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All Scouts Boy Girl And Cub In Geocaching

conejo

By conejo
in General geocaching topics

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conejo

+conejo

Posted
Posted (edited)

:rolleyes: Talk to you local council about geo caching. If working on gold ,silver,bronze in girl scouting. Or boy scout eagle scout. see if they will allow you to set up a councils own. If not write or email your local and national scout orgainzation until they make steps foward on: merit, IP,badges, try-its,and achivements for each of the scouting groups.

My daughter hopes to working on a councils own, set up in a local Girl Scout camp in San Diego.She will be working on her bronze award. :(

Edited by conejo
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Frettchen_2006

+Frettchen_2006

Posted
Posted

:P Talk to you local council about geo caching. If working on gold ,silver,bronze in girl scouting. Or boy scout eagle scout. see if they will allow you to set up a councils own. If not write or email your local and national scout orgainzation until they make steps foward on: merit, IP,badges, try-its,and achivements for each of the scouting groups.

My daughter hopes to working on a councils own, set up in a local Girl Scout camp in San Diego.She will be working on her bronze award. :lol:

 

Girl Scouts from ages 11-17 (the Studio 2B age group) already have an IP designed for geocaching called Hi Tech Hide and Seek. It can be found on the Studio2B.org website and was what got my troop of 8th graders and I into both Letterboxing and Geocaching. My girls have been very excited about working on the IP and have obtained permission from the local council to plant a Letterbox/Geocache hybrid on the council's camp property (thus it will not be listed anywhere as it's not accessible to the general public) for use by those who stay at the camp.

 

See if the IP will work for your daughter and, if so, her Bronze could be an event set up to teach about the sport and guide others through their first hunting adventure!

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emb021

+emb021

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

 

Am sorry, but your statement makes no sense. How is geocaching 'not allowed' in the Boy Scouts in Oregon or any other state/council???

 

* Geocaching was done at the recent National Scout Jamboree.

* Geocaching is now part of National Youth Leadership Training, which ALL councils should be putting on. In fact, this has lead many councils to start obtaining GPS units.

* Geocaching will be covered in its own course at Philmont Training Center this summer. Someone has already developed a geocaching training program which will be rolled out soon as an official BSA training.

* There is apparently work to create a geocaching badge/merit badge within the BSA.

* GPSr are used heavily at the Double H Ranch.

 

Many scouts and scout units are now engaged in geocaching. Someone is encouraging the developing of series of eagle service project-related geocaches, at least one series per district.

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DiamondDuste

+DiamondDuste

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

 

Am sorry, but your statement makes no sense. How is geocaching 'not allowed' in the Boy Scouts in Oregon or any other state/council???

 

* Geocaching was done at the recent National Scout Jamboree.

* Geocaching is now part of National Youth Leadership Training, which ALL councils should be putting on. In fact, this has lead many councils to start obtaining GPS units.

* Geocaching will be covered in its own course at Philmont Training Center this summer. Someone has already developed a geocaching training program which will be rolled out soon as an official BSA training.

* There is apparently work to create a geocaching badge/merit badge within the BSA.

* GPSr are used heavily at the Double H Ranch.

 

Many scouts and scout units are now engaged in geocaching. Someone is encouraging the developing of series of eagle service project-related geocaches, at least one series per district.

 

I agree. I work professionally with the scouts. Our Council(Black Warrior in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) got two GPS systems shortly after last year's National Jamboree, and our Scout Executive told us of the geocaching projects that were occuring at Philmont. We're actually setting up a program at our summer camp this June.

 

I think what the previous post might be meaning is that it might not be 100% official just yet. There is a rule book - the Guide to Safe Scouting - it details all the activities Scouts(From Cubs all the way to Venture Crews) can and can't do. I'm pretty sure geocaching hasn't been added to it, but I would expect it to be pretty soon.

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emb021

+emb021

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

 

Am sorry, but your statement makes no sense. How is geocaching 'not allowed' in the Boy Scouts in Oregon or any other state/council???

 

* Geocaching was done at the recent National Scout Jamboree.

* Geocaching is now part of National Youth Leadership Training, which ALL councils should be putting on. In fact, this has lead many councils to start obtaining GPS units.

