November Cub Scout Roundtable Issue

Volume 7, Issue 3

Turn on the Power (Webelos Craftsman & Scientiest)

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Franklin Discovers Electricity
York Adams Council

Franklin: "A Penny Saved"
Lightning: "Zap-Zap-Zap"
Experiment: "Try it! Try it! Try it!"
Electricity: "Shocking!"

It was the 1740's when Ben Franklin started working with Electricity. He conducted many different Experiments to try to understand more about it. His most famous Experiment being his kite flying one in June of 1752. Franklin believed that Lightning was a flow of Electricity taking place in nature. To test his hypothesis, he tied a metal key to a child's kite and flew the kite during a thunderstorm. The key became charged with Electricity, and Ben had proof that Lightning is really a string of Electricity. His kite Experiment and his others helped him develop many of the words and terms that we still use today when dealing with Electricity: charge, discharge, conductor, minus, plus, electrician, electric shock, and others.

Franklin's numerous experiments with LIGHTNING led to his invention of the LIGHTNING rod. The LIGHTNING rod is used to protect buildings and ships from getting struck by Lightning. Benjamin Franklin was a huge contributor to the field of Electricity. He is said to be the first man to discover anything spectacular about Electricity, and he is well known by people everywhere for that.

Unlike some other inventors in electricity, Franklin did not spend his entire life working with it. He invented many other things that had nothing to do with Electricity, such as bifocals, the Franklin Stove, and the odometer. In 1831, he founded what is considered as the first public library. He wrote Poor Richard's Almanac, which was published from 1732 to 1757. He also established the first Fire department, and a police force. Franklin was also a huge political power in colonial America. Benjamin Franklin died at age 84 on April 17, 1790. He will forever be remembered for his contributions to Electricity and the rest of the world.

A Frontier Thanksgiving
Trapper Trails Council

 Divide the audience into seven groups and assign each group one of the following sound effects to be given on cue.

Settler: "Davey Crockett,"

Gun: "Bang, bang."

Dog: "Man's best friend:"

Turkey: "Yum, yum."

Cabin: "Shut the door!"

Frontier: "Way out west!"

Indian: "Geronimo!"

Thanksgiving: Everyone pats tummy.

Early one Thanksgiving morning, many years ago on the old Frontier, a Settler stood before his lonely Cabin with his trusty Gun and faithful Dog ready to hunt the Turkey he needed for dinner, hoping no Indians would spoil his feast. Whistling to his Dog, the Settler shouldered his Gun and started down the forest trail. Meantime, the Indian, also with a Dog, came down the forest trail from the other direction. Just at that moment a fat Turkey flew between them. Out flew an arrow, off went the Gun, down fell the Turkey, in bounded the Dogs, up rushed the Indian and the Settler. "It's mine," claimed the Settler. "Ugh - him mine," said the Indian. "Gr rr," snarled the Dogs. The noise of the argument shook the Cabin and awoke the whole Frontier. But the Turkey, which was only stunned, took off unsteadily and flew in the open door of the Cabin, where it was promptly captured by the Indian and the Settler and the Dogs. And thus, Thanksgiving came to a lonely Cabin on the old Frontier.

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