PACK/DEN ACTIVITIES

Make Smog
Sandy from various resources

Supplies: Glass jar, Aluminum foil, Ice, Paper, Matches or lighter

Directions:

1.  Find a large jar and wash it out with water.  Don’t dry the jar though, you want it to be slightly damp.

2.  Cut a piece of aluminum foil slightly larger than the top of the jar.  Put some ice cubes onto the foil.

3.  Cut a small piece of paper.  Fold it a couple of times then twist it.

4.  An adult should light the paper and drop it in the jar.  Quickly seal the jar with the foil (which has the ice on top) and watch what happens.

How it works:

The smoke from the burning paper rises up in the warm air.  When it reaches the cold air around the ice, it sinks back down to the middle where it mixes with the humidity (water) in the air to form smog.  When the weather is damp and warm, the same thing happens over cities that produce a lot of smoke and pollution.  Does this happen in your town? 

Pollution From Car Engines
Sandy from various resources

THE CAR MUST BE OUTDOORS – NOT IN A GARAGE!!!

Supplies: Square of fine cotton, Strong rubber band, Car

Directions:

1.  Take a square of fine cotton (an old handkerchief will do) and wrap it over the end of a cold exhaust pipe.  Hold it in place with a strong rubber band.

2.  Have an adult turn the engine on for two minutes.  Stand away from the car because the exhaust fumes are lethal.

3.  After the engine is turned off, ask an adult to remove the cotton.  What does it look like?

How it works:

The dirt on the cotton is soot, which normally goes into the air.  When we breathe in, we take this soot, together with car fumes, into our lungs.

Catalytic Converters:

All new cars have a catalytic converter.  This is a device that is fitted into the exhaust system to filter out harmful gases and some of the soot in the exhaust fumes.  These cars can only use lead-free gasoline and are generally less polluting.

Decomposition Exercise
Sandy from various resources

Have the Cubs bring several common household trash items to the meeting.  With a stapler, hammer and nail, or duct tape, attach the trash to a board and expose it to the elements for a month.  Make sure that the board is set up in a clear area where it will get the full force of the sun, wind and rain.  At the end of the month examine each item and compare their relative decomposition.

CRAFTS

GROCERY BAG KEEPER

Supplies:

2-liter soda bottles

Knife and scissors

Plastic grocery bags

Directions:

1.  Wash and dry bottles thoroughly.

2.  Cut off about 3 inches off the top of the bottle and about 2 inches off the bottom of the bottle.

3.  Stuff the bottles with plastic grocery bags.

MONSTER MARKERS

Supplies:

Roll-on deodorant bottles (Ban works best)

paint

Directions:

1.  Take the deodorant bottles apart and wash and dry well.

2.  Mix tempera or poster paint.  Get out all the lumps.  It should be as thick as cream.

3.  Pour the paint into the bottle.

4.  Put the roll-on cap back on.  Use your markers as you would any other kind of marker.  Don’t forget to put the outer cap back on when you are finished using your markers.  Collect lots of bottles and put different colored paint in each.

SEEDLING NECKLACE

Supplies:

Small clear plastic pill bottles                     

or                    

Clear 35 mm film containers

Lids for containers                                                               

Cotton balls

Seeds                                                                                    

Water

Yarn and scissors

Directions:

1.  Moisten the cotton ball thoroughly then squeeze the excess moisture out.  Put the wet cotton inside the bottle.  Slip two or three seeds between the cotton and the wall of the bottle.  Put on the lid.

2.  Tie a piece of yarn around the lid then tie the two ends together to form a necklace.

3.  Wear your necklace until the seeds have sprouted.  Then, plant them in a flowerpot or in your garden.

PUZZLE TREE

Supplies:

Yellow and brown construction paper

Old jigsaw pieces

Scissors and glue

Directions:

1.  Cut a tree shape from the brown construction paper.  Glue the tree on the yellow paper. 

2.  Glue the puzzle pieces on the tree for leaves.  If your puzzle pieces have lots of red, orange, and brown colors

on them you can make an autumn tree and glue some of the pieces at the base of the tree, to make leaves on the

ground.  Pink pieces mixed with light green pieces make pretty spring trees.  Green pieces are just right for a summer tree.  Why not make all three to show the different trees during the changing seasons.

