Week one:

1. Do some light painting. Make some amazing art with the aid of nothing more
than a camera and some coloured lights. Why not create your own light graffiti
tag?
2. Build your own catapult. Scouts are great at constructing all manner of things
from sticks and rope; an activity called pioneering. Check out this great
resource from Discovery Channel, which will teach you how to build an amazing
catapult.
3. Make a sock monster. Recycle odd socks and make a fearsome creation of
your own to play with. Download Hobbycraft's creative activity pack for
instructions.
4. Go geocaching. Hunt for caches in your local area. All you need is a GPS device
or a smartphone. Read Scout Leader Eddie Langdown's essential guide to this
addictive activity.
5. Race balloon rockets. All you need are drinking straws, card, balloons, clothes
pegs and string. Download this great activity pack from Rolls-Royce to find out
how to make your own balloon rockets.
6. Build a bird box. Providing a place for garden birds to nest is a great way to
help conservation of local wildlife. Check out this great 'how to' video from
Scouts' partner B&Q.
7. Go butterfly spotting. Do you know an Essex Skipper from a Red Admiral? Can
you spot a Holly Blue or a Cabbage White in your garden? Butterflies are some of
the UK's most striking and distinctive minibeasts see how many types you can
identify.
Week two:
8. Play pooh sticks. This timeless game was invented by A. A. Milne, author of the Winnie
the Pooh books. Choose a distinctive stick each, and on the count of three, drop them off the
upstream side of a bridge. Run to the downstream side and see whose stick appears first.
9. Dine in the great outdoors. Camp out, light a fire and get stuck in to some backwoods
cooking. Why not toast marshmallows, make dampers (dough twists) or even ponass a
trout?
10. Build a bug hotel. The National Trust, the Natural History Museum and The Wildlife
Trusts all support the Cub Naturalist Badge. Try out their 'bug hotel' activity to provide a
home for all sorts of insects from beetles to bees.
11. Form a human table. This one needs four friends and good teamwork! Sit on four
stools arranged in a tight square. Lean back so that each person's head is resting on the next
person's knees. Then lift your hips off the stools, and get someone to slide them away. How
long can you manage to stay up?

12. Make a mini cork raft. Three corks, some string, a few twigs and a large leaf or piece
of scrap paper makes a great raft. Race them in a shallow stream and see who can sail
farthest.
13. Get fit and have fun by visiting an adventure playground, a trim trail or an outdoor
gym. Challenge your kids to beat their personal best.
14. Learn how to spot animal tracks and sign. Head into a local park or woodland and
see if you can spot signs of animals with our essential tracking guide from bushcraft
expert Paul Kirtley.
Week three:
15. Weave a survival bracelet. Learn to tie the cobra weave with Austin Lill's easy stepby-step instructions and then make survival bracelets from paracord. Each bracelet costs
less than 1 to make.
16. Go on a bat hunt. Did you know there are 18 different species of bat in the UK
alone? Organise an evening walk or even a night hike near waterways and ponds to see if
you can spot bats in flight. Don't forget to take a torch and a camera
17. Make a bowdrill set. Making fire by friction is one of the most ancient outdoor skills.
One of the most efficient methods is to make a bowdrill set, consisting of a bow, a drill, a
base board and a bearing block. It takes lots of practice but is an impressive skill to master.
18. Go crabbing. Almost any harbour wall, pier or quayside can be a good location
forcrabbing. All you need is a line and some bait pieces of bacon, chicken or cat food all
work well. Keep crabs in a bucket of sea water and remember not to overcrowd the bucket.
Also release them carefully to avoid distressing the crabs.
19. Make up a wild poem. Find a peaceful place and spend some time observing nature,
then try to come up with a descriptive poem that expresses how you feel at that moment.
Write it on a leaf, scratch it onto a stone or use a stick to write it in mud.
20. Blow bubbles. Mix a bubble solution in a tray, using 1 part washing-up liquid to 8 parts
water and 1 part glycerine (you can get this from a pharmacist). Scoop off any foam and
leave for two hours. Make bubble wands by threading two straws onto string and tying the
ends together to form a square. Dip the wand in your bubble solution and gently pull through
the air to form amazing bubbles!
21. Be a cloud spotter. Stratus, cirrus, nimbus and cumulus are just some of the different
types of clouds you might see in our skies. Their distinctive shapes are fun to spot, and can
also help you to predict the weather.

