POLLUTION AND CONSERVATION - GAMES
Litter Sweep Relay
Divide the den into two teams and give each team a broom and a small pile of trash: paper, plastic bottles, etc. On signal, the first boy on each team sweeps the trash to a certain point and back. The next team member then repeats the process.
Litter Load Up
Divide the
playing area in half. Scatter 60-80
loosely wadded papers on each side.
Akela tells the group to start.
The boys try to throw all the papers off their side onto the other side.
After approximately three minutes, Akela tells the teams to stop. The boys count how many papers are left
on their side. The team with the
fewest papers wins.
Paper
Crunch
This will
build strong hands and fingers.
Instruct the boys to squeeze paper into as small a ball as possible,
using just the one hand to manipulate the paper.
Split the boys into pairs and hand each group a trash bag and two blind folds. Have one boy in each pair remove his shoes and socks and put on the blindfold. Have the other boy put on his blindfold and hold the trash bag and scatter cotton balls about the floor. The object is to pick up cotton balls with the toes and place in the trash bag that the other boy is holding. The boys will need to develop a means of communication between them. This will teach team work and also demonstrates how people with disabilities cope in the game of life. The winner is the team with the most cotton balls in their bag after a set amount of time.
The audience is told that a tree will be planted and, through
the magic of Scouting, will grow and blossom. Two teams of four are chosen, and each
team selects a captain. The
captains are given signs to wear which say “sapling”. Each captain stands in the middle
of his team. Others on the team are handed a paper sack containing a roll of
scotch tape, 20-30 green construction paper leaves, a few birds, blossoms,
construction paper butterflies, a bird nest, and a few small real branches. On the signal “Go,” each team begins to
make their sapling grow by handing the captain the branches to hold and taping
the contents of the bag to him. The
first team to finish using all their tree parts securely is the winner.
Tape one bottomless, topless #10 tin can to the floor, or hold it steady by placing a beanbag on either side of the can. Players attempt to putt golf balls through the can with a putter.
Cleaning Up Our Town
Equipment: 2 aprons, 2
towels, 2 brooms, 2 dustpans, 2 buckets filled with water, 4 dishes, 1 garbage
can.
Divide the group into two teams, and line the up in straight lines at one
end of the playing area. Give the
broom and the apron to the first boy on each team; at the other end of the
playing area, place the dustpan, the bucket, and the dishes and the towel. The garbage can is put between the two
buckets. On “Go”, the first boy puts on the apron
and sweeps the floor to where the dustpan lies. He scoops the dirt into the dustpan and
dumps it into the garbage can. The
boy then washes and dries the two dishes and races to the start, carrying the
apron and broom. The house is clean when all boys have swept the floor and dried
the dishes.
Trash Ball
Divide the group in half and situate them on opposite sides of a
volleyball net or rope strung between two trees). Offer each group an equal amount of dry
trash, such as newspaper, tin cans, 2-liter bottles, small cardboard boxes,
cleaned out milk cartons, etc. On
“Go”, each team tries to put their
trash over the net. Do not set a time limit for the game, but tell them you will
signal when the game is over. This
unexpected signal prevents a team from collecting all the trash and throwing it
over seconds before the time limit.
The winner is the team with the least amount of trash on their side of
the net at the end of the time limit.
Reduce It - Reuse It
This one’s made from scratch and has never been tested that I know. Best of luck! And if it or a variation of it works
well, let the world know about it.
This game focuses on the idea of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” as the way to
minimize personal pollution. It
will take a little bit of courage on someone’s part (the Den Leader’s?) because
someone has to come forward with their recycling bin and whatever is in it. The object of the exercise is to get the
boys thinking about the “stuff’ we throw out on a regular basis and how we might
eliminate some of it.
The leader brings in the recycle bin of “stuff’ and, one at a time, displays their wares. The boys then discuss/disgust what, if anything, could have been done to reduce or reuse the items shown. [Note: If you’ve got beer or other alcoholic beverage bottles in the bin, please remove them before doing this game!
Paper, Plastic Aluminum
The Cubs stand in a circle with one Cub in the center. The Cub in the middle holds a beanbag
and tosses it to one of the Cubs standing in the circle. While it’s in the air, the Cub in the
center shouts either “PAPER!”, “Plastic!”, or “Aluminum!” The Cub who catches the beanbag must
name an object made from paper, plastic, or aluminum in 5 seconds while the
other Cubs count out loud. If the
object’s name is duplicated, or if the Cub can’t think of an object, he’s out of
the circle. When there is only one
Cub left (the winner) he takes the place of the Cub in the middle of the
circle.