* Geocaching will be covered in its own course at Philmont Training Center this summer. Someone has already developed a geocaching training program which will be rolled out soon as an official BSA training.

* There is apparently work to create a geocaching badge/merit badge within the BSA.

* GPSr are used heavily at the Double H Ranch.

 

Many scouts and scout units are now engaged in geocaching. Someone is encouraging the developing of series of eagle service project-related geocaches, at least one series per district.

 

I agree. I work professionally with the scouts. Our Council(Black Warrior in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) got two GPS systems shortly after last year's National Jamboree, and our Scout Executive told us of the geocaching projects that were occuring at Philmont. We're actually setting up a program at our summer camp this June.

 

I think what the previous post might be meaning is that it might not be 100% official just yet. There is a rule book - the Guide to Safe Scouting - it details all the activities Scouts(From Cubs all the way to Venture Crews) can and can't do. I'm pretty sure geocaching hasn't been added to it, but I would expect it to be pretty soon.

 

FYI- am an active scouter. Also, its "VenturING Crews".

 

I think its a little incorrect to say that the G2SS details all activities scouts can/can't do. Its more about what they can't do, and specific guidelines on certain other activities for safety reasons. The absense of an activity in this guide in no way means its not allowed. And as I pointed out, since geocaching is ALREADY a part of NYLT, Jamboree, etc, its should be "official" to do. G2SS may help in making sure what you are doing is safe, but to claim its somehow not ok to GC because its not mentioned doesn't make sense.

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DiamondDuste

+DiamondDuste

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

 

Am sorry, but your statement makes no sense. How is geocaching 'not allowed' in the Boy Scouts in Oregon or any other state/council???

 

* Geocaching was done at the recent National Scout Jamboree.

* Geocaching is now part of National Youth Leadership Training, which ALL councils should be putting on. In fact, this has lead many councils to start obtaining GPS units.

* Geocaching will be covered in its own course at Philmont Training Center this summer. Someone has already developed a geocaching training program which will be rolled out soon as an official BSA training.

* There is apparently work to create a geocaching badge/merit badge within the BSA.

* GPSr are used heavily at the Double H Ranch.

 

Many scouts and scout units are now engaged in geocaching. Someone is encouraging the developing of series of eagle service project-related geocaches, at least one series per district.

 

I agree. I work professionally with the scouts. Our Council(Black Warrior in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) got two GPS systems shortly after last year's National Jamboree, and our Scout Executive told us of the geocaching projects that were occuring at Philmont. We're actually setting up a program at our summer camp this June.

 

I think what the previous post might be meaning is that it might not be 100% official just yet. There is a rule book - the Guide to Safe Scouting - it details all the activities Scouts(From Cubs all the way to Venture Crews) can and can't do. I'm pretty sure geocaching hasn't been added to it, but I would expect it to be pretty soon.

 

FYI- am an active scouter. Also, its "VenturING Crews".

 

I think its a little incorrect to say that the G2SS details all activities scouts can/can't do. Its more about what they can't do, and specific guidelines on certain other activities for safety reasons. The absense of an activity in this guide in no way means its not allowed. And as I pointed out, since geocaching is ALREADY a part of NYLT, Jamboree, etc, its should be "official" to do. G2SS may help in making sure what you are doing is safe, but to claim its somehow not ok to GC because its not mentioned doesn't make sense.

 

Good point. I wasn't trying to infer that just because it isn't in the G2SS, it isn't allowed, however, that might be what the council in Oregon is operating under. I honestly don't know. Like I said, our Council is going ahead and implementing geoscouting programs in the coming months. I expect sooner rather than later some type of guidelines to come out for geocaching/Scouting activities.

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conejo

+conejo

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the IP info. I saw it the other day on the GS web site. As soon as she moves up a level she will be jumping on it. She loves Geocaching. Her bronze award will be a course for first timers.

 

 

:huh: Talk to you local council about geo caching. If working on gold ,silver,bronze in girl scouting. Or boy scout eagle scout. see if they will allow you to set up a councils own. If not write or email your local and national scout orgainzation until they make steps foward on: merit, IP,badges, try-its,and achivements for each of the scouting groups.

