PACK AND DEN ACTIVITIES

SILLY SIPPERS

Utah National Parks Council

From a foam egg carton,

Cut the egg cup for the clown's face.

Decorate the face with permanent markers.

Cut a funny cap and ruffled collar from the egg carton top or craft foam.

Make a hole through the top and bottom of the head and through the collar and cap.

Slip each piece onto the straw.

CLOWN BALL GAME

Utah National Parks Council

Materials needed: Three 8 X 12 inch squares of heavy card­board or plywood, poster paints and brush­es, enamel paints and brushes (if plywood used), string or twine, thread spools, two soft rubber balls, coping saw or knife, and hand drill.

GIANT FERRIS WHEEL

Utah National Parks Council

Material:

Soft pine or balsa wood, 1/2" thick and Wire of various thicknesses is everything you need for a Ferris wheel that turns. The thinner wires are easy to insert in the soft wood by hand. For thicker coat hanger wire, hammer lightly or drill holes. The finished product can be painted or left in its natural wood state and shellacked.

For the Ferris Wheel, you will need six wood pieces as follows:

one strip 1 x 5 inches for base

two strips 1 x 2 inch for extensions on the base

two strips 1 x 9 inch for uprights

one circle 3 inch diameter for the center of the wheel

Using a drill or hammer and a nail about the thickness of a coat hanger, make a hole 1/2 inch from one side of each 9 inch strip. Glue all the strips together for the structure of the Ferris wheel as shown, with the holes on the uprights at the top.

Make a hole in the center of the wooden wheel as you did on the upright pieces. Cut and bend the wires for the seats and insert into the main wheel. Try to keep the seat arms evenly spaced around the wheel. Bend loops in the end of the arms attach egg carton seats. Glue small beads of the ends of the wire to keep the seat wires in place. Assemble as shown and have a "Circus."

STRINGLIES

Utah National Parks Council

Materials needed: Cardboard, scissors, glue, wire coat hanger, needle-nose pliers, toothpick, two small fishing weights or a couple of large nuts

Cut the Stringlie shape from cardboard (a file folder works well and they come in many colors). Begin by folding the cardboard in half, draw the Stringlie on the side with a felt pen. Cut out both sides together and draw the features on the other side.

Now cut out the wheel. It is made from three cardboard circles. Glue two layers of cardboard together and then cut out the center circle. Next, cut the outer circles from a single cardboard thickness and with a diameter slightly larger than that of the center circle; the outer circles will keep the wheel on the string. With the toothpick, poke a hole through the center of each circle, and while the toothpick holds them in position, glue the three circles together. Remove the toothpick.

Slide wire through one hand, shoulder then the other hand. Attach weights to end of wire. Place Stringlie on a length of string and see if he will ride along.

Ball Catchers

Santa Cara County Council

From the Kids Domain

 Here is a good way to recycle your old plastic laundry detergent bottles or plastic milk jugs, and have lots of fun afterwards.  The plastic bottles can be hard to cut, so help available for this step.

Supplies:      

2 Plastic milk jugs or laundry detergent bottles,

Sharp scissors,

Colored electrical tape or "Painters" paint markers,

Small rubber ball, or tennis ball or socks (see above)

Directions:

1.       Wash and let dry the milk cartons well before starting. Note: It may be easier to cut the bottom off of the containers first.

2.       Use the sharp scissors to cut the milk carton or detergent bottle. First cut off the bottom, then cut a U shape under the handle. Make sure you don't cut into the handle so you can hold onto the bottle while catching the ball.

3.       Use the colored electrical tape or "Painters" paint markers to decorate the milk cartons.

4.       Have fun playing catch and toss.

Bowling Game

Santa Cara County Council

Recycle those plastic soda bottles, and make an easy midway game.

Supplies:      

Ten Plastic bottles (2 liter or 20 oz.), clean and dry;

Stickers, shredded tissue paper, shiny cloth or Easter grass;

Lightweight rubber ball

Directions:

1.        Decorate bottles with stickers, or fill them with tissue paper (bunched or shredded), shiny cloth, or Easter grass.

