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Ideas for Summer




Field Trips
Crafts
Games
Den Activities








Field Trips

Summer field trips are nice because you can usually depend on the weather. Be sure to carry an umbrella anyway, you never know. Take advantage of the warm weather we have (for such a short time) and get outside! Once again, be sure to get those permission slips signed by parents! It's a good idea to know your boys, and know if anyone has allergies that are of concern while outdoors, such as allergies to bee's, which can be fatal. Make sure if a Scout has this type of allergy you have the needed medical supplies in case of an emergency. I always take my cellphone along when we are on field trips, that way parents can still call me if they need to and I can call 911 if necessary. Good ideas for field trips are:

  • The Beach - If you do go to a beach make sure they have lifeguards and the Scouts each have a parent along. Use the buddy swim system and take plenty of sunblock! Have a sand scuplting contest while you are relaxing on the beach!

  • The Zoo - There are 2 choices I can think of here. The Minnesota Zoo is a great place to visit. It is located in Apple Valley. It is a little spendy though. You might get a discount for taking Scouts. The Como Zoo is located in St. Paul. Admission is FREE! It's a great place to take Scouts. Not as big and spread out as the MN Zoo. The boys can feed the Sea Lions and watch 'Sparky' the Sea Lion do his daily shows.

  • Nature Hike - Go on a Nature Hike! There are so many things to see and do during the summer. Catch bugs, watch birds, work on your badges. Itasca Nature Trail is located in Ramsey, about 1 mile west of Armstrong Blvd. on 158th Ave. You can park and walk, rollerblade or bike down the trails that wind through the woods, over the marsh and streams without having to drive too far. Lake Itasca is a nice little lake, with ducks turtles, frogs, geese, and lots of other critters! You may even see deer! Good place for boys to explore. Bring along your bug cages (from the 'Crafts' section and catch a bug to observe. Make sure you release it afterward.

  • Elm Creek Preserve/Eastman Nature Center - Located in Dayton, This is a wildlife preserve and nature center where they have Scouting related functions going on all the time. You can call (763)420-4300 and get a schedule for the year so you will know when they are doing what. You'll wonder why you never knew about this place before! They do specific badge requirements as well! What a great place for the Scouts.

  • Rock Collecting - There are a few different rock quarries where you can go and pick through the rocks to see what you can find. You won't find gold, but you may find agates and quartz! Rock hounds be sure to bring along a bag to carry home your finds!

  • Fishing - This is gray-area when it comes to Scouting. Unless you are a certified Lifeguard, you cannot take the kids out in a boat. But there isn't anything in the rulebook about fishing from shore or off a dock. Be sure you follow safety rules and bring plenty of bait. Twin Lake is a good, close lake with lots of fish for the boys to catch. Twin Lake is located about 2 blocks east of Armstrong Blvd. on Hwy 22 in Elk River.

  • Miniature Golf - Introduce a boy to the world of golfing and you just may see the next Tiger Woods step up to the tee! Even if you can't golf on THAT large of a scale Mini-Golf is a fun alternative! There are several places that offer mini-golf at reasonable prices and you might get a discount for bringing a Scout group. Great Northern Golf Range & Putting Course in Ham Lake (763) 434-4109 and Lilli Putt Minature Golf and Bumper Boats & Go Cart Track in Coon Rapids (763) 755-1450 are close choices!

  • Planes of Fame WWII Airplane Museum - Located at 310 Airport Road in Eden Prairie, this is a place where the boys can go and see WWII fighter planes and have some hands-on experience. They have group tours for Scouts. Go to Planes Of Fame or call (651)455-6942 to schedule your visit. Really cool!

  • Oliver H. Kelly Farm - Located on Hwy 10 between Ramsey and Elk River. Kelley Farm is a real, working 1860's farm that is owned and operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. Costumed guides work the fields with oxen and horses. At different times during the year you'll see haymaking, threshing, or other harvest activitites. You can try your hand at churning butter, making coleslaw, soap or straw hats. Don't forget to see what's cooking in the kitchen! For more information, fees or a schedule for the year 2002, call (763)441-6896. Or go to Kelley Farm. For other historical sites you might be interested in as well, go to Minnesota Historical Society.

  • Minneapolis Planetarium - located at 300 Nicollet Mall in Minnepolis. They have shows at various times so you can call (612)630-6150 to see what fits your schedule. They always have something new to see and there are movies in the Star Theatre that aren't to be missed. The cost is minimal and the boys love this field trip! Air-conditioned and comfortable for those days when it's just too hot to be outdoors. (I can't believe I said that.)