My daughter hopes to working on a councils own, set up in a local Girl Scout camp in San Diego.She will be working on her bronze award. <_<

 

Girl Scouts from ages 11-17 (the Studio 2B age group) already have an IP designed for geocaching called Hi Tech Hide and Seek. It can be found on the Studio2B.org website and was what got my troop of 8th graders and I into both Letterboxing and Geocaching. My girls have been very excited about working on the IP and have obtained permission from the local council to plant a Letterbox/Geocache hybrid on the council's camp property (thus it will not be listed anywhere as it's not accessible to the general public) for use by those who stay at the camp.

 

See if the IP will work for your daughter and, if so, her Bronze could be an event set up to teach about the sport and guide others through their first hunting adventure!

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MissLatitude

+MissLatitude

Posted
Posted

Girl Scouts of Erie Shores has a councils own Geocaching Try it, Junior Badge and IP. Anyone needing the requirements, feel free to email me. I can send you the word files that council sent to me to share. If you need a hard copy sent to you, contact the council at their website

 

http://www.girlscoutserieshores.org/

 

I've been buggin them to get the requirements up on the website...it'll happen soon...

 

There's a cache hidden at the council too!

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TruckerBears

+TruckerBears

Posted
Posted

Girl Scouts of Erie Shores has a councils own Geocaching Try it, Junior Badge and IP. Anyone needing the requirements, feel free to email me. I can send you the word files that council sent to me to share. If you need a hard copy sent to you, contact the council at their website

 

http://www.girlscoutserieshores.org/

 

I've been buggin them to get the requirements up on the website...it'll happen soon...

 

There's a cache hidden at the council too!

 

Would love to have the word files to share. My sister is actually the one at the Sunflower Council in KS that is getting the girls involved. I just get to be the teacher and I'm glad that someone finally started a all scouts forum. I was completely ignored when I asked for advice in the other "Scouts" forum. Any information about events, team building, etc would be greatly appreciated. Learned recently that camp this year has been cancelled due to not having a cook for the 12 days. So the only camp the girls are going to have is a weekend of learning about GPSr's and Geocaching/Letterboxing.

 

Thanks for all your help,

 

Nathan

 

PS - 9scouting4fun is the first girls I helped and they've even placed a cache!

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mousewiz

+mousewiz

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

 

Am sorry, but your statement makes no sense. How is geocaching 'not allowed' in the Boy Scouts in Oregon or any other state/council???

 

* Geocaching was done at the recent National Scout Jamboree.

* Geocaching is now part of National Youth Leadership Training, which ALL councils should be putting on. In fact, this has lead many councils to start obtaining GPS units.

* Geocaching will be covered in its own course at Philmont Training Center this summer. Someone has already developed a geocaching training program which will be rolled out soon as an official BSA training.

* There is apparently work to create a geocaching badge/merit badge within the BSA.

* GPSr are used heavily at the Double H Ranch.

 

Many scouts and scout units are now engaged in geocaching. Someone is encouraging the developing of series of eagle service project-related geocaches, at least one series per district.

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mousewiz

+mousewiz

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

A couple updates on Geocaching the the BSA:

 

BSA very much supposts geocaching as stated before, with its use in their program and trainings as well as at Philmont. In fact it will also be a big section of the new National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE) which will pilot for 6 week-long sessions this summer - I have info if anyone wants it. The adult training is filling up so if you are interested dont wait. That will cover all sorts of "what to do with the sport" topics and will just be a blast.

 

The GPS to Promote Scouting training, for use at Roudtables and University of Scouting events (or whereever you like) has now posted on the National BSA website. Go to Boy Scouts, Adults, Training, Supplemental Training and there it is. You can download the syllabus and the handouts are provided as links. I have a ppt if anyone wants to use it.

 

The Marin Council website still has the link to www.Geoscouting-info.com but we just switched our web t doubleknot and are still implementing all the changes so its sort of buried. You can go there directly with the www. geoscouting-info.com link. We keep meaning to update and add to it, but keep getting waylaid caching! But new material will post soon!

 

Re the merit badge - It is indeed somewhere in the process but its by no means clear if it will be stand alone or combined with orienteering. I suggested they make it a stand alone for several reasons, mostly because there is more than enough material for both and orienteering should be a prerequisite for GPS use. We all know how those little GPSR buggers can betray you....

