WEBELOS

Traveler

Circle 10 Council

The Traveler Activity Badge explores the preparation involved in taking a trip.  Traveler is in the Mental Skills group of badges.  The word “traveler” suggest faraway places and long trips.  Some of the Webelos Scouts may have enjoyed such travels, but they won’t add much to their mileage while working on this activity badge.  They will, however, be able to learn something about trip planning and scheduling and hopefully they will have a chance for a short trip or two, mainly for practice of what they have learned.

Through the badge requirements, Webelos Scouts will learn to read maps and timetables or railroad, buses, or airlines serving your area.  They will learn how to read highway maps and plan trips.  Not only does this badge help prepare the boys for travel experience but also enables them to get the most out of a trip and to learn more about this great country.

Notice that the two trips listed in the requirement are family trips and not Webelos Den activities.  You can help the boys secure some of the travel items they will need and teach them how to read maps and timetables as they prepare for the family trips.

Objectives

To introduce Webelos to the excitement of traveling to see new places and meet new people.

To show Scouts some of the practical skills that are needed to get “there” successfully and efficiently so that when “there,” they can have a rewarding experience.

To have the Scouts practice planning in a fun way.

Where To Go And What To Do

Invite a travel agent to explain to your den about planning for a trip and the use of computers in making reservations.

Visit an automobile club office and find out what they do.

Hang travel posters around den meeting place and discuss ways to travel to these places.

As a den, visit the control tower of an airport.

Invite a parent or other resource person to tell of an unusual vacation he/she has taken.

Just for fun, keep a notebook of funny or unusual Vanity License Plates.

Visit a county, state, or National Park with den families.

Visit a Historic site nearby.

Take a bus or train trip (could be a city bus trip around the city).

Calculate cost and speed of a plane trip.

Make car first aid kits.

Have a speed contest of locating specific destinations and how to get there, using maps and timetables.

Teach proper packing of a suitcase. 

Invite a Boy Scout to bring his backpack and show how to pack one.

Show how to use a fire extinguisher.  How to check to see if the fire extinguisher is in proper working order.

Show how to place, light, and use road flares.  Show when to use them.

Travel Information

Tourism bureaus are an endless source from which you can obtain maps, brochures on tourist attractions and motel and hotel directories.  When you inquire for this information, let them know the month when the den plans to “travel” because some of the attractions are seasonal, and let them know what area of the state you are most interested in.  Most of the literature is free or at a minimal price.  This will be useful for the map exercise and will make working on the Traveler Activity Badge a much more colorful and pleasant experience.

Using Public Transit

The Transit Authority will provide you with a system map and schedules of bus routes that serve your area.  Explain to the Webelos that they can go anywhere that they want on this outing provided they could get there by bus.  This will teach them the use of timetables to plan a trip and they will be taking a trip to someplace that interests them.

Games

How Much Per Mile?

Webelos Woody’s dad had offered to take him to the Nature Center to work on his Naturalist Activity Badge.  Woody’s father tells him that they could go by bus, taxicab, or he will drive the family car.  The bus would cost $1.50 each for Woody and his father.  The taxicab would cost $22.00 for both Woody and his father.  The family car cost $0.25 per mile to operate and the trip would require 2 gallons of gas at $1.00 per gallon.  Woody’s father says that they can leave as soon as Woody figures out what it would cost per mile to travel to the Nature Center by bus, by taxicab, and by car.  The Nature Center is 20 miles away.  Answers:  Bus $0.l5 per mile, Taxi cabs $1.10 per mile, and car, $0.35 per mile.

Find The Mystery City

Divide the den into two teams.  Give each team captain a state highway map.  Call out the names of various cities in the state and have the team locate them on the map.  The first team to locate the city wins the round (win or lose, make sure both teams locate the town before moving on to the next).  The team that locates the most towns first wins.

Packing A Suitcase

Provide a medium size suitcase and bring plenty of items to pack into it.  Included in the items should be the necessities of any trip (extra clothes, toiletries, etc.).  Be sure that you deliberately bring too much to fit into the suitcase so that the Webelos are forced to select only what they cannot do without for the trip.  Have the Webelos select items and practice packing the suitcase.

20 Questions

One person thinks of a person, place or thing for everyone else to identify.  The rest of the family members may asked questions that can be answered “yes’ or “no”.  If no one guesses after 20 questions have been ask, the person who thought of it has stumped the others and is declared the winner.  Take turns presenting the mystery to be solved.

Find The Most

The point is to see who can count the most of something by the time you reach your destination or within a specified time limit.  People choose different objects to count: green cars versus red cars, cows versus horses, pickup trucks versus trailer trucks, Chevrolets versus Fords, or the license plates of two nearby states.