WEBELOS
Traveler
The Traveler Activity Badge explores the preparation involved in taking a trip. Traveler is in the Mental Skills group of badges. The word �traveler� suggest faraway places and long trips. Some of the Webelos Scouts may have enjoyed such travels, but they won�t add much to their mileage while working on this activity badge. They will, however, be able to learn something about trip planning and scheduling and hopefully they will have a chance for a short trip or two, mainly for practice of what they have learned.
Through the badge requirements, Webelos Scouts will learn to read maps and timetables or railroad, buses, or airlines serving your area. They will learn how to read highway maps and plan trips. Not only does this badge help prepare the boys for travel experience but also enables them to get the most out of a trip and to learn more about this great country.
Notice that the two trips listed in the requirement are family trips and not Webelos Den activities. You can help the boys secure some of the travel items they will need and teach them how to read maps and timetables as they prepare for the family trips.
Objectives
To introduce Webelos to the excitement of traveling to see new places and meet new people.
To show Scouts some of the practical skills that are needed to get �there� successfully and efficiently so that when �there,� they can have a rewarding experience.
To have the Scouts practice planning in a fun way.
Where To Go And What To Do
Invite a travel agent to explain to your den about planning for a trip and the use of computers in making reservations.
Visit an automobile club office and find out what they do.
Hang travel posters around den meeting place and discuss ways to travel to these places.
As a den, visit the control tower of an airport.
Invite a parent or other resource person to tell of an unusual vacation he/she has taken.
Just for fun, keep a notebook of funny or unusual Vanity License Plates.
Visit a county, state, or National Park with den families.
Visit a Historic site nearby.
Take a bus or train trip (could be a city bus trip around the city).
Calculate cost and speed of a plane trip.
Make car first aid kits.
Have a speed contest of locating specific destinations and how to get there, using maps and timetables.
Teach proper packing of a suitcase.
Invite a Boy Scout to bring his backpack and show how to pack one.
Show how to use a fire extinguisher. How to check to see if the fire extinguisher is in proper working order.
Show how to place, light, and use road flares. Show when to use them.
Travel Information
Tourism bureaus are an endless source from which you can obtain maps, brochures on tourist attractions and motel and hotel directories. When you inquire for this information, let them know the month when the den plans to �travel� because some of the attractions are seasonal, and let them know what area of the state you are most interested in. Most of the literature is free or at a minimal price. This will be useful for the map exercise and will make working on the Traveler Activity Badge a much more colorful and pleasant experience.
Using Public Transit
The Transit Authority will provide you with a system map and schedules of bus routes that serve your area. Explain to the Webelos that they can go anywhere that they want on this outing provided they could get there by bus. This will teach them the use of timetables to plan a trip and they will be taking a trip to someplace that interests them.
How Much Per Mile?
Webelos Woody�s dad had offered to take him to the Nature Center to work on his Naturalist Activity Badge. Woody�s father tells him that they could go by bus, taxicab, or he will drive the family car. The bus would cost $1.50 each for Woody and his father. The taxicab would cost $22.00 for both Woody and his father. The family car cost $0.25 per mile to operate and the trip would require 2 gallons of gas at $1.00 per gallon. Woody�s father says that they can leave as soon as Woody figures out what it would cost per mile to travel to the Nature Center by bus, by taxicab, and by car. The Nature Center is 20 miles away. Answers: Bus $0.l5 per mile, Taxi cabs $1.10 per mile, and car, $0.35 per mile.
Find The Mystery City
Divide the den into two teams. Give each team captain a state highway map. Call out the names of various cities in the state and have the team locate them on the map. The first team to locate the city wins the round (win or lose, make sure both teams locate the town before moving on to the next). The team that locates the most towns first wins.
Packing A Suitcase
Provide a medium size suitcase and bring plenty of items to pack into it. Included in the items should be the necessities of any trip (extra clothes, toiletries, etc.). Be sure that you deliberately bring too much to fit into the suitcase so that the Webelos are forced to select only what they cannot do without for the trip. Have the Webelos select items and practice packing the suitcase.
20 Questions
One person thinks of a person, place or thing for everyone else to identify. The rest of the family members may asked questions that can be answered �yes� or �no�. If no one guesses after 20 questions have been ask, the person who thought of it has stumped the others and is declared the winner. Take turns presenting the mystery to be solved.
Find The Most
The point is to see who can count the most of something by the time you reach your destination or within a specified time limit. People choose different objects to count: green cars versus red cars, cows versus horses, pickup trucks versus trailer trucks, Chevrolets versus Fords, or the license plates of two nearby states.
Air Route
Players are seated in a circle. Each one is given the name of some city or airport. One player has no chair. He stands inside the circle and calls "All aboard for the plane from Oklahoma City to Boston." The two players representing the two cities must change seats. The caller tries to get a seat during the scramble. The player left without a seat becomes the caller. This is fun when the caller names a city that has not been assigned to anyone, thus causing confusion and excitement. Have each boy in turn name something that is found in a gas station. If a boy can�t think of anything else or repeats something that has already been said, he is "out of gas" and out of the game until only one person is left and you can play it again.
Concentration
Make up a set of index cards showing map signs and symbols. On another set of cards, write the correct answers. Show the cards and lay them face down on a table. To play concentration, the first boy turns over two cards. If they match he removes them and tries again. If they don�t match, he turns them back over and the next person takes a turn. Continue until all cards are matched.
Ways to Go
Unscramble the following modes of transportation. Count up how many you have used.
Do You Know Your Cars?
Each definition below describes a type of car. Can you identify them?
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Sphere of Influence Map
Mark the town where you live on a United States map using a different color pen for each group below, mark the map:
City where you were born
Other cities where you have lived
Cities you have visited
Cities where friends live
Cities about which you know one fact
You can now see how different towns play a part in your life. You'll probably be surprised to find out how far your influence reaches. Compare your map with the other Webelos in your den and find out how many cities you have in common.
Postcards
Most families have collected postcards as they traveled or have postcards received in the mail. Invite the boys to bring some postcards to the den meeting to show the other boys. Find the locations on the map.
My Ship Goes Sailing
This game tests your memory. The first player starts by saying, "My ship goes sailing with elephants, or any favorite thing. The second player must say, "My ship goes sailing with elephants and oranges," or any other favorite addition. Each player must repeat all the things that the ship goes sailing with. It gets more difficult when there are a lot.
Pretend Hide and Seek
Our player thinks of a place to pretend to hide in the car, such as "under the spare tire in the trunk" or "on top of the rearview mirror", an others try to guess the hiding place. The player who's "it" will tell them if they're getting warmer (guessing somewhere near the hiding place), or getting colder (guessing far away.)
My Name Is Alberta
The first player says, "My name is Alberta, and I came from Alabama with a load of artichokes." (Any names would be all right as long as they begin with A.) The second player must repeat the sentence using B words, such as "My name is Bruce, and I came from Belgium with a load of bats." Go all the way through to Z.
