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4. Continue weaving as far as you want to go. Always alternate
between going under and over, and match up the tips of the
sticks.
5. You can make turns as you weave; they just have to be gradual.
On the outside of the curve, put the tips of each pair of sticks
on top of each other. On the inside of the curve, push each new
stick in a little farther than before.
6. To lock the end of the stick “bomb” together, add another
diagonal stick at the end. When you’re ready for an explosion
put a finger on the first sticks you laid down and pull out the
end stick. Let go to start a chain reaction of jumping craft
sticks!
Did you notice how weaving the craft sticks together held them
in place and how you had to lock them together until you were
ready for the explosion? When the sticks are woven together, they
have what’s called potential energy, or energy that is stored up.
When they spring apart, they have kinetic energy, which is the
energy of motion.
How long of a chain reaction were you able to make? Did you
knock down a stack of cups? How many cups? Was it easier to do
this as a team? What would you do differently next time?
To see this craft stick activity in action, search for videos
on the Internet with a parent’s or guardian’s permission.
REQUIREMENT 2 | Make two simple pulleys, and
use them to move objects.
A pulley is a simple machine that lets you lift objects into the
air. It was invented thousands of years ago but is still used every
day. When your den raises a flag on a flagpole, you use a pulley.
When a construction crane lifts girders into the air, it uses a pulley.
In fact, everything from elevators to workout equipment uses
pulleys.
A pulley has just a few parts: a wheel, an axle that the wheel
turns around, and a rope or cable. The wheel usually has a groove
in it so the rope won’t slide off.
Simple pulleys are useful, but what makes them really cool is
when you put pulleys together. When you use two pulleys to lift
an object, the object becomes twice as easy to lift. When you use
four pulleys, it becomes four times as easy to lift. With enough
pulleys (and enough really, really strong cable), you could actually
lift a car off the ground all by yourself!
Here are two simple pulleys you can make.
Pulley #1
Materials
Rolling pin with handles
String
Heavy book
Instructions
1. Wrap the end of the string around the book a couple of times and
then tie it snugly.
2. Place the book on the floor and use the string to lift the book
with one hand.
3. Now, have a partner hold the rolling pin tightly by the handles at
chest height.
4. Loop the string over the top of the rolling pin.
5. Use the string to pull the book up.
Which way of lifting the book was easier? Did one way take
more strength than the other?
Pulley #2
Materials
Two large spools
Two pencils or dowels (they must be able to fit in the spool
hole and move easily)
30 feet of string or strong yarn
An index card
A clothespin or clip
Instructions
1. Insert a pencil or dowel into each spool, making sure the spool
can spin easily.
2. Tie the two ends of the string or yarn together to form a big
loop.
3. Place the loop around the spools.
4. Have a partner hold each of the spool pulleys by its pencil or
dowel axle.
5. Stretch your loop until it is tight enough to be straight, but still
loose enough to turn.
6. Write a message on a card and attach it to the string with a
clothespin near one pulley.
7. Gently pull the string to make the string roll over the spools.
See if you can use your pulley system to deliver a message to a
friend on the other side of the room. How else could you use this
pulley system? How could you secure the pulleys at both ends so
your friends don’t have to hold them? What other improvements
could you make?
REQUIREMENT 3 | Make a lever by creating a
seesaw using a spool and a wooden paint stirrer.
Explore the way it balances by placing different
objects on each end.
What’s a lever? That’s a fancy term for the science that makes a
playground seesaw work. The fulcrum is the hinge or balancing
point. The lever is the board.
As you’ve probably figured out on the playground, if an object
is farther from the fulcrum, it takes a smaller force to produce the
same work. When you get on the seesaw with someone who’s a lot
bigger than you, he has to sit closer to the fulcrum for the seesaw
to balance. When you sit very far from the fulcrum, you can lift a
heavier person at the other end. (With a really long seesaw, you
could even lift a 300-pound football player!)
That principle, called leverage, is why levers are so useful. You
can find levers in all sorts of places, including a pair of scissors, a
crowbar, a hammer pulling a nail, a wheelbarrow, a bottle opener, a
nutcracker, and even your own jaw. (There are three classes of
levers, so these things don’t all work exactly the same way.)
For this requirement, you will make and experiment with a
simple lever.
A Scout is thrifty. You can try many investigations with
simple items from home.
Materials
Paint stirrer
Pencil
Spool (the edges should be wider than the paint stirrer)
Rubber band
Small weights or other objects
Instructions
1. Find the middle of the paint stirrer and mark it with the pencil.
2. Hold the spool on the line you just drew.
3. Lay the rubber band over the paint stirrer and loop it over each
end of the spool. (This will hold the spool and paint stirrer
together.)
Congratulations! You’ve just made a lever! Now, experiment
with it by adding weights or other objects to each end. How easy is
it to get the lever to balance? What happens if the weight on one
end is too heavy?