Hint:

If your puzzle pieces are not the right color for the tree just turn them over and paint them the color you want.

RECYCLED WIND SOCK

Supplies:

Plastic margarine, Cool Whip, or similar tubs                               Scissors and knife

Bells                                                                                                    Glue

Crepe paper party streams, plastic bags, ribbon, nylon fabric, or yarn

Directions:

1.  Cut the bottom out of the plastic tub.  Cut the center out of the lid, leaving the outer ring.

2.  Cut 2-foot streamers from the crepe paper, ribbon, or plastic bags.  Arrange them around the rim of the tub so that they hang down over the edge.  Put a small bead of glue all the way around the inside of the lid and snap it over the rim of the tub to hold the streamers in place.

3.  Tie the bells onto a 1-foot length of yarn.  Tuck the two ends of the yarn under the lid so that it forms a hanger.

4.  Hang outside where the wind will blow it.

SOCK CACTUS

Supplies:

Old white socks                                                         Toothpicks

Sand                                                                           Rubber band

Glue                                                                            Green poster paint or green spray paint

Large detergent bottle cap, hair spray cap, or similar can top

Directions:

1.  Cut the foot off of a sock just after the heel.  Stuff the part of the sock you cut off into the foot to make the

cactus.  You may need to put in part of another sock or pillow stuffing to make it full enough.  Close the sock

with a rubber band.  Trim off some of the extra sock if you need to, but be sure to leave about 3 in. for “planting”

the cactus.

2.  Paint the cactus green and let it dry.

3.  Break several toothpicks in half, dip them in glue, and pole them into the cactus to make the spines.  Let

the glue dry.

4. To plant the cactus, mix glue into the sand so that it moistens it completely.  Use enough sand to almost fill the cap.  Stand the cactus in the cap and pack the sand into the cap around the cactus.  Let the sand and glue dry overnight.  

HAIRY HARRY

Supplies:

Old panty hose or knee-highs

Potting soil

Grass seed

Wiggle eyes

Red paint marker

Small black pom pom

Lo-temp hot glue gun

Scissors

Rubber band

Water

Small flowerpot

Directions:

1.  If using panty hose cut off the foot end so that it is about a six inches long.

2.  Carefully place a scant teaspoon of grass seed in the tip end of the hose.  Place enough potting soil on top of the seed so that you form a 3 to 4 inch ball.  Secure the loose end of the panty hose with a rubber band.

3.  Hot glue the wiggle eyes below the seeds.  Hot glue the pom pom in place for a nose and use the marker to draw a mouth.  

4.  Hot glue the soil filled panty hose ball to the flowerpot, seed side up.

5.  Water and keep moist and in a few days “Harry” will grow “hair”.

The Eggheads
Baden Powell Council

This year, give your bald Easter eggs a head of hair.

Materials: Eggs and carton, small nail, soil, grass seed, permanent markers, film canisters.

Procedure:

1.      Use a small nail to make a hole about the size of a quarter in one end of an egg, the drain the egg and rinse out the shell.  Draw funny faces on shells and put them back in carton.

2.       Fill the shells with soil (using spoon makes it easier), then plant with grass seeds.

3.      Moisten the soil, cover with plastic  wrap, and place in a sunny window until the seeds sprouts - generally less than a week.  When the eggheads have a thick, green mane, remover the covering and place them on a stand (empty film canisters work for this.)

4.      Style the hair into pigtails, buzz cuts, or Mohawks and water every day.

Circle 10 Council

It is time for out of door activities. We need to be aware of out environment and what we can do to help preserve

our natural resources. This is an excellent month to work on the World Conservation Award.

Can You Believe?

