To promote Cuboree at a Group level we've come up with some awesome activity ideas that are guaranteed to get your Cub Scouts excited abvout the world around them and a small taste of the themes they will experience at Cuboree 2023. Activity ideas are categorised by theme and challenge area.
Share your awesome activities on social media using the #followmetocuboree2023 and your Unit might even feature at the Cuboree opening Ceremony!
| Theme | Challenge Area | Activity Title | Activity Description |
| Explore the World | CommunityOutdoor | Environmental Awareness | Contact a local environmental group (e.g. Landcare, WIRES, Local Council Environment Officer, etc.) and organise an environmental awareness session that may include going on a nature walk near your Scout Hall or visiting local wetlands. |
| CommunityOutdoor | Clean Up Australia Day | While Clean Up Australia Day is officially in March every year, you can help clean up our environment year round! Contact Clean Up Australia to receive waste collection bags and other products to help out! | |
| CreativeOutdoorPersonal Growth | Gateway Design | Every Unit that attends the Cuboree needs to have an epic gateway that reflects the Cuboree theme (particularly sub camp themes). Why not get together and start planning the gateway as a project patrol with the Cub Scouts offering the design and Leaders and Parents supporting the build at Cuboree. | |
| Creative | Ecosystem in a Bottle | To create an ecosystem or terrarium in a soft drink bottle, the Cub Scout is to measure 6cm from the bottom of the bottle and draw a circle around the bottle with a permanent marker. The leader is then required to cut around the circle. The Cub Scout then puts a little gravel in the bottom of the bottle for drainage. Each Cub Scout is given two cups of soil and some grass seeds to mix together. The soil and seed mix is poured into the bottom of the bottle and watered using a spray bottle. The Cub Scout will then place the top of the bottle on top of the bottom. Once the Cub Scout gets home, the bottle should be placed near a window to watch it grow. | |
| Mountain | Outdoor | Indoor Rock Climbing | Why not pair up with the Scouts or Venturer Scouts and head to the local rock climbing gym. The Scouts and Venturer Scouts can help belay while the Cub Scouts get a taste of what it takes to prepare for higher climbs waiting for them at Cuboree. |
| Creative | Reflection Painting | Fold a piece of cardboard in half. Paint the bottom half blue and let dry (or part dry). On the top half of the cardboard get the Cub Scouts to paint a mountain scene (e.g. snowcapped, trees, etc.). When they have finished painting their wonderful scene, get them to fold the painting in half onto the blue section. When it is unfolded you will have a completed reflection painting. | |
| Forest | Community | Tree Planting | Organise a tree planting day in your local community (could be in conjunction with National Tree Day). |
| OutdoorPersonal Growth | Grass Skiing | Grass Skis are length of approx. 2 metre lengths of wood with four lengths of rope or webbing attached at equal spaced intervals for foot holes. The Cub Scouts who are placed teams of four are required to stand behind one another with their feet in the stirrups of the skis. By keeping in step, the Cub Scouts move along a set course and the winner is the first team to complete the course, with all members still in the skis and in an upright, standing position. | |
| Polar | Outdoor | Ice Blocking | Let’s go tobogganing in summer! Organise a Cub Scout night at a local park, with a small hill. All you need is a large block of ice, preferably with a rope in it and a towel to sit on. Start at the top of the hill and get the Cub Scouts to race down. It’s a night of endless fun and a great end of term activity. |
| Creative | Let’s make snow! | Who doesn’t want to make a snowman in Summer?! Add 1 cup of corn starch in bowl and add lotion until you get a snow like consistency. Try and build snow balls and make snowman before the snow crumbles and melts. | |
| Savannah | Creative | Savannah Freeze | Tell the Cub Scouts to dance and act like savannah or African animals, but once the music stops they have to freeze into whatever Savannah animal is called out, like a musical statue.Possible Savannah animals could include; cheetah, elephant, rhino, hippo, meerkat, etc. |
| Creative | African Masks | Masks have been made for thousands of years from all kinds of materials and for many different uses. Some are religious, or represent nature and tribal ancestors. Dancers wear masks in ceremonies to bring rain or chase away evil or sickness. Using a paper plate folded in half, cut out eyes, nose and mouth. Paint and decorate the mask, using feathers, ribbon etc. You can hole punch all around edges and add string. | |
| Creative | Rain Sticks | African tribes for many centuries have used rain sticks to summon the rain. Using paper towel rolls, get the Cub Scouts to fill them with rice and cover the ends with cardboard and tape. Experiment with the sound of different amounts of rice. Decorate the rain sticks with paint in horizontal lines and dots. | |
