PACK AND DEN ACTIVITIES
Raingutter Regatta
Baltimore Area Council
(See Cub Scout Activities Book for additional help)
Copy the picture and enlarge it for easier use CD
Ahoy mates! You’re watching the sailing regatta of the century! Although the waterways are only 10-foot lengths of rain trough filled with water and the ships are a mere six inches long, each race can be an exciting event. This is a very popular Pack race. Each Cub Scout makes his own boat (with a parent’s or grandparent’s help) to enter in the race.
The raceway consists of a simple frame that supports two 10-foot lengths of rain trough filled with eight gallons of water. The frame is designed so It can be assembled and disassembled quickly. The illustration shoes you what it looks like. The material sizes and fastening details follow.
Materials Needed for Double Raceway:
ü 2 - 10 ft. lengths of 5” diameter half round gutter
ü 4 - End caps for gutter and rivets or bolts to attach end caps to gutter
ü 2 - Trough supports 1” x 4” x 36” long boards. Cut them out so that gutter fits snuggly
ü 2 - End braces - 1” x 4” x 23”
ü 4 - Diagonal braces - 1” x 2” x 72”
ü 4 - Legs - 2” x 2” x 34”
ü 1½” #10 flat head wood screws for all fastenings (Bolts could be used to fasten the braces on the legs to allow for easier disassembly for storage.)
Fishing Derby
Circle Ten Council
The Derby can be as simple as a parent-son fishing trip to the local area river or lake, or as elaborate as a family event complete with a picnic, games and music. As an added challenge, you could have a cane pole derby in which only homemade poles (no reels) are used. Be sure to have lots of awards: Most Fish Caught, Biggest Fish, Best Fish Story, Ugliest Fish, Most Unusual Catch, etc. Check your local license requirements for adults and children. If you are fishing on private property, make sure you have the owner’s permission and never leave a mess.
Yacht Tie Slide
Baltimore Area Council
ü
The hull is whittled from white pine or balsa. The mast is a burned match. The boom is a toothpick. The sail is a triangle of white or red fabric.
ü Whittle and sand hull, It is flat on back and curved on front,.
ü Drill 3 holes, one in top for match mast, 2 in back for plastic or metal ring cut in half.
ü Glue mast in place. Glue boom to lower edge of sail.
ü Glue sail and boom mast and let glue dry,
ü Glue ring in place, While it is drying, make small flag for stern from construction paper triangle (tiny) glued to straight pin,.
Build a Boat
Baltimore Area Council
Materials: Wood shingle, lollipop stick, colored paper, rubber bands, glue
Directions:
ü Cut Cardboard template
ü Trace on to Shingle
ü Cut out boat outline
ü Make Paddle
ü Drill holes for the Rubber Bands
ü Drill Hole for Mast
ü Mount Mast
ü Cut out flag, attach to stick, & Glue
ü Wind Paddle Up
ü NOW... LAUNCH YOUR BOAT!
Leather and Button Puzzle
Baltimore Area Council
Trick: Remove string and button without untying buttons.
Trace the ship pattern on vinyl. Make 2 parallel cuts as per diagram) in center of strip of vinyl. At end cut hole, slightly larger then the width between the slits. Pass heavy string under slits, through the hole, and fasten buttons to loose ends of string. Buttons need to be too large to fit through the hole
To solve the puzzle, fold the vinyl, pulling the slit away from the body of the vinyl. Fold the slit material in half and pass it through the hole with the string pinched at the end of the folded slit. Once the slit and string are through the hole, the button on the end of the string can be pulled through the loop of vinyl and removed. Reassemble by reversing the process.
Jet Boat
Baltimore Area Council
Materials:
Quart milk carton Tape
Scissors Balloon
Cut carton on dotted lines as shown and remove cut section. Make slit near front bottom for rudder, made from cut out section, and notch in rear as shown. Tape rudder in place. Place blown up balloon in boat and watch it go!
Submarine
Baltimore Area Council
Materials:
2 Plastic bottles Scissors
Adhesive tape 12” Piece of plastic tubing
24” Piece of plastic tubing Clay
Directions:
ü Remove cap from bottle.
ü Cut around bottle 2” from bottom.
ü Push both pieces of tubing into the bottle through the neck and secure as shown.
ü Bend the short piece around and tape it to the outside of the bottle.
ü To make it float properly add a large wad of clay inside bottle as shown. Be careful not to plug tubes.
ü Use a second piece of clay to make the top air-tight.
ü Replace bottom of bottle and tape tightly.
ü Use second bottle to make conning tower, tape in place.
ü Place sub in water.
ü Blow into long tube to make it rise and suck air out to make it sink.