  • Greenhouse Tour - You can take a tour of a local greenhouse and see how they get those Green Thumbs! Green Valley Greenhouse is a MASSIVE local greenhouse that might be willing to take you on a tour. It smells SOOOO good in there! Check the yellow pages for other local greenhouses as well.

  • Great River Energy tour - Your den can take a tour and see HOW electricity is made at Great River Energy in Elk River right on Hwy 10. This field trip is seasonal and is only open while it is warm enough for the Scouts to be outdoors. Excellent field trip and very informative. They close it down around the end of September. Be sure to get in early. Call (763)274-0972 to make a reservation.





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    Crafts for Summer



  • Bug Cage - These are great little projects that have two purposes, one is the crafting of it and another is the USE of it for a field trip! Old How-To Book page# 3-27. Easy and inexpensive.

  • Bug Nets - You need one of these along to catch those butterfly's! (New How-To Book.)

  • Sand Casting - Dig a hole in the sand, make a design and add plaster. YOu can even cast animal tracks while you are on your nature walk. Just bring along a Cool Whip bowl with dry plaster of paris and a water bottle. Don't forget a stir stick. Plaster of Paris sold at Craft shops is WAY too expensive! Buy Plaster at Menards or Home Depot, for about $2.00 a box! More plaster ideas in the Old How-To Book page# 3-40.

  • Sand Painting - You can buy colored sand at craft shops or make your own out of clean washed sand and colored chalk. Rub the colored chalk over the sand until it takes on the color you want. 'Paint' with the sand by first drawing a picture on paper. Fill in areas that will be the same color with a thin layer of glue painted on with a q-tip. Then sprinkle the sand over the glue. Let each area dry a little before moving on to the next color. Continue until all the areas have been filled. (Brenda used cornmeal instead of sand and she said it worked great!)

  • First Aide Kit Neckerchief Slides - Make these cute neckerchief slides out of a film canister, to hold a few basic first-aide supplies for all those outdoor walks you'll have this summer! (New How-To Book.) Add a couple band-aids, a gauze pad, a small packet of Neosporin, a tweezer, a couple of Tylenol (mostly for the Den Leader), and maybe an alchohol wipe. Now you're ready for almost ANY small cut, scrape or sliver! Remember, "BE PREPARED!"

  • Sundial - Old How-To book page# 8-27. Make this easy to make sundial out of old wood scraps.

  • Rain Gauge - Old How-To-book page# 8-25.

  • Ant Farm - Old How-To Book page# 8-18.

  • Worm Farm - Old How-To Book page# 8-27. I tried this and the kids had a blast. Finding 1 gallon glass jugs however, was NOT so easy. Start looking LONG before you need them. I had a pizza place AND Cub Foods Deli saving them up for me for about a month!

  • Leaf Blueprints - You can buy special paper that makes an impression of a leaf in seconds just by exposing it to the sunlight. I found this paper at Dick Blick Art Supplies in Roseville, but you can order it from craft supply catalogs too. These are really neat and the kids can make a homemade frame for them so they can hang them in their rooms!


    You can always find Craft ideas for any season at     Making Friends.com or at Enchanted Learning.com. Give these sites a try! You won't be sorry. Always check the Program Helps Book to see what the suggestions are for the monthly theme, and if you look through your How-To Book, I'm sure you'll find lots of other ideas as well.



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    Games



    Summer is the very best time for kids to get outside and play. The BEST Den Meetings (for my Den anyway) are the one's that we have outdoors playing games. Here's a few of my favorite games for summer.

  • Waterballoon Toss - You haven't lived until you have watched the kids try NOT to get wet throwing waterballoons back and forth and trying to catch them in two towels. Have 2 boys each hold an end of a towel and stretch it tight. Have another two boys do the same and stand about 20 feet apart. Place a waterballoon in one of the towels, and have the boys play 'catch' with the balloon using only the towels to throw and catch it. This game is really fun.

  • Relay Races - Kids love to race! Paint a few lines on a lawn with some spray paint and start the stop watch. Race in various forms, three-legged, wheelbarrow style, crab-walk style, kangaroo hop, leap frog style, run backwards, no matter what you think up, they'll have fun doing it. Get ribbons for the participants at Party City for about $1.00 each! Cheap thrills are sometimes the best! You can find lots of other relay race ideas in the Old How-To book Page# 2-36.

  • Water Games - If you are lucky enough to have access to a backyard swimming pool and it isn't too deep, (such as an above ground pool) you can set up Water Basketball or Water Volleyball. Maybe throw pucks into the water and dive for them. Be sure that the boys all know how to swim and are comfortable in the water, and that there is an adult present at all times to supervise and for safety. There are more ideas for Water Games in the old How-To Book page# 2-44.

