Encompass Issue 52 – May 2013 - Kawana Scouts

TEAMWORK / CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITYBuild a tower, as tall as possible (thefinished structure must be enrely self-supporng) in the given me (30-45minutes), out of drinking straws andscky tape.Resources• Plasc drinking straws• Scky tape• ScissorsInstrucons1. Hand out a packet of straws (atleast 150), a roll of scky tape and apair of scissors to each team;2. Tell the teams that the aim of theexercise is to build the tallest, freestandingtower, using the materialsprovided, in the me given (30-45 minutes), and let them at it;3. Depending on the experience of the Cubs, you may provide hintsto assist.Hints include:• Encourage teamwork—idle hands are wasted hands. The mostefficient approach is to idenfy individual tasks and to haveeveryone doing something, all the me, although not necessarilythe same thing all the me. If scky tape is provided without adispenser (a good idea), for example, someone can dedicate theirme to cung off pieces of scky tape for others to use inconstrucng the tower (this task can be rotated if this is notperceived to be an interesng task);• Build the tower in a modular fashion, so that individuals or pairsof individuals can work on modules which can ulmately beconnected together. It is usually difficult for more than one or twopeople to producvely work on the final assembly process at once.In this way, younger Cubs can work with older, more experiencedCubs, or they can simply copy the work of an older Cub at their ownpace, with input from an older Cub as and when required;• Use triangular elements as much as possible, as they are the mostrigid. One very successful approach is simply to make as many'straw triangles' as possible in the first 10-15 minutes, then for oneor two team members to start assembling these individualcomponents into a vercal structure. Choosing the most efficientway to integrate such components then becomes the realchallenge;• Take care to make individual triangular or modular componentsconsistently, otherwise they will not fit together well, and the towerwill become unstable as it grows. If care is taken, it is possible tobuild a stable tower of 3-4 metres on a simple triangular base. Themore careless the construcon, the bigger the base will need to beto support a given structure.ESTIMATING HEIGHTArst’s MethodAt the base of theobject to bemeasured, place anarcle (such as astaff or person) ofknown height.Stand well away fromthe object,then, holding a pencilor twig atarm’s length, arrangefor the p ofthe pencil to be in linewith the top of the staff or person and the thumb to mark theground level. Next, esmate how many mes this distance will gointo the height of the object, and mulply by the height of thearcle.Lumberman’s MethodStand well away from theobject and hold a pencil ortwig at arm’s length fromyour body. Arrange the twigso its p is in line with thetop of the tree (or object)being measured. Arrange thepencil of twig so its p is inline with the top of the tree(or object) being measured,and move your thumb up ordown unl it’s in line with the base. Now swing the twig through aright angle (90°), keeping your arm steady, so that your thumbremains level with the base of the tree (or object). Observe thepoint on the ground at right angles to the tree (or object) where thep of the pencil or twig now appears to rest. The approximateheight of the tree (or object), your esmate, can be measured bypacing the distance from the base of the tree (or object) to thispoint.DO YOU HAVE ANACTIVITY TO SHARE?Did you know that you can submit your acvies throughEurekit to share with other Leaders?Click the Change Status buon on your acvity to submit forpublishing.19