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Puzzle Hunters - Joeys and Cubs

Sections

Joey Scouts Cub Scouts

Challenge Areas

Outdoors

Scout Method Elements

Learning By Doing Nature and the Outdoors Patrol System Youth Leading, Adults Supporting

SPICES Growth Areas

Intellectual Physical Social

The Adventure

Use radios and teamwork to find puzzle pieces in a field and put together the puzzle.

Plan

  1. Investigate different ways in which humans communicate with each other. Consider how the senses of touch, sight, and sound all factor into how we communicate with other people.
  2. Investigate the basics of how radios work. You might like to look here to get started: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm
  3. Read the safety information and discuss with your leaders or another appropriate adult what safety equipment, precautions, and supervision may be required. Ensure that you have these safety measures in place before starting the ‘Do’ section.
  4. Communicate with your patrol members and leaders to see what equipment that you need to bring. You will need the following: a puzzle field, puzzle pieces, path instructions, and a handheld radio per youth member,

Do

  1. Set up your field, which should contain a range of different locations for puzzle pieces to be placed. For an added challenge, try to ensure that there are more locations than pieces for each puzzle. If you are running multiple pairs and puzzles, you may like to set up your field using a grid of posts. Alternatively, for an indoor experience, you could get up your field in a living room with furniture.
  2. Assign each piece location a code such as A1, B1, C1 or descriptions.
  3. Have someone else design a path through the grid for the puzzle pieces to be located along, and then have them place the puzzle pieces in the field. Each collection location should have puzzle pieces at them to ensure that the correct pieces are collect through radio communication rather than just going to the locations with pieces. Provide the navigator with written instructions on which locations to visit to collect pieces on the puzzle course. Make sure that the collector does not see this course.
  4. With the navigator and the collector both having handheld radios, send the collector into the field. If completing this activity with multiple pairs of youth members at once, ensure that each pair of radios are set to different frequencies/channels.
  5. Have the navigator direct the collector to the locations to collect the puzzle pieces before returning to the start.
  6. Put the puzzle together.

Review

  1. Did you manage to find all of your puzzle pieces correctly and could you complete your puzzle?
  2. Was it easy to hear the instructions from your teammate over the radio?
  3. What was challenging about the experience?
  4. If you were to do this activity again, what would you do the same? What would you do differently?

Safety

• The radios may recieve and transmit signals to other devices. Ensure that transmission does not interfere with other services and it is highly recommended that 'kid safe' mode is enabled to minimise the risk of non-Scouting members from talking to youth members.

Variations

• Consider other objects that can be collected from the field. You could collect ingredients then cook something.
• Have a range of pairs and puzzles on the field at once to increase the difficulty.
• This activity can be easily themed by creating puzzle pieces with different pictures on paper.