1. Each person in the United States throws out about four pounds of garbage every day.

2. New York City alone throws out enough garbage each day to fill the Empire State building.

3. In one day, Americans get rid of 20,000 cars and 4,000 trucks and buses.

4. Fourteen billion pounds of trash is dumped into ocean every year.

5. Forty-three thousand tons of food is thrown out in the United States each day.

6. Each hour, people in the United States use two and a half million plastic bottles.

7. People in the United States throw out about 200 million tires every year.

8. All the people in the United States make enough garbage each day to fill 100,000 garbage trucks.

9. In only one day, people in the United States toss 15,000 tons of packing material.

10. It takes 90 percent less energy to recycle an aluminum can than to make a new one.

11. Sixty-five billion aluminum soda cans are used each year.

12. The energy saved by recycling a glass bottle instead of making a new one would light a light bulb for four hours.

13. Every ton of paper that is recycles saves seventeen trees.

14. Only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the United States gets recycled.

What You Can Do!

1. Begin your own home recycling center.

2. Organize your den to take a field trip to a park or beach to clean up litter.

3. Instead of using paper towels, use cloth towels, which can be washed and reused again and again.

4. Before you toss soda rings into the garbage, cut all the circles with scissors so animals and birds can’t get caught in them.

5. Instead of throwing out some things that you don’t want anymore, see if someone else could use them. Try having a yard sale.

6. Keep a ragbag. Put old torn clothes in it and have a supply of rags to help cleans the house or use for messy projects.

7. When you go shopping, bring a cloth bag or recycle old brown paper bags by taking them with you.

8. Bring old books you don’t want to your library. Maybe the library could use them.

9. Save paper. Use both sides of every sheet. Use recycle paper. If more of us use recycled paper, there will be a bigger demand for it.

Soda Cans
Circle 10 Council

Before a soda can gets to the store, before it has soda in it before it’s even a can, it is part of the earth!

As a conservation project for your den, recycle the aluminum cans your family uses.  These cans can also be used for crafts.

Materials needed: Aluminum cans – empty, paint that will hold on aluminum, Hot glue or 6000 glue, materials needed for decorating the cans

Directions:

1. Wash the can thoroughly of all soda.

2. Crush the can so that the can top is on one side and the can bottom is on the other side.

This may take several cans in order to get them crushed correctly.

3. Make the can as flat as you can.

4. Paint the can any way you choose.  An example: make a Cub Scout

5. Glue on any accessories needed.

6. A magnet could be attached on the back.

List Of Environmental Groups:

1. The National Resources Defense Council
40 West 20 th Street
New York, NY 10011
They’re starting kids’ environmental organization – ask them about it!

2. The Environmental Defense Fund
1616 P Street NW
Suite 150
Washington, DC 20036

3. Renew America
Suite 710
1400 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
They’ve got an interesting collection of environmental “success stories” – true stories about kids who made a difference.

4. Greenpeace
1436 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

Turn It On! -- Turn It Off!
Circle 10 Council

You can save up to 20,000 gallons of water a year by not letting the water run. That’s enough to fill a swimming pool.  Imagine pumping water or hauling it from a well every time you wanted to brush your teeth, like they used to the old days. It was hard work! Life is easier now.  We can just turn on a faucet and presto water!  In fact, it’s so easy to get water that we let gallons of it go down the drain without thinking!  We need a little water-saving magic: Presto, on!  Presto, off! Don’t go with the flow!  Practice conservation – keep track for a week how much water you have conserved.

Here are a few suggestions of what you can do:

When you brush your teeth: Just wet your brush, then turn off the water … and then turn it on again when you need to rinse your brush off.  You’ll save up to nine gallons of water each time!  That’s enough to give your pet a bath.

When you wash dishes: If you just fill up the basin and rinse dishes in it, instead of letting the water run, you can save up to 25 gallons each time. That’s enough to take a five-minute shower.

When you’re going to take a bath: Plug the tub before you let the water run, so you don’t waste any.

When you’re thirsty: If you like cool water, why not leave bottles of it in the refrigerator instead of letting the water run! You’ll save water, and still have a cool drink.  After you have tracked the water usage in your home, bring your notes to the den meeting and share with your fellow Cub Scouts their notes.

Stop The Drip
Circle 10 Council

An Overnight Project

If there is a leaky faucet in your home, put a container under it to catch the drip.  Leave it overnight.  You may be surprised to see how much water collects overnight from even a slow drip.  It is definitely worth fixing every leaky faucet.  You’ll save water and you’ll save money.  If you don’t know how to fix a faucet, you can learn how from a book.  Find one in the library.

