Scout Show

[KoreaScouter]

Our council calls their annual Scout show "Makahiki" (don't know what it means). It actually threw me off at first, because I saw it in the Council calendar and didn't make the connection until I'd been here several months.

 

In our literature, Aloha Council refers to Makahiki as the oldest Scouting show in the U.S., first held here in 1911 at the old Camp Bluegum in Aiea Heights (now probably the site of a Wal-Mart or something).

 

Here's my question: what is the best, most successful unit-level Scout show booth you've ever done or seen? We can't sell anything, and it has to fit in a 10X10 or 10X20 space. The PLC has some ideas, but I'd like to read what you've done, too. We've got a month and a half.

 

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

 

KS

[Sparkie]

KoreaScouter,

 

Our council doesn't do anything like this .

 

However, i did see a scouting unit at the Wisconsin State Fair. The scouts made a game that the kids could play. This is going to be hard to explain, but here it goes.... It was a wooden box about the size of a drawer. There were about 20 marbles in the box. And, on the sides of the box on the inside were intermittent horizontal shelves. Hopefully my representation below is a little better than my explaination! Imagine the dots "." as open space for the marbles to move back and forth to (it's the only way i could get it to print correctly, although the right side could still be lined up better sorry).

 

top of game

l_______________________l

l.................................l < marbles here=end game

l________................____l < 20 points

l_____.................______l < 10 points

l____..............__________l < 10 points

l________............________l < 5 points

l___............................__l

l_______................_____l

l_____.............._________l

l_________.............______l

l_______________________l < marbles start here

l bottom of game l

l l < handles

l l

 

The child picks up the game by the handles and tilts the game from side to side to get as many points as possible before a marble reaches the top (which signifies the end of the game). Clear as mud? It was actually a fun game for the kids to play.

 

 

[Fuzzy Bear]

One year the Scouts decided to build a signal tower. It was about 20 feet high. We cut the poles and later sized them to length at the Scout hut. We organized them for transport on a 16 foot trailer. We hauled them and built the tower inside the great hall the night before.

 

The activity was climbing the tower, looking around and climbing down. The older Scouts monitored for safe numbers on the tower and for loose lashings. We had parents angry at us because we had to take it down at the end of the show. They demanded that their child be allowed one last climb. They felt cheated out of their one dollar ticket or so they said.

 

It was a popular event but tiring from the extra work. We had a tradition of going to an all you can eat Mexican restaurant afterwards. We made good on their promise. The Scouts enjoyed the day as did I.

 

FB

(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

[frank10]

Hands on is best. Our unit does flint and steel. there is always a line and we have "encorage" scouts to move on. How ever this would require working out doors and you didn't state if it was indoors or out. (invest $122 on ten kits and when the show is over you have a new troop toy - where to order? ask me) We had thousands of boys try it that day.

 

My second choice would be rope making (see pioneering MB book for simple to make jig).

 

Third - free food is always a hit. Dutch oven demo, whole turkey on a chain, fried dough...