Wave Maker
Circle Ten Council
Fill a clean, empty, clear plastic soda bottle half full of water. Add some blue and/or green food coloring, twist on the lid and shake it to mix the coloring well. Now add vegetable oil nearly to the top (leave about 1” air space). Swirl the bottle while it is standing up or lay it on its side to watch the waves. Try creating large bubbles by turning the bottle over and over a few times. Really shake it up to create millions of tiny bubbles.
Sand Paperweight
Circle Ten Council
Mix some small shells and colored aquarium gravel into some sand. Pour this mix into a clean baby food jar. Spray paint the lid and screw it on tight. Set jar upside down on the lid for a paperweight.
“Clean Feet” Butterflies
Circle Ten Council
Materials
Poster board, acrylic paints in choice of color, ¼” wiggle eyes, jumbo craft sticks, washable markers, pipe cleaners, thick craft glue, scissors, masking tape, sheet of plastic to cover floor, bucket of warm soapy water, old towel, throw-away foil cookie sheet (for palette)
Directions
#1. Make the butterfly’s wings. Have child stand on poster board with feet together. Have adult outline both feet; cut out pattern slightly larger than outline and resembling shape of wings. Tape plastic sheet on floor. Apply paint(s) of color choice on palette. Paint can get from the palette onto the feet in two ways:
#2. Spread paint out in a thin layer. Using one foot at a time, step into the paint and then step onto the wing pattern. Remove feet and place in bucket. Wash thoroughly and dry on old towel. Allow wings to dry.
#3. If children are able, they may work in pairs to paint the bottoms of each other’s feet with a paintbrush. If not, have an adult paint the bottom of each child’s foot. Stand, placing one foot at a time on the wing pattern. Remove feet and place in bucket. Wash thoroughly and dry on old towel. Allow wings to dry.
#4. Make the butterfly. For body, use marker in choice your of color to color craft stick. See drawing. For antennae, fold pipe cleaner in half and curl ends. Glue antennae to back of body at centerfold of wings. Glue eyes on body as shown. Glue body on center of wings.
Fish Tank Neckerchief Slide
Baltimore Area Council
Materials needed: Empty Tic Tac container, construction paper, glue, scissors, colored fish tank beads or plastic gravel or craft melting beads, PVC pipe ring.
Directions:
ü Carefully remove lid from Tic Tac container.
ü Inside glue blue construction paper to the back.
ü Spread glue on the bottom of the container and put in the colored fish tank beads or plastic gravel or craft melting beads as a colorful base.
ü Use construction paper to make small fish and underwater plants.
ü Glue the plants and some of the fish to the inside of the box. Put them on both the front and back of the box to give the tank a dimensional look.
ü Glue PVC pipe ring to the back.
These next two items I remember running recently but they fit here so well, I am running them again. CD
Huck Finn’s Log Raft
Baltimore Area Council
Materials:
11 twigs of equal thickness liquid white glue
1 sheet of white paper colored crayons or markers
wax paper.
Directions:
ü Cut twigs a little longer than logs shown In illustration,
ü Place six twigs on sheet of wax paper.
ü Clue the twigs together with glue to form raft.
ü Cut two twigs to fit the width of the six glued twigs.
ü Glue these two twigs near the ends of the raft.
ü Let the raft dry overnight. When dry turn upside down.
ü Cut a twig to form the mast and glue it standing up to the center of the raft.
ü Cut a twig to form the last two twigs to fit the width of the raft.
ü Clue the remaining two twigs to both sides of the mast.
ü Dry overnight.
ü Cut the sail from white paper, decorate. Push sail through standing twig.
ü Have a Den race with the boats in your Raingutter Regatta track.
Make a Paper Boat (and tell a story!)
Baltimore Area Council
Folding Instructions: Take a full sheet of newspaper, folded on the center crease with the folded edge away from you. Take the two upper corners and fold them so that they meet at exact center. Fold the remaining flaps up, one on each side. Fold and tuck in the remaining points. Continue refolding following the illustrations outlined below to make two hats, then the boat.
After completing the boat, you can tell a funny story as you tear the boat apart (as shown in the last two steps).
“It was a dark and stormy night, and a ship was being tossed around off shore. The ship hit a rock, and the bow was ripped off (tear off one end of the boat as shown). Then it was whipped around, and the stern was demolished (tear off the other end of the boat). To make things worse, a bolt of lightening came and knocked off the mast (tear the top point off the boat). The boat then sank, and all that was ever found (here’s where you unfold the remains of the paper boat) was the Captain’s shirt.”
Practice the story and tearing off the pieces several times by yourself before you try to tell it in front of an audience!