 

Lastly the posts are correct in that yes, one should always look in the Guide to Safe scouting but no, not everything will be there. The use of a compass isnt there, for example. I added some "extra" rules in my trainings, like I personally dont like the youth to do the caches on electrical boxes just in case... and to stress that we represent both Scouting and Geocaching when we are out there, so be sure to be good geo-citizens.

 

I am glad to see the sport taking off in scouting, both Boy and Girl Scouts, as it should!

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mousewiz

+mousewiz

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

A couple updates on Geocaching the the BSA:

 

BSA very much supports geocaching as stated before, with its use in their program and trainings as well as at Philmont. In fact it will also be a big section of the new National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE) which will pilot for 6 week-long sessions this summer - I have info if anyone wants it. The adult training is filling up so if you are interested dont wait. That will cover all sorts of "what to do with the sport" topics and will just be a blast.

 

The GPS to Promote Scouting training, for use at Roudtables and University of Scouting events (or whereever you like) has now posted on the National BSA website. Go to Boy Scouts, Adults, Training, Supplemental Training and there it is. You can download the syllabus and the handouts are provided as links. I have a ppt if anyone wants to use it.

 

The Marin Council website still has the link to www.Geoscouting-info.com but we just switched our web to doubleknot and are still implementing all the changes so its sort of buried - go to links to find it. You can go there directly with the www. geoscouting-info.com link. We keep meaning to update and add to it, but keep getting waylaid caching! But new material will post soon!

 

Re the merit badge - It is indeed somewhere in the process but its by no means clear if it will be stand alone or combined with orienteering. I suggested they make it a stand alone for several reasons, mostly because there is more than enough material for both and orienteering should be a prerequisite for GPS use. We all know how those little GPSR buggers can betray you....

 

Lastly the posts are correct in that yes, one should always look in the Guide to Safe scouting but no, not everything will be there. The use of a compass isnt there, for example. I added some "extra" rules in my trainings, like I personally dont like the youth to do the caches on electrical boxes just in case... and to stress that we represent both Scouting and Geocaching when we are out there, so be sure to be good geo-citizens.

 

I am glad to see the sport taking off in scouting, both Boy and Girl Scouts, as it should!

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Frettchen_2006

+Frettchen_2006

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

ok i did not put it all on there sorry that i confused anyone.

caches are not allowed on scout property and they turned me down on placing a cache even near a scout property a cross the street even!!!

 

Even if the coordinates were not made accessible to the general public? We planted a couple on our Girl Scout campsite with Council approval; however, you can only get the coords from the Council website under "Leader Resources" or through the Outdoor Programs manager.

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Frettchen_2006

+Frettchen_2006

Posted
Posted

yes even if they were not let out the the public

i am working with the council to see if i can do what you guys are doing..

 

Wow. That stinks <_< Well, if they still don't like the online option, suggest having it as part of the packet folks get when they rent/reserve the campgrounds. That way the ONLY way those coords are released are to adult registered Scouts. I've been told, though, by more folks than I can count that our Girl Scout council has been extremely accomodating concerning placing caches on their property for the girls to find.

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emb021

+emb021

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

ok i did not put it all on there sorry that i confused anyone.

caches are not allowed on scout property and they turned me down on placing a cache even near a scout property a cross the street even!!!

 

As with any private property, placing a cache on a scout camp would require council permission.

 

However, don't know what you mean by 'they turned me down on placing a cache near a scout property'. If said property is public, then the council has no say in such a placement one way or another.

 

You should be able to show your council the wide spread use of geocaching, and prehaps remind them they are supposed to be using it for NYLT.

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bandgeek

bandgeek

Posted
Posted

I made this list a few months ago when I introduced geocaching to my Ranger group. I went through the Guiding program books that I have (and that are up-to-date) and this is what I came up with.

 

GIRL GUIDES OF CANADA

SENIOR BRANCHES: 15-17+yrs old

Core Program:

#9: Participate in an outdoor service activity.

Cache In, Trash Out!

#21: How are modern technology, computers, science and mathematics used in every day life?

GPS'r in cars, etc

 

Cadet Program:

#7: Help the girls enjoy and learn from an outdoor activity.

#10: Help plan and carry out an activity with another Unit.

I think it would be a great activity to get older girls such as pathfinders to help teach younger girls like brownies about geocaching.

 

Junior Leader Program:

#2 - part 3: A meeting based on a theme.