| OutdoorsPersonal Growth | Balance Relay | The African people go about their daily business w/pots of water, food, blankets, etc. on top of their heads. Let the Cub Scouts practice at balancing a few folded blankets, jumpers, towels etc on top of their heads. Once they start to get too confident at balancing items on top of their head, break the pack into their Patrols. Each Patrol is given a cup of water and it is placed on top of the first Cub Scout’s head. The Cub Scout is required to complete a course and then pass the cup onto the next person in their Patrol. The team who has the most amount of water left in their cup after all Cubs in their Patrol have completed the course is the winner. | |
| Space | Creative | Paper Rockets | Cut a rectangular strip of paper about 5 inches long and roll it tightly around a pencil. Tape this cylinder and remove the pencil. Cut about 5 1/2" cuts straight into the cylinder at one end. Insert the pencil again, and mould the cut ends around the pencil point so you form a rocket point. Tape the rocket point with clear tape. Remove the pencil again. Cut four triangular shaped fins and fold over 1/4" on one edge of each. Tape these, spaced evenly, around the lower edge of the cylinder. Slip a straight (non-bendable) straw inside the cylinder, point the rocket in a safe direction and launch it by blowing through the straw. |
| Community | Star Gazing | Organise a Cub Scout night out to the local observatory to learn about stars and space. | |
| OutdoorPersonal Growth | Astronaut Training | This is a good physical fitness relay. Two beanbags, two jump ropes and two rubber balls are needed. Divide the players into two teams. They stand behind starting line. At a turning line 15 feet away are a jump rope, bean bag and ball. On signal, first player runs to turning line, takes jump rope, jumps 10 times, tosses bean bag in air 10 times and bounces ball on floor 10 times. The Cub Scout runs back to his team, touches next player who repeats the action. First team to finish is the winner. | |
| Outdoor | Launch Pad | Split the Cub Scouts into four teams. Arrange the four buckets in a very large square. These are the launch pads. To launch the rocket they need to have 10 balls in their bucket, of any colour. To start with place the rope in a large circle in the centre of the square, with eight of one colour balls for each team playing. On the word go the first member of the team rushes to the centre picks up their colour ball and takes it back to their bucket. Tagging the next team member as he arrives back. When all the balls have gone from the centre circle, they can steal from any of the other buckets. Once a team has ten balls, they shout out blast off, and game stops. | |
| Desert | Creative | Desert picture | Discuss with the Cub Scouts, what do you find in deserts. Provide each Cub Scout with a piece of construction paper, various coloured paper, tissue paper and sand. The coloured paper can be cut out into cactus or palm trees. They can also draw on the construction paper and the tissue paper to crumple in tiny balls to represent cactus and cactus flower or tumble weed and desert bushes. Afterwards, sand is glued on as the desert sand. |
| Creative | The house in the desert | Give each Cub Scout a hula hoop which will represent their home. Cub Scouts must act out the instructions you give them. You can, for example, tell them they are taking a walk in the desert (they pretend to walk slowly), that they are thirsty (they can stick out their tongue), that it is very hot (they can pretend to wipe their forehead), etc. When you tell them there is a sandstorm, Cub Scouts must move to a new hula hoop. | |
| Ocean | Creative | Food Chain Collage | After teaching the Cub Scouts the basics of a food chain, allow them to select any series of animals in a food chain. E.g. fish-shark or grass-rabbit-fox etc. Get each Cub Scout to draw and cut out their animals and plants. Glue the consumer on the paper first, and then glue the next consumer or producer of the food chain on top, till the food chain is completed. |
| Personal Growth | Bail the Boat | The Cub Scouts of each Patrol are spread evenly in a line between 2 buckets (approx. 1⁄2 metre apart) the first one full, the second one empty. Each Cub Scout is given an empty plastic cup. At the signal to start, the first Cub Scout fills their cup with water, and then tips it into the next Cub Scout’s cup. The water is passed down the line from Cub to Cub (cup to cup) and the last Cub Scout tips their water into the empty bucket. Water is passed along this way until the second bucket is filled to a mark. There is no need to wait for the water to reach the end of the line, the first Cub Scout keeps filling and passing water to those behind. The winning team is the one to reach (fill to) the mark on the second bucket. | |
| Outdoor | Ocean Relay | Each Patrol is given five items of ocean related clothing, e.g. lifejacket, mask and snorkel, towel etc. Three members of each team stand at each end of the course. The first team member dresses from the box, runs to other end and undresses. The second team member dresses and runs back to the other end, and so on until all members have had a turn dressing and running in the dress ups. |