Saturday, January 3, 2015

Bike Rodeo



Hosting a Bike Rodeo:

Overview:
A Bike Rodeo can provide a great opportunity to host a community goodwill event; it can serve not only the pack, but the neighborhood in which it is done.  At the end of the bike rodeo, participants should have an increased appreciation and knowledge about bike safety (Helmets and Bike Operations), a solid review of bike hand signals and opportunity to improve their biking skills (Skills Course).

Preparation
  • Determine the scope of who you would like to include.  Is it only the pack?  Or do you intend to sponsor a community event.  BSA suggests it is a great recruitment activity.    
  • Reserve a safe place well in advance of the date.  It is imperative that you obtain a location that you can block off traffic and ensure a safe environment for all in attendance.  (When: As soon as you know the date)
  • Solicit the help of local resources. Call local Police or Fire Department, unlike other BSA Derbies, every day children go to the ER having sustained a bicycle related injury.   Many communities allocate resources to help avoid cycling related injuries.  It is not uncommon to find a local police or fire department that may actually come out and help put on the Rodeo. (When: 6 to 8 weeks in advance.  If a community resource is committing to assist in the event, be sure to call a few weeks in advance and the week thereof to make sure you are still on the calendar.)
  • Solicit Help to run the Rodeo.   Parents and the local Scout Troop could be very helpful. (When four weeks in advance,  have assignments ready and be prepared to send out reminders)
  • Create and send out invitations.  (When:  a couple weeks in advance, some families may need to fix a flat or two before the event).   Remember to let them know that all family members are invited to bring their bikes and to wear appropriate gear.
  • There are a number of ways to execute a Bike Rodeo but generally speaking a smooth way is to have everyone go through a bike sizing/ safety (mechanical) check, then meet together to go over biking safety rules, helmet sizing and usage.   Lastly the participants are allowed to try various skills tests. 
  • In running this event we created a Stamp  Card that gets filled out as the kids complete each section of the event at the end of the activity they can show their card and receive the certificate of completion.  

As The Boys arrive
                As the boys and their families show provide them a quiz to test their biking knowledge, Please see the links in the online resources to a quizzes that we found.   Also, Make sure each participant gets a stamp card and understands what it for.



Bike Check
                This is an assignment that can be assigned to the Scouts, generally you will want to have a couple of stations so that as families arrive they can get through all of the participants.  The Scouts may oil the chains or potentially make quick brake adjustments, but the more important thing is that they are doing a quick safety check on the bike and educating the kids/parents.   The check is not to discourage participants, but to help educate them on their bikes.   (See Online Resources for a Bike Safety Checklist).  You could print out the sheet and have the scouts go through it quickly and give each rider the paper.  (This should be communicated as to be part of the Scouts assignment).

Safety Orientation
This section of the Bike Rodeo can be done as a bigger group or parts of it may be broken up into stations.  The fundamental point of   this section is to encourage pest practices when operating bicycles.  We particularly liked the Minnesota Safety Councils page on this.  They break up the Safety section into a number of components some of which include;  Moving in Space, Ride-out and Roadway Entry,  Intersections , Blind Driveways and others.  In this short hand out it isn’t possible to go through all the details, I would highly encourage a review of the Minnesota Safelty Councils page,  you can then best asses what material and method of delivery work best for you and your pack.
In terms of delegation and assignments, if you find a local police or fire department they may have material that covers this section otherwise divide it into parent assignments.   Remember, with cubs there is generally a finite time window for giving them instructions so be prepared and try to make the minutes count.    Some sections could be made into a quick game, for example bicycle hand signals could be changed into a quick game of Simon says, but with bicycle hand signals.

Skills Course
                Assign this section to the Scouts they can divide up into smaller groups and simultaneously run the Skills course.  The link below is a basic good skills course.  You will find the younger Scouts want to try to learn the details of the activities while the older Scouts will try to prove they already know it all.  At any rate they will all be entertained.   Remember to assign the specific skills to the Scouts ahead of time and line up Chalk and Cones for use on the course.  Lastly,  the Scouts will need to have stickers to give to each rider who “Does their best” on the Skills course.