After you’ve played with your lever for a while, move the
spool closer to one end of the paint stirrer. How does that change
the way the lever works? Do you see why levers can be useful
tools?
REQUIREMENT 4A | Draw a Rube Goldberg-type
machine. Include at least six steps to complete your
action.
Rube Goldberg was an amazing inventor, engineer, and
cartoonist who lived in the 20th century. He was famous for
dreaming up really complicated machines to do simple things like
scratching your back or using a napkin.
For this requirement, you will dream up two Rube Goldberg-
type machines. The first one will just be on paper, like a Rube
Goldberg comic strip, so you can make it as crazy as you want.
The second one, which you’ll make with your den, should actually
work.
Here’s how to make a Rube Goldberg machine:
1. Choose a simple task like drying your face, putting on a hat, or
opening a door.
2. Decide what working elements you want to include. These could
include chain reactions, pulleys, levers, ramps, and more.
3. Add your imagination! How could you use those elements in fun
ways? How could you include building blocks, toy cars, string,
or other items in your design?
4. Draw your first machine on paper. You’ll build your second
machine with the other members of your den for requirement
4B.
REQUIREMENT 4B | Construct a Rube Goldberg-
type machine to complete a task assigned by your den
leader. Use at least two simple machines and include
at least four steps.
Here are some tips for making a machine with your den:
Keep the task simple. The machine is supposed to be
complicated, not the task!
Work together and listen to everyone’s ideas.
A Scout is thrifty. Look for things around you that you can
use, like craft sticks, marbles, dominos, building blocks,
cereal boxes, mailing tubes, yogurt cups, and water bottles.
Avoid anything dangerous (fire, chemicals, mousetraps, etc.).
Build the machine on a drop cloth in case things get messy.
It’s OK if your machine doesn’t work the first time. A lot of
what inventors do is figure out what won’t work.
Snapshot of Adventure
Long before there were board games and video games, kids
played with marbles. Those little balls of glass are just as fun
to play with now as they were back then. In this adventure,
you’ll get to play several different marble games, including
one you make up yourself. You’ll also learn some special
words only marble players know and discover how to use
marbles in mazes, obstacle courses, and more. Are you ready?
Then grab your taws, aggies, and cat’s eyes, and let’s play
marbles!
REQUIREMENT 1 | Discuss with your family and den
the history of marbles, such as where and when the
game began. Talk about the different sizes of
marbles and what they are made of and used for.
Did you know that marbles have been around for a long time?
Your grandparents may have played marbles. Their grandparents
may have played marbles. And their grandparents may have
played marbles. In fact, marbles have been found in Egyptian
tombs and in pueblo ruins in the southwestern United States.
No one knows for sure where and when people started playing
marbles. They may have started at different times and places by
playing with stones, nuts, fruit pits, and other smooth, round
objects.
Here are some fun facts about marbles:
When he was young, the Roman emperor Augustus played
with marbles made of nuts.
In 1503, the town of Nuremberg, Germany, passed a law
that marbles had to be played outside the town limits.
In the 1700s, people played using chips of marble, which is
where the game got its name.
In the early 1900s, marbles were made by machine for the
first time.
The British and World M arbles Championship has been
played in Tinsley Green, England, every year since 1932,
but the tradition began there in 1588.
M arbles come in many different sizes and colors, and they are
used for different things. Larger marbles are used as shooters, while
smaller marbles are used as targets.
Here are some types of marbles:
Cat’s eye marbles have a swirl of color inside.
Taw marbles are between one-half inch and three-fourths of
an inch in diameter. They are used as shooters.
Alley marbles are made of alabaster or marble. (Some are
made of glass that looks like alabaster or marble.)
Aggie marbles are made of the mineral agate. (Some are
made of glass but look like agate.) True aggies are good
shooters because they are harder than other marbles.
Commie or common marbles were originally made out of
clay. They are the plainest looking marbles.
REQUIREMENT 2 | Learn about three different
marble games, and learn to play the marble game
“ringer.” Learn how to keep score. Learn and follow
the rules of the game. Play the game with your
family, friends, or your den.
There are many different games of marbles, and each game has
its own set of rules and directions. Here are three games to try.
Ringer
Any number of players can play this game.
Draw a ring on the ground about 10 feet across.
Put 13 marbles in the middle of the ring arranged in an X
shape. They should be about 3 inches apart.
The first player kneels outside the ring and uses his shooter
to try to shoot a marble out of the ring. If he misses, his
turn is over and he picks up his shooter. If he has a hit and
his shooter stays in the ring, he can shoot again from where
the shooter stopped. If he has a hit and his shooter goes out
of the ring, his turn is over. He keeps any marbles that go
out of the ring.
When the first player’s turn is over, the second player takes
his turn, etc.
Keep playing until time is up or most of the marbles have
been knocked out. The player with the most marbles is the
winner.
