Resources for You to Try
Some useful items that you may like to try out are given below.
Fylde District Beavers Campfire Song Book
A collection of 45 campfire songs and a story, with detailed actions, used at Fylde District's annual Beaver Party and Campfire from 1995 to the present day. These popular songs are used by all sections.
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Fylde District Beavers Favourite Games
This booklet describes the favourite games of Beaver Colonies in the Fylde District. The 23 games are therefore well tried and tested and can be recommended to others.
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Origami Bangers
The instruction sheets describe how to make origami come alive with noisy paper bangers. A simple and effective single banger is illustrated, together with a double banger. The double banger is not much noisier and considerably more difficult to make but can, if it doesn't have two simultaneous bangs, allow a second bang to be made - a repeater (by accident!). The single banger is the best to teach. Use paper about A3 in size, the stiffer the better.
Single Banger Double Banger
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Paper Air Rockets
Instructions on how to make a simple and inexpensive (£2 - £3) rocket launcher and associated paper or card rockets are given below. The rocket is powered by stamping on an empty lemonade bottle and is very effective. A sheet with drawn out fins for cutting out and taping to the rocket is also given - cut along the solid lines, bend along the dotted lines. One change that could be made is to add a piece of wood to hold the launch tube vertically - when boys jump on the bottle it can twist and may hit someone by accident. With some bottles, you can quickly destroy them and therefore may need a large supply. Our thanks to Matthew Nightingale, CSL - 1st Ribchester (St. Wilfred's) Scout Group, for mentioning this rocket and for his excellent diagram.
Paper Rocket launcher Rocket Fins Template
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Water Rockets
Simple and brilliant. Everyones' favourite item at events.
Adaptors Connection
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Dimensions (mm) & Instructions for Making
- Pipe - 1000 long, 103 inside diameter, 110 outside diameter
- Wooden spine - 1210 long x 95 wide x 44 thick (giving a 210 free section to push the bottle into the pipe)
- Tape pipe to wooden spine using 54 wide Duck Tape at 3 locations shown
- Legs - 1000 (15mm copper pipe or anything suitable). Flatten end of tube, drill hole and screw into wooden spine 260 from the top (highest point). Add rubber feet (e.g. walking stick rubbers) if wish.
- Vertical hand pump - foot pumps have been found to be unsuitable because they have to be secured rigidly to a baseboard and still buckle in use. The vertical pumps are easy and stable to use. Lidl occasionally sells the vertical pump quite cheaply.
- Adaptors - a cork through which a plastic lilo inflator (slim cone shape) has been inserted with its wide end attached to a foot pump.
Instructions for Use
- Take a 2 litre lemonade bottle. Fill it 25% (only) with water. (Too full and it will balloon along the ground)
- Into its open mouth jam the cork adaptor as tightly as possible
- Push the bottle up the pipe that has been securely aimed somewhere safe
- Pump away and it self launches at about 20-25psi - flies about 60-80ft high then tumbles slowly and safely down where we normally have Beavers and Cubs waiting to catch it. It takes an adult about 4 or 5 big pumps, Beavers about 10 short pumps to launch.
Points to note
- It's safe as long as no one is allowed to peer down the drainpipe.
- It's fast to relaunch - 2 to 3 goes a minute.
- You don't need many bottles.
- Some smaller bottles have the same size neck and fly well
- Corks are not so easy to get . Build up a supply. Plastic corks tend to be too narrow. Rubber bungs of the right size are rare. Corks of cork are good though some may leak slightly - only about 10% seem to fit.
- We used bicycle valves for a long time as adaptors - got through a lot. One day we ran out of them and a Scout used the lilo adaptor in desperation. It is far better, the air goes straight through into the bottle and the adaptor lasts and lasts and lasts. However, lilo adaptors are not easy to get hold of - they are included in packets of spare valves and also usually are included with a new foot pump.
- The kids get their feet wet which everyone likes.
- The ground will get soggy
- Cost : pump with adaptor ~£4-50. + cork (free) + bottle (Free) . Just add drainpipe ~£5 or less ??, In fact, the wooden spine and legs are optional extras - say, around £10 - 15 total + paint. Best £10 - 15 we have ever spent. We have 2.
Footballers
We have a set of 4 wooden footballers which we use as football targets. They are hinged at the base and this is stabilised by two bars which swivel out. When hit by a football they fall over.
Wooden Footballers Rear View showing Hinges
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Dimensions (mm) & Instructions for Making
The dimensions below are for rather wide footballers. With the sheet of MDF bought, four could be made easily by having them wide. Narrower ones would have meant more sawing but could be made with just a single hinge. So adapt the sizes to suit.
- Footballer - 608 (2ft) wide x 915 (3ft) high x 12 thick. Doesn't need a strengthening bar behind to stop the head being knocked off! Tried them but they were not needed. Paint and finish lines with a black permanent marker to make them stand out
- Base block - 600 long x 48 wide x 73 thick
- Hinges - (two) 100 x 40 with 4 screws in both sides. Centred 65 from the end of the base block.
- Base board - 890 long x 145 wide x 16 thick
- Stabilisers - (two) 600 long x 45 wide x 20 thick. Screwed at the centre 180 from each end of the base board. The stabilisers swivel for ease of storage
Indoor Campfires
Something that every Scout Group should have is an indoor campfire. When the weather is bad or when you don't have time or facilities to hold an outdoor campfire, an indoor one comes into its own. It is safe, provided that you exercise due control of the audience, and it doesn't take hours to cool down! A simple one is illustrated - successive layers of progressively shorter and thinner logs are built up and nailed or, better, screwed together. Have it as thick and as high as you like. Underneath is placed a simple bulb holder with a red bulb inserted, the bulbholder being screwed to a wooden base and also connected to a long lead and 5 amp fused plug. The wooden base is best made larger than that shown such that it covers the base of the fire and can be screwed to the bottom logs to keep it all neatly together and to stop the logs from moving. They work a treat and are indispensable for creating a good campfire atmosphere anywhere, anytime.
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