2.        Setup the pins and bowl them down with the rubber ball.

Gone Fishing

Santa Cara County Council

 Supplies:             

2 Sheets of craft foam,

Pen, Cardboard, Scissors, Metal paperclips,

Ruler or stick about 12" long,

String or Plastic lanyard (Rexlace),

Magnet (rectangular or horseshoe shaped: need to be able to tie string to it)

Directions:

1.       Draw several fish outlines on a piece of cardboard. Cut out.

2.       Let the boys trace around the fish on the craft foam. Show them how to draw the fish close together to use all the craft foam.

3.       Cut the fish out. (They don't have to be perfect!)

4.       Draw faces on the fish.

5.       Open a paper clip end slightly. Poke it through the fish's mouth. Pull the fish all the way around the paperclip until it "drops" into the open area. Close the paperclip.

6.       Repeat for the rest of the fish.

7.       Tie a string on one end of the ruler or stick. (Note: Works great with a ruler that has a hole in the end!)

8.       On the other end of the string, tie on the magnet.

9.       Now go fishing!

Ball in Cup Game

Santa Clara County Council

This is an easy Den craft that you can use as a Pre-opening activity at the Pack meeting.

Supplies:

Film canisters (ask for recycled ones from local Film Developer);

flat sticks or paint stirrers;

Twine, string or yarn;

Hot glue gun & glue,

Medium-sized Wooden bead

Directions:

1.       Glue the canister to an end of the flat stick (paint stirrers work well)

2.       Tie a piece of string (twine, yarn) to the stick.  Tie the other end of the string to the wooden bead.

3.       Try to get the bead into the cup.

MIDWAY IDEAS TO DO AND MAKE

Circle Ten Council

KIDDIE PUTTER  16-foot golf run way is perfect for practicing a putt. They try putting the golf ball through the mouth of a friendly clown.

SHARK ATTACK  Stand on a wooden surfboard and slingshot fake fish into the mouth of Jaws.

GOLF CHALLENGE  Test your golf accuracy by chipping Velcro golf balls to the freestanding 8' X 8' green.

PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY An all time classic, try to pin the Velcro tail on the donkey. Closest player to the butt, wins.

CARNIVAL GAMES  Bring tradition to your next event with midway carnival games. Tic-tac toe, duck ponds, bean bag toss.

SPIN ART  Drop dabs of nontoxic colorful paint on Frisbees, shirts or index card and then they are spun into action creating a colorful one of a kind design.

SAND/CANDY ART  Create their own arrangement of bright sand colors in one of many plastic bottles designs. Take it one step further and use tart candy instead of sand and it now becomes a design that the kids can eat.

WET SPONGE TOSS  Set up a large piece of cardboard on which is painted head and body. Leave a hole for the face. A boy stands behind the cardboard and pokes his head through the hole as a target. You can use a decorated balloon instead, but it isn't as much fun. Players toss wet sponges at the target; three tosses per participant.

DARTS  Boys toss darts to burst balloons mounted on a board. Close adult supervision needed.  Observe safety rules. 

PENNY TOSS  Players try to toss coins into cereal bowls floating in a tub (or dishpan) of water.

KNOCK'EM OVER  Place large juice cans or milk cartons in a cluster. Participant have three shots to upset them with a tennis or rubber ball tossed from a distance.

DOUSE THE CANDLE  Players squirt water from a water pistol, or through a drinking straw, in an attempt to put out the flame of a safely mounted candle.

FISH POND  Fill a large box or barrel with paper fish onto which are attached large safety pins. Participants try to hook fish with a fishing pole. Not all fish are worth a prize. Print the value of prize winners on them.

GUESS HOW MANY  Participants write their estimates of the number of beans in a jar on a slip of paper and include their names. Award prizes to winners at the end of the evening

DUCK POND  Participants are blind-folded and attempt to pick 3 of the same color duck. This is a nice alternative to the regular duck pond game - NO WATER!

PING PONG TOSS  Line up bowls on the ground and had the participants try to get the balls in the bowls.