Week four:
22. Put together a piata. This hollow structure filled with sweets is an essential
part of traditional Mexican celebrations. They are often made in the shape of an
animal's head, such as a donkey or an ox, but you can make a simple
version from papier-mch, sculpted around an inflated balloon.
23. Take on a whittling project and fashion something from a piece of wood (or,
for younger ones, a bar of soap). Try carving your favourite animal. You only need a
small pocket knife remember to use it safely.

24. Make a stick lantern. Create a framework from sticks and stick them together
with masking tape, then add a tea light or an LED light and use PVA to cover the
lantern with tissue paper.
25. Look for buried treasure. Become an archaeologist for the day and mark out
a space to dig in a garden or field. Try to find a space where there's a good chance
of unearthing some interesting artefacts. Common finds includes pieces of glass,
pottery, broken pipe stems, animal bones, coins and much more.
26. Construct a wormery. Investigate the living world and see worms in action
by making your own wormery from an empty drinks bottle. Download Rolls-Royce's
scientist activity pack for instructions.
27. Learn circus skills with homemade juggling balls and poi. They're cheap to
make and lots of fun!
28. Make a bird ball feeder. Knot a short length of rope and then mix lard, nuts
and birdseed together. Mould the mix into a ball around the end of the rope and
hang it in your garden.
Week five:
29. Draw and animate your own characters by constructing a simple zoetrope.
Come up with a cartoon strip and make it move before your very eyes!
30. Stage a scavenger hunt. Can your kids race to find a list of items in your
house, garden or local park? Make sure you've got a prize for the winner
31. Make a rubber-band helicopter from card, lolly sticks, paperclips, an elastic
band and a plastic propeller (which can be bought online for about 25p). How high
can you fly? Heres a great step-by-step instructable.
32. Try free running. Its one of the world's fastest-growing sports, and can be
seen in almost every new Hollywood action movie. Yet all you need is a pair of
trainers. Start small and gradually build up your repertoire of moves to stay safe.
Check out freerunning expertDan Edwardes' take on the benefits of this all-action
pursuit.
33. Go beachcombing. It's amazing what washes up on our shores. Take
advantage of a trip to the seaside to see what flotsam and jetsam you can find.
Collect some and use it to create some cool beach art.
34. Skim stones. It's a classic pastime that never fails to amuse. How many
'skips' can you manage? Which stones are best for skimming?
35. Carve an atlatl. This is a traditional throwing spear, which can be made from a
straight stick and a forked branch. Throw them at targets or balloons, but never at
other people or animals.

Week six:
36. Learn a magic trick. World Magic Shops, sponsors of the Scout Entertainer
badge, have produced some amazing video tutorials to teach terrific tricks with
simple props, like a pack of cards. Visit them online and you'll be as good as
Dynamo in no time.
37. Fly a kite. Check out this step-by-step guide from Scout Activity Centres to
building your own kite. Then all you need is a windy day to get up, up and away!
38. Take on the doughnut challenge. Thread doughnuts on a rope and tie it
between two trees. See who can eat their doughnut the quickest without using their
hands. This one makes a great party game!
39. ID a tree. Trees are everywhere, but do you know one species from another?
Look up some common leaf patterns and see how many types you can spot in your
local area. Why not press some leaves and start a nature scrapbook? Use it to draw
common trees and record where you saw them.
40. Be a ladybird detective. Have you noticed that many ladybirds look slightly
different? That's because there are 26 types of true ladybird found in the UK, and
they come in many different sizes and patterns. Use a spotting sheet to help
identify any that you find.
41. Build a natural shelter. A simple shelter in the woods can be created from
sturdy branches, foliage and leaf litter. A well-constructed shelter makes a great
den and knowing how to build one is a vital survival skill.
42. Lay a trail. Signs and arrows can be made from stones and sticks to make a
trail for others to follow. It's a traditional Scouting skill that makes a great day out
in the woods.