Pirate treasure, anyone?

#5: Chose or design, lead and evaluate a visual aid that helps the girls accomplish one of their program activities.

#7: Help the girls enjoy and learn from an outdoor activity.

 

Ranger Program:

Under each interest area, there are "challenge suggestions" listed. However many areas give the option to investigate other topics such as technology.

Outdoors #3: Hike with a specific purpose such as photography, sketching or bird watching.

...or geocaching!

 

BROWNIES: 7 & 8 yrs old

Key to Active Living

#2: Outdoor recreation

Key to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)

-special interest badge could be made about how GPS works.

Key to Camping

-"happy hiking" interest badge could be done on a geocaching outing.

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KerBear

+KerBear

Posted
Posted

Last year the girls in the troop used geocaching for their bronze award. They found a few, created a travel bug, and hid one in a local park that is still active. This year I have new girls that just learned about geocaching this weekend. They enjoyed it. They are old enough to do the GS IPP patch. Our council doesn't have any equipment so we have one resource person with enough GPS's to take a small group out.

 

I did try the website for Lake Erie Girl Scouts and didn't see the requirements. If anyone could forward the requirements, contact information and ordering information for each level-brownie, junior, cadette/senior I would appreciate it. There are brownie & junior groups interested in caching in my service team area. How are other troops/service units organizing their caching? Does your council provide any equipment? I found last year that the girls did not like sharing mine and my co-leader's GPS's. After a few times out they began fighting over who's turn it was. The girls this weekend really enjoyed having their own GPS to use. Each one learned how to program and use it. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Brawny Bear

+Brawny Bear

Posted
Posted

Am I reading this correctly - are there caches at Philmont?

 

There is a course offered at Philmont, actually, this week, that is called "Geocaching in Boy Scouts"

It makes sense that they have geocaches placed for scouts and leaders. If fact, as mentioned before, NYLT uses GPS receivers and has some form of geocaching in the training.

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ScoutingWV

+ScoutingWV

Posted
Posted

Am I reading this correctly - are there caches at Philmont?

 

There will be temporary caches this week for the training, but there are some permanent caches in the Cimarron area.

 

Will you be at the training? I leave on Saturday to head that way... Should be interesting!

Yes, I'll be there. Flying in Saturday, arriving at the Ranch on Sunday. I think Mousewiz will do a superb job!

 

Look forward to meeting you!

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ScoutingWV

+ScoutingWV

Posted
Posted

Boy Scouting's National Council has a supplemental geocaching training for leaders and older youth leaders. Have a member of your scout council Training Committee look into this. If it is on the National Website, it's allowed.

 

http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/suppleme...hing/index.html

 

Very nice! And it looks pretty familiar, too. :unsure:

 

Good to see that content make it to National's site. Thanks for pointing out the link.

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Grandad Brian

+Grandad Brian

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

ok i did not put it all on there sorry that i confused anyone.

caches are not allowed on scout property and they turned me down on placing a cache even near a scout property a cross the street even!!!

See Boy Scout Bonanza... This cache was placed in 2002 on BSA property with permission of the local council. It is a public cache. Isn't it up to the local to permit or deny?

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emb021

+emb021

Posted
Posted

Boy Scouting's National Council has a supplemental geocaching training for leaders and older youth leaders. Have a member of your scout council Training Committee look into this. If it is on the National Website, it's allowed.

 

http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/suppleme...hing/index.html

 

Took a look. One thing I didn't see is more information on how geocaching is played. On another thread I had someone point out to me that a big problem with may scouts geocaching is they don't understand how TBs & geocoins work. (ie, they think its swag and not something to be moved along). I'll have to re-read, but I don't recall seeing anything regarding trading of items, either.

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emb021

+emb021

Posted
Posted

i looked in to it in oregon and its not allowed in the boy scouts here...

 

as of yet

ok i did not put it all on there sorry that i confused anyone.

caches are not allowed on scout property and they turned me down on placing a cache even near a scout property a cross the street even!!!

See Boy Scout Bonanza... This cache was placed in 2002 on BSA property with permission of the local council. It is a public cache. Isn't it up to the local to permit or deny?

 

Its certainly within the rights of any property owner to allow/disallow a cache on their property. So if a council wants to approve or not a cache on their camp or HQ property, that's their right.

