GATHERING ACTIVITIES

WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD

Utah National Parks Council

Peep shows are lots of fun and an integral part of the midway. This show is more fun than ever, because it's full of wonderful surprises. To set up your show, round up as many shoe boxes as you need for the items to be featured. The more, the merrier. Cut a peep hole in the front of each box. Across the top, near the other end, cut a slot about 1/2" wide. Place an attraction in each box. A few strategically placed pieces of tape around the lid should help keep curious Cubs out of the box. Arrange your boxes on a table with the peep holes at eye level. Label each box to dramatize what's inside. Here are some suggestions:

HAIRLESS DOG: a hot dog.

HEART TRANSPLANT: A small flowerpot with a tiny branch covered in cut-out hearts.

ROCKETRY: Roll a piece of paper to resemble a tree trunk. Snip tabs at one end to paste trunk to cardboard base. Add some paper branches. Cut rockets from paper and hang from branches. Now you have your Rocket Tree.

POLAR ICE CAP: Cut and assemble a block from a piece of clear acetate. Make a paper hat and set on cube.

FIVE SENSES: Here's a real quickie! Paste five pennies on a piece of cardboard or heavy paper. Get it?

OCEAN LINER: Pile up a little pile of sand on a piece of cardboard.

AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER: Mom will get a kick out of this. Draw or cut out a picture of a dog licking a plate clean.

RUINS OF CHINA: Ask mom for an old dish. Smash it into a couple of pieces and glue the pieces to a cardboard base.

WOMAN (OR MAN) WITH EYES IN BACK OF HER HEAD: A picture of the den leader or Cubmaster.

BULLDOZER: A picture of a sleeping bull.

MIDWAY WORDS

Circle Ten Council

On the Midway the workers had a different language that they spoke with each other.

Can you match the correct word with the definition?

BEEF                             BLOW DOWN               GRAB JOINT

MIDWAY                         PARADE                      SINGLE – O

TROUPER                          AGENT                                 BLOW

DONIKER                      HOT SNAKE                MITT CAMP

SIDESHOW                         SLUM

1.                   Any midway game operator.

2.                   A complaint from a customer.

3.                   Lose money

4.                   Tents or rides that are leveled to the ground by a windstorm.

5.                   A rest room.

6.                   An eating concession

7.                   Poisonous snake used on a midway show.

8.                   Location where all the concessions, rides and shows are located.

9.                   A fortune telling booth on a midway.

10.                Used to announce the arrival of the circus to town.

11.                Any show that plays the midway

12.                Single attraction.

13.                Cheap prizes.

14.                A person who has been with a traveling midway for one year.

Answers: 1. Agent, 2. Beef, 3. Blow, 4. Blow Down, 5. Doniker, 6. Grab Joint, 7. Hot Snake, 8. Midway, 9. Mitt Camp, 10. Parade, 11. Sideshow, 12 .Single-O, 13.  Slum, 14. Trouper

Fun Maze

Santa Cara County Council

Pencil Puzzle 1

Santa Cara County Council

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

How many letters of the alphabet can you write (capital letters) without taking your pen off the page and not going along a line you have already drawn?

The answer to this depends on how you write your letters so there is no single answer.

Pencil Puzzle 2

Santa Cara County Council

Draw a square made up of dots like this one on your piece of paper.

Now, without lifting the pencil from the page, draw no more than four straight lines that will cross through all nine dots.

Answer:  The answer you will usually find in books is shown here:

But there are a number of answers. No one said what size the puzzle was - if you draw it very small and then have a very thick pencil you might even be able to cross all the dots with one line!

And no one said the paper had to be kept flat - you could try folding it or rolling it up, which both give you another way of solving the puzzle.

Hopscotch Puzzle

Santa Cara County Council

Can you draw the hopscotch figure shown without lifting your pencil off the paper or going along the same line twice?

Answer:

It's necessary to begin at the point A (or B) and end at B (A respectively). Otherwise it can't be done.

Santa Cara County Council

Here’s a quick magic trick you can show to the boys as a pre-opening act.

Effect:

Pour some water into a cup, blow on the cup and then turn it upside down where out pops some ice cubes.

You need a cup or glass that you can't see through. You also need a small sponge and some ice cubes.

Method:

Prepare the cup by placing the sponge into the bottom of the cup. Then, drop a few ice cubes on top of the sponge and you're ready to go.

To perform, pour a small amount of water (about an inch) into the cup. The sponge will absorb the water. Blow into the cup, wave your hands over it and dump out the ice cubes. If you are using a disposable plastic cup for the trick, just throw it away at this time.

Watch the look of surprise on the boys’ faces.