  • Ultimate/Frisbee - Now is the time to earn that Ultimate Beltloop and learn a new game. If you have a big yard or you can use a ball field at a park or school, this is a really fun for the boys. Don't forget to order that beltloop afterward! You can get a Frisbee at any discount store in the sporting goods or games department really cheap.

  • Volleyball - Try to arrange a parents and scouts Volleyball game. This is easy if you are Tiger's but the other ranks may have to do a little coaxing. If you can't get the parents, maybe you can combine with another den for your game. You can usually find someone who has a volleyball net and ball, and that's about all it takes. This is another fun way to earn a beltloop! Don't forget to order your Volleyball beltloop afterward.

  • Badminton - A really fun game to try is badminton! And it's yet ANOTHER beltloop earning game! You can even play badminton with just 2 boys, so even a small den can have fun playing this game. Make sure you have the Sports and Academics Book, so you'll know what the requirements are for each sport and you can work on them while you have fun.








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    Summer Den Activites



    It's hard to get the Scouts to come to Den meetings in the summer, but if you don't have summer meetings, they lose interest in Scouting. Try to have at least ONE Den meeting a month during the summer, and more if you can get the involvement. If you plan fun summertime activities, they are more likely to attend. Don't forget to use the ideas in the Program Helps book, they are designed around the monthly theme.


  • Have a Family BBQ - Let the boys do the cooking! Invite the families to come for a BBQ and have each family bring one dish to share. Buy the meat with your Den Dues and don't forget the lemonade!

  • Backyard Campout - The Webelos get to go to camp every summer, but the Tigers, Wolves and Bears really don't get to camp out unless it's done as a Den or family. Remember to have 1 on 1 parent/Scout for overnighter campouts. During your campout you might look at the stars and try to find constellations, look through a telescope, have a bonfire, make smores or roast weinies! If the backyard campout doesn't suit your needs, maybe your Den could attend one of the Fun With Son weekends together. See the 'Camp' page for dates and details about Fun With Son Weekends.

  • Plant a Den Garden - If you have some garden space and you can let the boys plant even a small part of it with some flowers, plants or vegetables of their own, they will want to keep coming back to take care of it throughout the summer. (You'll have to care for it between Den Meetings yourself though, so make sure you have time.) At harvest time, let the boys eat something they have grown themselves. Maybe have an award for the biggest tomato or the tallest corn stalk! You can use this opportunity to teach the boys about organic gardening, composting, and recycling the earths natural resources, and how to care for the earth and soil without using harmful pesticides. (Insecticidal soap goes a long way here.) A very valuable den activity if you have the time and space. You can combine this garden activity with a field trip to the Greenhouse to buy small inexpensive plants rather or you can grow your plants from seed.

  • Go Biking - There are lots of things boys like to do, but most all of them will like the idea of a bike ride. Plan to bike down a trail system and make sure the boys wear helmets and follow safe Bicycling rules. Don't bike on roads, where accidents can (and will) happen. Attend a Bike Rodeo as a Den.

  • Nature Scavenger Hunt - Divide the boys into 2 teams and hike down a nature trail. Give the boys a list of things found in nature and a paper sack. The first team to find all the listed items wins!

  • Make Birthday Bags - A project the boys can work on for the ACBC Food Shelf is 'Birthday Bags'. A Birthday Bag consists of: a brown paper bag decorated with a birthday theme, a cake mix, a frosting and a toy (around $10.00). They told me the Girl Scouts do this too and they are overwhelmed with 'girl' toys. They need bags for boys too! The bags are grouped by age 1-3, 4-6, 7-10. This can be done as a Den project or individually, whichever your den can afford. After the bags are done, you can make arrangements for the boys to drop them off at the Food Shelf and the people there will give the boys a tour and info session. This is sometimes the only gift a child receives for their birthday, so these bags are very important any time of year. This counts as a service project or a 'Good Turn'. Let's see if we can't help out.

  • Work on a Skit - Each Den will have it's turn to do a Skit. Be prepared and work on one early, check your yearly Pack schedule to see when it's your Den's turn! Stumped for skit? There are over 500 Skits on the Resource page. You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this pdf document. Get the Adobe Acrobat Reader here.


    These are just some of the things I can think of for summertime Den Activities. I'm sure you can think of others. The Program Helps and How-To Books list other actvities for summer too! Have a great summer and try to have at LEAST one Den Meeting per month during the summer months, it will help the boys stay interested in Scouting. Parents pay for a year around program, let's see that they get it! Don't forget those summer Pack Meetings, you can earn the Summertime Den Award for having at least 50% of your Den attend all the summer Pack Meetings. Another ribbon for your Den Flag!



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