 

Nearby property they don't own doesn't count.

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edscott

+edscott

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

....<Re the merit badge - It is indeed somewhere in the process but its by no means clear if it will be stand alone or combined with orienteering. I suggested they make it a stand alone for several reasons, mostly because there is more than enough material for both and orienteering should be a prerequisite for GPS use. We all know how those little GPSR buggers can betray you....

 

 

I agree it should be a MB and that it must be kept separate from Orienteering. Competitive Orienteering has its rules one of which is that no electronic aids of any kind are allowed on the course. BSA has only recently bridged the gap from the mundane pace and compass games to real Orienteering in the last year or so. It would be a shame to put the BSA form or Orienteering back into the dark ages from which it so recently emerged.

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ByrnedFish

+ByrnedFish

Posted
Posted

i am very into btoh scouting and geocaching. I went to NYLT 2 summers ago at the PILOT year, and the geocching thing wasnt quite up to spects, but it was there. iI went to the National Jamboree last year and htis is how i really startied geocaching. I am all for geocaching becoming a bigger part of Boy Scouting.

 

however, in many ways i doubt geocaching will become its own merit badge. I suspect it will either be combined with orienteering, or become an 'award' such as Kayaking BSA. Geocaching BSA would be the same as earing the kayaking patch, or the mile swim patch, and would be only for fun, not actually for achievement. Thats just what i think so dont take offence to it.

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edscott

+edscott

Posted
Posted

i am very into btoh scouting and geocaching. I went to NYLT 2 summers ago at the PILOT year, and the geocching thing wasnt quite up to spects, but it was there. iI went to the National Jamboree last year and htis is how i really startied geocaching. I am all for geocaching becoming a bigger part of Boy Scouting.

 

however, in many ways i doubt geocaching will become its own merit badge. I suspect it will either be combined with orienteering, or become an 'award' such as Kayaking BSA. Geocaching BSA would be the same as earing the kayaking patch, or the mile swim patch, and would be only for fun, not actually for achievement. Thats just what i think so dont take offence to it.

 

Again .. room for both, but they need to remain as two distinctly different activities. One of the objectives of BSA is to introduce boys to activities in which they can remain active the rest of their lives. Teaching an activity that does not exist after scouting makes little sense. It would be like combining the rules of Soccer and Football into a single sport. What does the scout do after scouting? His form of the game would not exist outside the scout community. Keep each sport in scouting as close to the outside world as possible to make them both more relevant in later life.

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GreyingJay

+GreyingJay

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am seeking help in putting together fun multicaches for our troop and visiting packs to do on campouts.

 

Does anyone have any prepared caching "games" appropriate for scouts that can easily be implemented into a three hour (max) time slot?

 

I posted these links in another thread:

 

My post from a few weeks ago detailing what we did at my summer camp for "The Amazing Race: Explorers Edition". It's basically a giant puzzle multi with the final being the coordinates for a "hidden" sleepout location.

 

Picture this: Your Scouts show up at the staging area. Each brings their pack with all of their sleepout gear. You load all their sleepout stuff onto a truck, which drives away. Your Scouts organize into teams, with nothing left but the supplies you give them: GPS unit, their first Amazing Race clue envelope, and perhaps a small backpack with a compass, first aid kit, and some water. "What you do from here", you tell them, "is entirely up to you." You say "Go!" and each team rips open their clue envelope...

 

Two, three hours later, your Scouts complete the final stage of the multi, which gives them coordinates that lead them to the sleepout area. Some of them are covered in blue paint from the paintball challenge stage. Some of them are still a bit damp from the kayak challenge. They're hungry, but not too hungry, because of all the Oreos they ate at one of the other challenge stages. They run up to the campsite, where their leaders are waiting for them, smiling, clapping, tents having been pitched, their stuff is waiting for them, a fire is on the go, dinner is cooking, etc, etc.

 

When we did this at our camp we also ordered red and blue "Amazing Race" team T-shirts for everyone to wear, so they really felt like they were part of something big. I even wanted to have staff with video cameras following teams around, and I was going to take their footage and edit it into a quick reality-TV segment to show the rest of camp, but we ran out of time.

 

This thread from a few years back is what started me thinking on all of this.

