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This is a problem solving exercise for a small group of 2-4 scouts.
Materials: 1/2 litre plastic soda bottle, 2 inch piece of soda straw, a bucket of pea gravel small enough to drop into the bottle's mouth, water. Preparation: Embed the soda bottle in a bucket of gravel, standing straight up with just the top two inches of the neck above the gravel. Fill the bottle with water up to the gravel line. This should make it possible to hold the straw to your lips, stick it in the bottle, and not quite be able to touch the water. The Problem: An old bottle is partly buried in the ground and rain has recently nearly filled the bottle. You are a very thirsty bird that has found the bottle and needs a drink. The straw is your beak which you can use to take a drink. You can not move the buried bottle or tip the earth. Be a smart bird and figure out how to get a drink of water. As the scouts tackle the problem, answer their questions about the rules and encourage them to discuss the problem and ideas they come up with. If they want a hint, ask them: "What would happen if it rained some more?" (the water level would go up and you could get a drink.) "Is there some other way to make the water level go up?" "Could a bird lift a piece of gravel?" |
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This is a problem solving exercise for a small group of 2-4 scouts.
Materials: plastic dishpan of water, 2 pieces of string about 6 inches each, two 2-inch stones, table knife, 24 dowels of 1/2" diameter about 4 inches long. Preparation: Set the stones in the dishpan. Lay the knife across them. Move the stones so the tip and the butt of the knife rest on the stones and they are about in the center of the dishpan. Place the dowels by the dishpan. The Problem: While swimming, a group of scouts discovered a bar of silver on the lake bottom. It is way too heavy to lift and swim with, but you want to retrieve it to the lake shore. Figure out a way to retrieve the silver. The lake and stones can not be moved. The lake water level can not be changed. As the scouts tackle the problem, answer their questions about the rules and encourage them to discuss the problem and ideas they come up with. If they want a hint, ask them: "Why can't the scouts bring it to the shore?" (it is too heavy.) "Is there some way to help it float?" (push logs under it) The string might be useful to tie the outside logs to the knife. |
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This is a problem solving exercise for a small group of 2-4 scouts.
Materials: plastic dishpan of water, four 1-inch stones, drinking straw for each scout, plastic icecube tray, lead weights, water-proof putty Preparation: Set the stones in the dishpan. Put some putty in the icecube tray and press weights into it. Submerge in the dishpan. Add weight until it sinks but will float if upside down with air in the compartments. Sink the icecube tray and then position it upside down on top of the four stones. Place the straws on the table. The Problem: A large ship carrying very dangerous cargo has sunk off the coast. Your team has been called in to recover the ship and prevent its cargo from polluting the environment. Unfortunately, the ship is damaged and ropes will break it in half and it it resting nearly on the bottom so floats can not be slipped under it. Save that Ship! As the scouts tackle the problem, answer their questions about the rules and encourage them to discuss the problem and ideas they come up with. If they want a hint, ask them: "Why is the ship on the bottom?" (it is heavier than water.) "Is there some way to make it less heavy?" (displace water with air) "These are air hoses that can take air to the bottom of the ocean." |