Closing
                Remember to thank all of the Participants, Families, Any Guest Help and the Boy Scouts.  You may choose to end with a standard closing ceremonies followed by awarding the certificates to all those who participated.   It may be easiest to line them all up, provide a reminder about how much fun biking can be and to always be safe.

Online Resources
Description
Link
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Video on Bike Safety
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Rules of the road
Basic Skills Challenge
Minnesota Safety Council,  a number of good resources.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fitting a Helmet.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Hand Signals
Certificate of Completion given to each youth who goes through the rodeo.
Quick Quiz Test the Boys
Alternate Quiz (Minnesota Safety Council)
Bike Safety Checklist.
Bike Safety Checklist2






Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Pack Asset - Vertical Display Banners

-Vertical Display Banners-

The objective of these displays is to remind scouting participants of Cub Scout principals.  It is easy for boys, leaders and families to forget basic Cub Scouting concepts.  Besides serving as a reminder, these banners will also add to the environment and ambiance of pack meetings.  The more the boys feel like Scouting is a big deal, the more engaged they may become.  These banners will also serve well for introducing boys, parents and leaders into Cub Scouting.  I plan on using this in conjunction with an intro-to-scouting presentation.

I purchased 2 "L" style vertical banner display holders on E-bay for about $33.  I then spent some time and created two images that can be printed on banners 30 inches wide and 6 feet long, which fit in the displays.

I had both of these banners printed on outdoor vinyl at Zurchers for $63 dollars.  This is the cheapest place I have found to print vinyl banners.

Total cost for the two displays is around $100.  This may seem like quite a bit for just displays, but remember it is an investment into the program and you will get lots of mileage from them. 

These same images would make great bookmarks too.

Links to high resolution images that can be used to create additional banners:
Cub Scout Promise
Purpose of Cub Scouting

Here are some low resolution images for reference.




Thursday, May 24, 2012

Pack Asset - Den Flags

Den Flags: Allowing each den to create their own flag is an awesome activity. The goal is that doing this will allow the cub scouts to have pride in their den.  And, because all of the dens will have flags, the boys will gain pride in their pack. Creating the flags will also allow the boys to work as a team to produce something they can be proud of.

Suggested supplies for 4 flag stands:
Qty 2 - 1.25"X10' PVC pipe Cost 4.05ea
Qty 4 - 1"X10' PVC pipe Cost 3.22ea
Qty 1 - Can Blue Spray paint Cost 3.87ea
Qty 12 - 1.25" PVC 'T' Cost 1.27ea
Qty 16 - 1.25" PVC coupling Cost .55ea
Qty 4.5 Yards of various material for flags Cost 15.00

-- Total cost about $55.00


In this picture, you can see the parts that have been cut for one base and the pole itself.   I cut the pole to be 7' long figuring most ceilings are 8' and the boys are still short anyway...

In addition to the purchased sleeves and tees, I cut down the 10' sections of 1.25"inch diameter PVC into two separate lengths:  4 pcs at 6" and 3pcs at 8" long, for each stand.  Two of the 8" pieces are used to create the cross section for the base which runs along the floor.  The four 6" pieces are connected to the ends of the cross section, forming an H-shaped base.  The remaining 8" piece is placed vertically in the center, where the pole will be inserted.  A 1" diameter PVC pipe fits nicely into a 1.25" diameter PVC pipe.

Here is the flag pole completed.
Note: The flag is not quite done it will be completed with the boys; but I think this gives you enough information to complete something similar with your pack or den.

I am hoping a mother in the den can bring her sewing machine to our den meeting and sew it up nice with the boys' input. I do have a 6X6 Cub Scout patch that will be centered on the flag, and we will also cut out the pack number to be sewn on as well as spray paint the base blue . You will also note that the flag is just tied on, we may see if button holes can be put in the corners to attach it to the pole. The pole has holes drilled through it to hold the flag in place (with string).