Plums
This game is for a small number of players.
Draw two parallel lines about 6 feet apart.
Each player puts the same number of marbles (called plums
in this game) on one line a few inches apart. The players
stand behind the second line.
Players take turns shooting at the plums from behind the
second line. They keep any plums they knock off the line.
Keep playing until time is up, if a time limit has been set, or
until all the plums have been picked. The player with the
most marbles is the winner.
A Scout is friendly. Everyone will have more fun when
you play by the rules and keep the game friendly.
Dropsies
This game is good for two, three, or four players.
Draw a square on the ground about 2 feet long by 2 feet
wide.
Each player places five marbles inside the square.
The first player stands on one side of the square with his
feet outside the line. He drops a shooter from above waist
height onto one of the other players’ marbles to try to
knock it out of the square. If he does that and his shooter
stays in the square, he keeps the marble that rolled out, and
he gets another turn. If he does that but his shooter also
rolls out, he keeps the marble that rolled out and loses his
turn.
Keep playing until time is up or most of the marbles have
been knocked out. The player with the most marbles is the
winner.
REQUIREMENT 3 | Learn four or five words that are
used when talking about marbles. Tell what each of
the words means and how it relates to playing
marbles. S hare this information with your den.
Like many games and sports, the game of marbles uses some
special words. You have already learned some of them, like shooter
and alley marbles.
Here are some more:
Bombies is when you drop your marble onto another
marble.
Dubs is when you knock two or more marbles out of the
ring with one shot.
Keepsies is when you get to keep the marbles you win in a
game. Don’t play for “keepsies” if you don’t want to lose
your marbles!
Friendlies is when you give back the marbles you’ve won
at the end of a game.
Knuckle down is when you put one knuckle of your
shooting hand on the ground as you shoot.
Histing is when you lift your knuckle as you shoot.
What marbles words do you and your friends use?
REQUIREMENT 4 | With the help of an adult, make a
marble bag to hold marbles.
To keep track of your marbles, it helps to have a good container
for them. For this requirement, you will make a drawstring bag to
hold your marbles. Here’s one way to make a bag.
You will need:
A piece of fabric about 5 inches by 9 inches
Needle and thread, for sewing by hand, or a sewing machine
(and an adult to help operate it)
A safety pin
A shoestring or piece of cord about 3 feet long
Scissors
Procedure
Fold the long ends of the cloth over about 1 inch, and make a
crease. Sew along the cut edges of the fabric to form two
pockets.
Fold the fabric in half so the printed side is on the inside.
Sew along both edges—but not over the pockets you
formed in step 1.
Attach the safety pin to one end of the shoestring or cord.
Put the safety pin in the end of one of the pockets, and
push it through to the other end.
Next, put the pin in the closest end of the other pocket,
and push it through to the other end. Remove the safety
pin, and tie the ends of the shoestring or cord in an
overhand knot.
Turn the bag right side out. Fill the bag with marbles. To
close it, scrunch the fabric at the top together, and tie
another overhand knot where the shoestring or cord comes
out.
REQUIREMENT 5 | With your den or family, make a
marble obstacle course or marble golf course. S hare
what you create. Invite everyone to go through your
course.
Shooting marbles in a straight line and at a target is a lot of fun.
Shooting around or between objects helps make the game more
challenging.
Marble Obstacle Course
Gather some objects from around your house like blocks,
paper-towel tubes, yardsticks, and pillows. Use them to form an
obstacle course for you and your friend to shoot marbles through.
For extra fun, have your course go down steps or over
obstacles. See who can be the first to reach the end of the course.
Marble Golf Course
M arble golf is like regular golf. Shoot from one hole to another,
counting the number of shots it takes. The object is to get to the
last hole with the lowest number of shots. Try to improve your
score each time you play.
For an outdoor marble golf course, make indentations in the dirt
for your holes. For an indoor marble golf course, use pieces of
paper on the floor as holes. A marble is “in” the hole if it stops on
the paper.
REQUIREMENT 6 | Create your own game using
marbles, and design rules for playing the game.
Share the game you created with your den, family, or
friends. Explain the rules and how to play the game.
Some of the best games are the ones you make up yourself.
Think up a brand-new game that uses marbles. Decide what the
rules are and what the object of the game is. Test it out with one or
two friends to make sure it works the way you want it to. If it
doesn’t, change your game until you are happy with it.
Once your game is ready, teach it to the other members of your
den. Who knows? You might invent the next great marbles game!
REQUIREMENT 7 | With your den or family, create a
marble race track. Have at least two lanes so you can
race your favorite marbles against each other.
See whose marbles are the fastest by creating a marble race
track. You can make the lanes out of many materials, including felt
board, cardboard, PVC pipe, or swimming noodles cut down the
middle. For lane separators, use straws or small dowels. Don’t
forget to mark the start and finish lines.
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