Camp activity boxes

[nadinemel]

I am a campmaster for one of our Council camps and I would like to provide activity boxes for units to check out while they're at camp. Things like knife, axe and atchet sharpening and safety, rope making, map and compass. I am looking for other ideas of things that you think units may be interested in. I look forward to your feedback.

[yknot]

I don't know if scout units would be interested in these but I had proposed putting them together for some programming I was working on for our local schools and parks department. They were green lighted but then we lost funding so I can't give feedback on how they worked:

- Bird study -- cheap binoculars, field guides, and Audubon and Cornell University educational materials. There are also some free apps you can download so printed instructions for those. Everything laminated.  

- Water study -- nets, buckets, specimen boxes, field guides, educational materials from local watershed associations. 

- Fishing -- fishing poles, nets, buckets, bait and tackle box, field guides, educational materials from local trout unlimited or fly fishing chapter. This kit will fit in someone's donated baseball or ski/snowboard equipment bag.

- Animal tracking - field guides, cast making materials, clay casts or posters.

I found that local watershed and wildlife associations and local Audubon chapters would work with you in providing materials. You can appeal to local birding groups to donate old bins for the kit.

 

[BAJ]

Orienteering boxes could be an option too — set of compasses, a few versions of laminated maps around the property, and either having permanent markers or markers in the box that a senior scout would need to run the course first and place at their designated locations on the map.

Edit: jut read closely enough to see you already said map and compass.  Long day.

Edited August 27, 2020 by BAJ
Poor reading skills of poster

[qwazse]

The ranger at one camp had set up numbered tags on the sides of buildings and other landmarks. The bearings for multiple 3-control, 4-control, and 5-control courses were in a large binder. Scouts follow the bearings, record the nearest tag (or take a selfie with it in the background), and return to camp to report their findings. They may take another course if they’d like.

[mrkstvns]

I think it could be cool to plan some activities and then organize "boxes" around things that are traditional scouting areas of expertise, but that few troops or camps really have much experience with these days. For example, Pioneering or Signaling.