Plan engaging 60-minute scouting and outdoor activities with ready-to-use ideas for skills, games, challenges and practical group sessions.
Activity Overview Can you build a safe little home for solitary bees? 👦 Age: 6–18👥 Group size: 2–30⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes📍 Location: Outdoors or indoors⭐ Difficulty: 2/5 Bees aren’t just busy making honey. They’re also incredibly important pollinators, helping plants produce fruits, seeds and new…
Activity Overview Can your team plan and complete a mountain rescue? 👦 Age: 8–18👥 Group size: 6–30⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes📍 Location: Indoors or outdoors⭐ Difficulty: 3/5 Imagine you’re part of a mountain rescue team. Your group has received an emergency call: an explorer has become…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 11-20Best for: ScoutsSkills: Survival, teamwork, decision-making, navigation, communication Scouts are given a realistic lost-in-the-woods scenario and must work as a team to decide what to do, what equipment to use and how to attract attention. The challenge focuses…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 6-10Best for: ScoutsSkills: Signalling, creativity, teamwork, problem solving, survival awareness Scouts work in small teams to design and build a visible emergency signal using simple materials. They then test how easy their signal is to spot from a…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 11-20Best for: ScoutsSkills: Signalling, communication, teamwork, emergency awareness, problem-solving Scouts learn how to attract attention and communicate for help using a range of emergency signals. Teams then complete practical challenges where they must choose and create an appropriate…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 11-20Best for: ScoutsSkills: Compass use, navigation, bearings, teamwork, communication, distance estimation Turn compass practice into a team relay. Scouts take turns navigating between marked points using simple compass bearings, then pass the challenge to the next team member….
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 11-20Best for: Beavers, CubsSkills: Fire safety, hazard awareness, decision making, communication, outdoor safety Teach young people how to behave safely around a campfire without needing to light one. Through a series of simple scenarios, demonstrations and team challenges,…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 2-5Best for: ScoutsSkills: Compass use, navigation, bearings, direction finding, teamwork Give Scouts a practical introduction to using a compass by setting a series of simple direction-finding challenges. They will learn how to identify directions, take and follow basic…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 6-10Best for: CubsSkills: Map reading, observation, navigation, teamwork, communication Turn map-reading practice into a treasure hunt. Cubs learn to recognise common map symbols and use them to find locations around an outdoor area. The activity starts with a…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 60 minutesGroup size: 6-10Best for: BeaversSkills: Shelter building, teamwork, problem solving, communication, outdoor awareness Quick Answer Challenge Beavers to work together to build a small shelter using simple materials such as tarpaulins, rope and natural materials. The aim is not to…
Activity Overview Difficulty: AdvancedTime: 30–60 minutesLocation: Designated axe area or suitable outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts and Explorers, with appropriate adult supervisionSkills: Tool safety, woodcraft, cutting techniques, risk management, concentration A hatchet should only be used in a controlled area with suitable supervision, a stable…
A fast-moving Scout campcraft activity made up of short practical challenges rather than one long task. Teams move through a series of campcraft stations, earning points for completing challenges safely, accurately and as a team. The format keeps everyone active and gives young people the…
