch a fireworks show

Safety Pin Flag
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council

Materials:

• 9 safety pins, 1 ½ inches long
• Red, white, and blue plastic beads, 4 mm diameter

or

• 9 safety pins, 7/8 inches long
• Red, white and blue seed beads

Directions

• String a pin with 4 red and 4 white beads. Start with white and alternate colors. You will end with a red bead.
• String 3 more pins the same way.
• String a pin with four blue beads, then , with a white, red, white and red bead.
• String three more pins the same way.
• Use a butter knife or pliers to bend open the non-fastening side of the pin. String the eight pins on this non-fastening side.
• Put the four red and white pins on first. Then put on the four red, white and blue pins.
• Pinch the pin closed.

American Flag Slide
Baltimore Area Council

Materials:

• 1 – 2 ½” Tongue depressor
• 1 – 1” long piece of ¾” PVC pipe
• Paint or markers or stamps/stickers
• Sandpaper
• Clear finish or nail polish
• Glue
• Kitchen shears

Directions:

• Cut the tongue depressor to about 2½” long.
• Round the ends so that they match with kitchen shears.
• Smooth with sandpaper.
• Using markers or paint, draw a flag on the tongue depressor. Or get any appropriate stickers or stamps and stick it to the depressor.
• Spray with a clear finish or apply several coats of clear nail polish. (Test first to make sure the paint doesn’t run.)
• Glue the PVC pipe to the back for the loop.

The Firecracker Neckerchief Slide
Baltimore Area Council

Make this bang-up slide for Independence Day.

• Obtain a dowel rod ¾ or 7/8 of an inch in diameter and cut a piece to measure 2¼ inches of length.
• Prepare to drill three holes with a 1/16-inch drill bit.
• To make a hole for the fuse, drill the center of the length of the dowel about halfway through.
• Rotate the dowel one-quarter turn and draw a pencil line across the length of the dowel.
• To make holes for the back loop, drill two holes along the line a half-inch from each end.
• Lightly sand all surfaces with medium to medium-fine sandpaper.
• Smooth the edges of each end until slightly rounded.
• Paint the dowel red with either spray enamel or enamel model paint. Use several light coats rather than one heavy coat, allowing each coat to dry.
• For a fuse, cut a piece of candlewick or heavy cord about 1 1/2 inches. Paint the fuse royal blue.
• After it has dried, glue the fuse into the center hole.
• For the back loop, use a 2½  inch strand of 12-gauge house wire with plastic coating. Remove 3/8 of an inch of plastic from each end. Bend the ends at right angles so that the middle section matches the distance between the holes.
• Check to make sure the ends will fit before gluing in place.

American Flag
Baltimore Area Council

Materials needed:

• Pony Beads (15X9)
• 32 blue (plus extras for end)
• 52 white (plus extras for end)
• 51 red (plus extras for end)
• 3 yards of cord or ribbon
• 1 lanyard hook

Directions:

• Fold your ribbon in half to find the center
• Use a half hitch to secure it to lanyard hook
• Lace beads using the photo as a guide
• Finish by tying off with a double knot.
• Add beads on both ends.

Postage Stamp Neckerchief Slide
Baltimore Area Council

Materials:

• One postage stamp,
• one piece of lightweight wood,
• one piece of 1” lomg by 1-inch diameter PVC pipe,
• paint,
• glue
• A new or canceled postage stamp.

Directions

• Cut a piece of thin wood (about 2 inches larger in diameter than the stamp).
• Paint the wood a color that will look nice with the stamp.
• Glue the stamp to the front of the wood.
• When dry, paint over the stamp with white glue to give it a shiny effect and to protect it.
• Attach the PVC pipe to the wood.

Pledge of Allegiance Wall Hanging
Baltimore Area Council

• Use a piece of dark blue felt (or another color if you desire) for the background of your wall hanging and alphabet macaroni for the lettering.
• Arrange the macaroni letters on a sheet of paper, spelling out the words of the Pledge of Allegiance as they will appear on your wall hanging.
• Spray paint the arrangement with gold paint.
• Then, using a strip of cardboard for a guide, glue the macaroni to the felt.
• You may want to add a small flag or other patriotic sticker to your wall hanging.
• Sew the top and bottom edge of the felt around plastic straws with gold embroidery thread.
• For hanging, insert a length of the thread through the top star and tie, leaving the ends to dangle like fringe.

Patriotic Pin Wheel
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council

Look for two gift wrap papers, one with stars or a blue background and one with red/white stripes.  Or just choose two patriotic gift wraps, Or make your own – use a dark blue background and add adhesive stars, then use markers to create a striped paper.  Use a lightweight paper, such as copy paper, as you will be gluing the two papers together, wrong sides together – use a paper glue stick so it won’t wrinkle.  Now cut a square at least 8” in size.  Fold the square from one corner to the other, forming a triangle – do this on both sides, so you have four lines meeting in the center.  Now make a cut about 2/3 of the way from each corner to the center. Now bring each point down to the center to form a pinwheel – don’t fold it.  You can now attach your pinwheel with a push pin to a pencil on the eraser end, or use a paper brad and attach it to a balloon straw.  (Using the brad, you may want to pre-punch a hole in each corner before forming the pinwheel)  Now, find a breeze, or make your own!

Life Saver Firecracker
Utah National Parks Council

Use red tape and foil stars to decorate a roll of Lifesavers to look like a firecracker.  Use a pipe cleaner for the wick, and attach a star to the end.  You can use  the same idea with a toilet paper roll or a paper towel tube to make much larger firecrackers.

Space Shuttle Paper Model
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council

Go to http://tammyyee.com/c-shuttle1.html  print out the printed sheet, (enlarge to 200%)cut out and slit as directed.  Fold and glue – an easy craft that will really fly!

Uncle Sam Doorknob hanger
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council

Really Rockit
Utah National Parks Council

Patriotic Neckerchief Slide
Utah National Parks Council

Parade Stick
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council

• Cut red, white and blue crepe paper into 4-6 inch lengths. 
• Take two of each color and stack.  .
• Fold the stack in half and tape it to the end of a thin dowel. 
• Decorate the streamers with star stickers. 
• Use it for applause time at the Pack meeting or to cheer on a parade.

Striped Stars T-Shirts
Utah National Parks Council

• a plain white T-shirt, half&half blend works best rather than cotton;
• newspaper;
• corrugated cardboard;
• star stencil or cookie cutter;
• scissors or craft knife;
• red and blue fabric paint; foam brush

• Slip sheets of newspaper inside the shirt so paint won’t bleed through to the other side. 
• Trace several star shapes on the corrugated cardboard and then cut out with scissors or a craft knife. 
• Peel away the top layer of the star to expose the ribbed layer of the cardboard. 
• Coat the ribs only with red or blue fabric paint,
• Then press firmly and evenly against the shirt. 
• You will have red or blue stripes with stars showing through. 
• Let the paint dry completely, then heat set with a hot iron – but use a piece of fabric between the painted fabric and the iron.

An Artist’s Way to Draw Patriotic Symbols
Alice, CS RT Commissioner
Pioneer District, Golden Empire Council