Edited by GreyingJay
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ScoutingWV

+ScoutingWV

Posted
Posted

I am seeking help in putting together fun multicaches for our troop and visiting packs to do on campouts.

 

Does anyone have any prepared caching "games" appropriate for scouts that can easily be implemented into a three hour (max) time slot?

 

I posted these links in another thread:

 

My post from a few weeks ago detailing what we did at my summer camp for "The Amazing Race: Explorers Edition". It's basically a giant puzzle multi with the final being the coordinates for a "hidden" sleepout location.

 

Picture this: Your Scouts show up at the staging area. Each brings their pack with all of their sleepout gear. You load all their sleepout stuff onto a truck, which drives away. Your Scouts organize into teams, with nothing left but the supplies you give them: GPS unit, their first Amazing Race clue envelope, and perhaps a small backpack with a compass, first aid kit, and some water. "What you do from here", you tell them, "is entirely up to you." You say "Go!" and each team rips open their clue envelope...

 

Two, three hours later, your Scouts complete the final stage of the multi, which gives them coordinates that lead them to the sleepout area. Some of them are covered in blue paint from the paintball challenge stage. Some of them are still a bit damp from the kayak challenge. They're hungry, but not too hungry, because of all the Oreos they ate at one of the other challenge stages. They run up to the campsite, where their leaders are waiting for them, smiling, clapping, tents having been pitched, their stuff is waiting for them, a fire is on the go, dinner is cooking, etc, etc.

 

When we did this at our camp we also ordered red and blue "Amazing Race" team T-shirts for everyone to wear, so they really felt like they were part of something big. I even wanted to have staff with video cameras following teams around, and I was going to take their footage and edit it into a quick reality-TV segment to show the rest of camp, but we ran out of time.

 

This thread from a few years back is what started me thinking on all of this.

 

Excellent idea! I've got to try this.

 

I'm working on completing our year-long GeoCamporee and this would make a great finale event at our camp.

 

Thank for the idea!

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GreyingJay

+GreyingJay

Posted
Posted

Paintball? How would paintball be used in a scouting event? Check the Guide to Safe Scouting.

 

Sorry, I should have specified. We used slingshots. We fired the paintballs at wooden targets propped up onto a tree. Each team had to hit the target 5 times before they could move on to find the next waypoint.

 

The slingshot, clue envelope and a box of paintballs were hidden in an ammo box at the waypoint site.

 

But definitely arrange your waypoint challenges (if any) based on the regulations, available equipment and guidelines of your organization!

 

Other stuff we did or considered (not everything got in to the race):

 

- peel a bucket of potatoes before continuing. 4 peelers provided. One of our staff collected the potatoes after all the teams were done, and brought them to the campsite to make pocket stews.

 

- eat an entire box of Oreos before continuing. (With a team of 5-6 people, this doesn't take long...)

 

- human pyramid

 

- archery - hit target 5 times

 

- kayak relay race

 

- float your boat: teams were given two large plastic barrels and some strapping, and had to lash together a boat and get out into the middle of the lake where the waypoint was

 

Have fun with this one! :D

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ScoutingWV

+ScoutingWV

Posted
Posted

Does anyone have any suggestions on what can be done at the Tiger Cub level?

 

- HauntHunters

 

Sure -

 

Hide some temp caches at a local park or camp. The adult can run the GPS and help them with it.

 

Make some wooden nickels or other tokens as their own swag/sig items. Populate the containers with old patches from the Council Service Center.

 

When you get to a spot - even if they don't find the container (try to choose one where they can if it's a real cache site) - have them look around at the environment, look for bugs and critters, turn over rocks, or play in the woods.

 

Make it a Tiger Den CITO event. Go to WalMart and get used film cans, ask the front desk for some bags. put het bags in the cans, and ht cans in their pockets. On the way back from the cache site pick up some trash and count it as service time for a Good Turn award.

 

Look at the program activities in Scouting Magazine and see how they can relate to caching, hiking, GPS, compass, map reading - YES - even at the Tiger level there are concepts they will get. If you are placing temp caches maybe them them to an area or event (canoeing at the waterfront, bb guns at the rifle range, hiking at the end of a trail).

 

Main key is to get them OUT and ACTIVE. Feel free to email me through my profile to discuss further.

 

Good luck!

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