-
Strongest Shelter Challenge
Rain or shine: Can your shelter survive the challenge?
Put your teamwork and creativity to the test in the 'Strongest Shelter Challenge'! Scouts will work together to build shelters using limited materials, aiming to create the most durable, waterproof structure. This activity is all about problem-solving, quick thinking, and discovering what it takes to stay dry and safe in the wild.
Before you begin
- Gather your equipment and make sure you are in a space that can get wet or where water can drain away
What you will need
| For full-sized outdoor shelters, you will need the following | For tabletop indoor shelters, you will need the following |
| Tarpaulins | Popsicle sticks |
| Plastic bin bags | Paper straws |
| Rope | Tissue paper |
| Plastic sheeting | Tin foil |
| Cardboard | Elastic bands |
| Newspaper | Sticky tape |
| Thermal blankets | Scissors |
| Plumbing pipes | String |
| Bamboo canes | Deep trays |
| Flexible tubing | Watering can |
| Bedsheets | Water |
| Sandbags/Bags of rice | Plastic Bag |
| Watering can or hose | |
| Water | |
| Towels |
Run the activity
- Set the scene by talking about having to leave home in a hurry to escape a dangerous situation and ending up without shelter. Ask the Group how they would protect themselves and what they might use to build a shelter?
- Everyone should split into Patrols of no more than six people.
- Explain to everyone that they’ll be building shelters against the clock, so they’ll need to work as a team and use the materials they have to build a shelter that can stand up to all weather conditions.
- Explain to everyone that the outdoor shelter should be large enough to fit the entire Group in without falling over.
- Everyone should be given a time limit to build the shelter. Younger Sections should have 20-30 minutes to complete the task, while older groups should have 15-20 minutes.
- Everyone should now build their shelters.
- When they are finished or have run out of time, test each shelter for waterproofing using the watering can or hose. The winner is the Patrol that worked together the best and made a shelter that kept people the driest.
- Discuss the following questions as a Patrol: How difficult did you find the challenge? What did you think about when working out how to build their shelter? What would it be like to sleep in your shelter outdoors for one night or a whole week?
Change the challenge level
Decrease the challenge
- Everyone could work together in one Patrol to build a big, outdoor shelter large enough for all of them or an indoor, table-top shelter
Increase the challenge
- Older Sections could be given less time to finish their shelter, while younger Sections may need more time
Reflection
Everyone should think about the problems that refugees and displaced children face.
- What could be done to make their lives easier?
- If they had to leave home and move somewhere new, what would they miss about their homes?
- As a Patrol, how could they have worked as a Patrol better?