Check The Flow

A One-Minute Project

How much water runs out of your sink faucet in a minute?

All you have to do to find out is put a pail in the sink. Turn the water on and let it run while you time it:
Stop!  What you see in the pail is the water that would have run down the sink in just one minute, while you were rinsing off a dish or washing a potato. This time you saved it. (Use the water you have just saved to water the houseplants.)  Next time, you can save water by rinsing or scrubbing in a small pan of water.

Catch A Shower
Circle 10 Council

A Five-Minute Project

Which uses more water, a bath or a shower?

To find out, plug the drain of the tub and take a five-minute shower.  Then check the water level in the tub. Is it as deep as the water you usually run for a bath?  If you can convince your family to get a water-saver shower head, you should try the experiment after you’ve installed it to see how much lower the water level is.

Approximately 97% of the earth’s water is in the oceans, and 2% is ice.  All the fresh water that people use comes from the last 1%.

More that 90% of the world’s drinkable water comes from a source under the surface of the earth (groundwater).

A person can live for weeks without food, but cannot live for more than a few days without water.

A faucet dripping at the rate of one drop per second wastes 880 gallons of water a year.

Every ton of recycled paper saves 7,000 gallons of water that would be used in paper production.

Pack Meeting Ideas
Trapper Trails Council

Plan a pack activity in a nature setting, an arboretum or an open field, a National Park or other natural setting. A park would do, but you may need to adjust a few activities. Try a blind-folded nature walk where families walk with their hand on the shoulder of the person ahead of them. The leader would be the Cub master and he of course would not be blind-folded. You could have a quiet moment where they listen to music about nature.  "Sharing Nature with Children" is an excellent book of ideas and activities to do with boys and families. Check your local library.

Everything That's Not Supposed To Be The Hike
Trapper Trails Council

All the cubs are to make a list of all things along the trail, that weren't supposed to be there. Some things such as a glass, a pot, saw, extension cord, tennis ball, etc. can be pre-planted.  When the boys return they will probably have found more than you put there.

Nature Treasure Hunt

The treasure hunt layout depends upon your meeting site. The committee should lay it out several hours before the meeting. Make sure the course is challenging enough to test the Cub Scout's knowledge. The sample course given here would be appropriate for a small park with some trees, picnic area, and a playground.

Dens start at intervals of 5 minutes. All dens are given scorecards on which they write their findings for each station.  Tell them this is not a speed contest.  At each station they look under a rock to find a note telling them what to do and where to go next.  A dad should be in vicinity of each station to provide minimum help, if needed, and to make sure the notes with directions are replaced by each den.

Station 1: You are standing under a tree. Is it an elm, oak, maple, pine, or crabapple? Write down your answer. Go northwest to 4th Street entrance to the park and look around a bush on the right side.

Station 2: Within 5 paces of this spot, there is an insect's home. Find it and write name of the insect. (Could be an ant colony beehive, wasps' nest, etc.) Go south  50 paces to the park bench and look around the northeast side.

Station 3: Five paces west of this spot is a yellow flower. What is it? Is it edible?  (Plant is a dandelion.) Go west to the tallest tree you see in that direction and look around it's base.

Station 4: Within 10 paces of this spot is a plaster cast of an animal track. Find it. Is of a squirrel, bear, dog, horse, deer or skunk? (Use cast of a dog track.)  Go 40 paces northwest to the playground swings and look around the post on the southeast  side.

Station 5: To your right, a Square Foot Claim is staked out. Write down all the nature things you see within it. Don't dig it. Go south to the charcoal grill.

Station 6: Within 5 paces of here, there are scattered 10 pictures of birds. Write down the names of the ones you can identify.  Go east to the twin oak trees and look around the base of the one on the right.

Station 7: Pick up a leaf or bit of grass, and toss it into the air. From which direction is the wind coming? Write it down. Go back to Station land turn in your scorecard.

The den with the best scorecard should be awarded a small prize--perhaps an inexpensive field guide to birds and a blue ribbon for each member.  All treasure hunters might be given candy at the end of the hunt.