Below the flag, I have drilled a hole through the pole to tie a loop too. The loop could be used to attach totems to the pole which could represent den accomplishments, and/or pack meeting assignments. At each pack meeting, the assignments for the following pack meeting can made by simply rotating the totems. Additionally,  the pack can rotate totems that represent most spirit at pack meeting or most boys in uniform...

I hope this information is useful.

Pack Assets - Advancement Board

Pack meeting assets: Advancement Board.
I am creating the design and constructing a display of which I hope will help the Cub Scouts by allowing all of them to see where they rank is and where other Cub Scouts are in their Cub Scout advancement journey.  Every Cub Scout will move their name once they achieve a new rank. I am hoping the display will help motivate each of them to do their best and get to know the various boys in the pack. It will also provide more individual recognition for the boys as they accomplish their rank advancements.

 Supplies purchased:
Qty 2 - 1"X4"X8' common grade pine, Cost= $4.54ea
Qty 1 - 1"X10"X6' common grade pine, Cost=$6.98ea
Qty 1 - Wood Finish Stain & Gloss, Cost= $12.87qt
Qty 5 - Buy stickers of the various ranks to go across the top.  I am not sure how much, we just printed them from online and then used an adhesive.
Qty 1 - Tubes of epoxy adhesive to attach patches, Cost= $4.56ea
Qty 1 - 6' Velcro not sure on cost as I already had it.

Hardware -- I just used four small bolts with wing nuts on the bottom of each leg.




Note:  If you don't have the skills to make this, ask around. You may be surprised at how many woodworkers are out there that can quickly whip something like this out and are more than willing to help the Cub Scouts.
  1. Leg Rail Support: 
    1. Cut from the 1"x4"X8'   This piece is 48" long.  Each corner is cut at a 45 degree angle 3/4 of an inch from the edge. 
    2. The support grooves are cut halfway through one side of the board. They are 3/4 inch wide and 1 and 3/4 inch deep.
    3. Each grove is 1.5 inches from each end. 
    4. For reinforcement to the remaining wood just outside of the groove, I just drilled some holes from the bottom up through and then put in some 2 inch screws.
  2. Vertical Leg:
    1. Cut from the 1"x4"X8'   This piece is 48" long. 
    2. The top angle cuts are cut at a 45 degree angle 3/4 inch from the end. 
    3. Top angle groove is a 3/4 inch groove cut in the center of the board on one end runs 7 inches into the board.  Note: the Advancement Board is 10 inches wide so there will be three inches that will stick out the top when it is assembled. 
    4. The leg rail support hole is cut 20 inches from the bottom and is 3/4 inch wide by 3.5 inches tall. When assembled the cross support is extended through the hold and then slides down to lock the distance between the two legs in place.
  3. Vertical Leg:
    1. See description of other Vertical Leg these are the same. 
  4. Leg Base:
    1. Cut from the 1"x4"X8'   This piece is 22" long. 
    2. Each corner has been notched at a 45 degree angle 1 inch from the end. 
    3. Along the bottom about .5 of an inch has been cut away except for the outside 4 inches or so.
  5. Leg Base.
    1. See description of other Vertical Leg these are the same.
  6. Advancement Board.
    1. Cut from the 1"X10"X6'   This piece is 48" long.
    2. Each corner has been notched at a 45 degree angle 1 and 3/4 inches from the end. 
    3. On the back of the board are two vertical rails on each end. The vertical rails are positioned 3/4 inches apart.  These rails are used to ensure when the Advancement board is resting in the top of the legs that it is held in position. 
    4. The logos were glued to the front of the Advancement Board.  
    5. On the back behind the patches are Velcro strips which affix the various boys' names to the board.  Based on the number of boys, the exposed Velcro can be lengthened or shortened. 
    6. Optional: You could just add a cable to the back of this and hang it on the wall.
    7. For the boys names, I just cut out a bunch of wood 1/4 inch X 1/2 inch X 3 inches.  I glued and stapled a little Velcro on the back of each badge.   We wrote the boys' names on with a sharpie.