First Aid Corner Relay
Four-corner first-aid relay. Each corner is a patient with a scenario card; responders rotate, diagnose, treat, and explain prevention. Built around a simple Stop · Check · Ask · Treat · Call · Prevent pattern.
Troop Meeting Activities
Plug-and-play meeting plans for a 90-minute troop night. Each one is written so an older Scout (SPL, ASPL, or PL) can run it with adults observing and signing off advancement. The goal is to make every Monday meaningful for advancement without turning it into school.
Activities
Knot Board Relay
Four knot stations + a uses-of-the-knot quiz. Patrols rotate on a timer; older Scouts judge. Designed so every Scout ties every required knot under pressure at least twice.
Compass Course in the Parking Lot
Five numbered stakes laid out in the church parking lot. Each Scout walks a bearing-and-distance card with a compass to find the next stake. Pace count is verified at the end.
Backpack Pack-Out
30 items on a table. Patrols pack a real overnight pack inside 15 minutes and defend their choices to the SPL. Built around the 10 essentials, hike planning, and weight discipline.
Stove & Fuel Lab
Four stoves (canister, liquid, alcohol, twig). Light, boil one cup of water, document fuel use. Scouts compare boil times, fuel weight, and weather sensitivity. Adults supervise lighting at every station.
Fire-Building Quad
Four fire-lay styles (teepee, lean-to, log-cabin, upside-down) built and lit with one match each. Tinder, kindling, and fuel are sorted before lighting. Held in the church fire ring (or a portable fire pan).
Lashings Tower Build
Patrols build a freestanding tripod or A-frame in 30 minutes using square, diagonal, and shear lashings. Tower has to support a Scout's weight at the end. Hands-on, loud, photo-worthy.
Tarp Shelter Olympics
Five tarp configurations (A-frame, lean-to, plow point, diamond, fly). Wind/rain test with a leaf-blower and a spray bottle. Patrols compete on speed, tension, and dryness.
Water Treatment Bench
Three stations: filter, chemical, boil. Each Scout treats a cup of 'creek water' (use food coloring + leaves) and explains contamination types. Builds the muscle memory that makes hike-day water decisions automatic.
CPR & AED Sprint
Rotate compressions on a manikin, practice rescue breaths, AED pad placement. Final scenario: collapse in the mess hall. Best run with a Red Cross / AHA-trained instructor, but valuable as practice even without certification.
Orienteering Mini-Score-O
Eight controls hidden on Grace Church property. Each Scout gets a punch card and 30 minutes to find as many controls as they can. Most controls in 30 minutes wins. Builds map-reading reps no classroom can match.