GATHERING ACTIVITIES

Note on Word Searches, Word Games, Mazes and such – In order to make these items fit in the two column format of Baloo’s Bugle they are shrunk to a width of about 3 inches.  Your Cubs probably need bigger pictures.  You can get these by copying and pasting the picture from the Word version or clipping the picture in the Adobe (.pdf) version and then enlarging to page width.  CD

The Hidden Fleet

Baltimore Area Council

Go Forward, Backward or Diagonally to find the names of the fourteen different kinds of ships below:

(We've done the first one, to show you how)

YACHT                              SLOOP                            CUTTER

KETCH                           GALLEON                             BARK

 SCHOONER                   CLIPPER                                JUNK

 TUG                                   CANOE                  BRIGANTINE

CORVETTE                    SAMPAN.

School of Fish

Voyageur Council

Pin pictures of fish on people as they arrive.  Have cutouts of swordfish, tuna, trout, catfish, etc.  On a signal, they are to see which “school of fish” can assemble first.

Scrambled Water

Longhorn Council

When you unscramble the following words, you will know eight kinds of bodies of water.

KEAL                 NECOA              YOUBA

DROJF                  FULG             GOANOL

NOPD                  VERIR

Answers: lake, ocean, bayou, fjord, gulf, lagoon, pond, river

Underwater Words

Longhorn Council

How many words can you make from the letters in the word UNDERWATER? Who can make most words? How about the longest? (At least 80 are possible! Probably even more.)

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs!

Alice, Golden Empire Council

Using the list of Water Proverbs under Theme Related, you can:

?         Put half of a water saying on one person’s back and they must locate the person with the other half of their saying by asking only questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no”.

?         Have individuals, families or dens pick a water saying out of a bag – they then act out their saying as Charades.  Winning person or team gets the most correct answers and has first chance at the refreshment table.

?         Have each team (den, family, or boy and parent) pulls a phrase out of a bag and explain the meaning of the phrase – give an extra point for a good example.

Have an H2O Olympics:

Alice, Golden Empire Council

Use teams made up of dens or families.  Have the following “events” set up around the room, and have a “judge” keep track of each team’s scores:

ü  Pole Vaulting – Over the Top – Fill a clear plastic cup with water to the brim.  Add pennies one at a time till the water spills over the top.

ü  Balance Beam – Using an eyedropper, add drops of water to a penny’s surface. Continue till the water spills over or the drop collapses.

ü  Sculling Contest: Bubble Power – Cut out two boat shapes from a piece of cardboard (see pattern); Cut a small notch in the center rear of each boat and place a soap chip there.  Boat shape can be altered by the team with scissors.  Put boats in a tray filled with water and on signal, each team lets their boat go to see which one goes fastest.

ü  Backstroke Competition – See which team can suspend the most paper clips on the surface of the water. (Hint: Lay the paper clip on the tines of a fork and lower clip into the water) Use a magnifying glass to get a better idea of what’s happening on the surface of the water.

These would also make great den games!

Build a River

Alice, Golden Empire Council

The object of this activity is to put together all the components of a river (or ocean, or stream, or lake – whatever is most common in your area)

·         Make up sets of cards with things that make up a river (or whatever body of water you are using) written on them – For a river you may have - water, riverbank, rapids, waterfalls, sand, mud, various kinds of fish, turtles, birds, insects, various kinds of plants, bushes, flowers, trees, pebbles, boulders, bridges, beaches, swimming hole, beaver dam, marshy area, snag in water, sand bar, man-made dam, etc.  Make enough sets for each den, family or assigned group to have one. 

·         Each completed “river” is made by people holding cards or taping them to the wall. 

·         Once the “river” is completed, the group chooses a name for their “river,” as well as characteristics for their river.

·         They should also come up with a conservation project to maintain or improve their river’s health.

·         Each group gets to share their project with the whole pack.

Mink in a Maze

Voyageur Council

Every wild animal must live in its chosen habitat.  The mink prefers a riparian habitat. Can you help it find its way to the pond at the center of the maze?

Ocean Objects Word Search

Voyageur Council

Find these things that can be found in or on the ocean.  Look up, down, across, backwards and diagonally:

BOAT                              OCTOPUS                          BREEZE

PELICAN                          CORAL                                  SALT

CRAB                                  SAND                                      EEL

SEA                                       FISH                                SHARK

FLOTSAM                           SHIP                                       FOG

STORMS                             GULL                                      SUB

ICEBERG                         WAVES                 LIGHTHOUSE

                                           WHALES

The remaining 13 letters, in order, spell the name of a beautiful sea.

How Many Words

Baltimore Area Council

ü  Give each boy a pencil and a piece of paper. 

ü  See how many words they can make out of the letters in the word “RIVERBOAT.” 

ü  Each letter may be used only once (except “R” which may be used twice since there are two of them). 

ü  “RIVER” and “BOAT” do not count.

Crossing the Quick Sand

Circle Ten Council

Place small pieces of masking tape on the floor to from a twisty line of stepping-stones with some close together and others far apart.

Each Cub in turn tries the course while balancing a tennis ball on a flat board.

Fishing in the Tropics

Place a dishpan with many plastic or rubber items in the bottom, on the floor in the middle of the room.

Provide a fishing pole consisting of a stick about two feet long, on one end of which is fastened a string with a hook.  Velcro works great.  Be sure you put Velcro on the items in the sea.

As they arrive, give each Cub Scout three minutes to snag as many “fish” as he can, and award a small prize when finished.

Float the Needle

Have bowl of water and a needle and challenge boys to try to make the needle float. 

After they have tried and failed, place a small piece of tissue on water and the needle on top of that.  As the tissue gets wet, it will sink to the bottom.  The surface tension of the water will allow the needle to remain afloat.