Sunday, October 10, 1993  8:39 AM

Scouting- Fun Ideas
                Scent Messages, Knot Untying,  Discards, Level Eating, Wash Stand, Boiling Water, Trees.


SCENT MESSAGES

            Insects communicate powerful and detailed messages using the sense of smell. Ants recognize other members of their colony by smell.

Task:  
To find a friend the way an ant finds his-- by smell.

What you need:
Film canisters with lids
Cotton balls
Different scents:vanilla, lemon, peppermint, etc.
Some friends.

1. Put a cotton ball containing a few drops of scent into the canisters.
2. Let them sit (covered) for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes or so , pass out the canisters to half the group and the lids to the other half.
4. Blindfold the half holding the lids.
5. Have the blindfolded group try to find their matching canister by scent only. Remember, no       talking!.


Was it hard to find your scent buddy?
Try it without blindfolds and see how all your senses work together.
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UNTYING KNOTS

    We practice tying knots all the time at scout meetings, but at the risk of seeming "different" suggest an untying knot contest.

Task;
To be the first team to untie the most knots.

What you need;
Several equal lenghts of rope (one for each team to untie) with the same number of knots in each. being more knots than there are team members. 

In front of each team of players is stretched a rope, the first player in each team holding one end and the leader the other end. Thus, if there are four teams of players the leader will hold one end of four ropes. (washline works the best, especially if its wet)  

When the signal is given the first player of each team unties one knot. When he has finished he let the next player on his team untie the next knot and so it continues until every player of a team has untied a knot. (no knots can be skipped over) 

The line which finishes first has the privilege of making all the other players pair off with partners and then  tying the wrists of partners together in as many knots as they wish, thereupon inviting them to separate themselves.
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DISCARDS

Players are asked to bring some piece of wearing apparel which they no longer want.  Before they appear  in the meeting room they are asked to put on that piece of apparel and to wear it until someone else asks fior it in exchange for the thing he wishes to get rid of.. These things must be worn all evening, one's only hope resting on the chance of being able to change one's own misfit for that of someone else. At the close of the meeting all these discards are put into a box for some charitable institution.
  If you think it makes for a more solemn occasion for the leader to go about all evening wearing his wife's faded hug-me-tights  (or she wearing his old fishing clothes) which he can wish off on no one else, you are really mistaken.
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EATING ON THE LEVEL

Two players are blindfolded and asked to lie flat on the ground, there faces close to each other. Each one is then given a dish of ice cream and asked to feed the other one.
At this point our imagination ceases to function.
Be sure to have enough ice cream so every pair of players has a chance.
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LASHING A  WASH STAND

Each contestant is given  thre sticks and a length of rope, a basin, soap and water.
On signal, each starts to lash a tripod, finishes it off neatly, place basin in it, pours water in it,and starts to wash. First to start washing, (with a good lashing) wins.
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WATER BOILING CONTEST

Have a #10 tin can, a spoonful of soap powder, a quart of water for each contestant (or team). 
On signal let each build a  fire of found natural material (no firestarters, or propellants) First pot to boil over wins. The soap powder just adds to the excitement.
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TREE IDENTIFICATION

The group is divided in to pairs (buddy stysem) and each pair is sent out ( within a defined area, such as a park)  each team is to collect as many different kinds of leaves as they can in a given time (say 1  hour) 
The winner is the team who can identify the most leaves collected. each team loses 1 point for each minute that they are late.
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