An "Instant Outdoor Activity Kit" is a prepared set of materials (usually in a bag or shoebox) which can be used by a troop to learn something -- usually either an outdoor (camping) skill, or some aspect of nature study. (The concept could be extended to any area, but the talk was directed toward outdoor activities.) They have to be relatively inexpensive, portable, and interesting to the girls, and able to fill in perhaps 20 to 40 minutes of free troop time that might otherwise have gone unplanned. These could be stored and made available at a council site, or even created by troops and exchanged with other troops.

Quite a number of sample kits were placed out for inspection. Among them were:

• Clouds - with cloud images done in cotton balls/sheets on cardboard, information about the clouds on the back, and some suggestions as to how this could be ade into a game or troop activity in "instructions"
• Birds
  • observing bird behaviors
  • bird identification bingo
  • where do I live?
• Dress for the outdoors -- a paper doll-type game, with various sorts of outdoor clothes and equipment available to dress the doll. How should she be dressed for a hike in rainy weather? For a hot day in the summer? In order to work or cook around a fire?
• "Movers" Try-It (helicopters)
• Magnet stuff
• Butterflies (see "Birds" above)
• Trees
• Stars/Constellations

Specific Activities which could be used in this way:

• micro trail -- lay a piece of yarn on the ground. Follow along it slowly with a magnifying glass. Mark interesting spots with toothpicks, and tell your troop about your trail.
• dead leaf -- draw the holes and patterns of a dead leaf you found. How did it get that way?
• insect walk and scavenger hunt
• camouflage
• Game: bat and moth (like Marco Polo)
• Game: Hiders and Seekers (colored and camouflaged mice)
• Trail Hike Guide:
  1. "You have one minute to find something interesting"
  2. "Find it, point it out to the troop, and drop to the rear of the line."

After looking at a number of these, talking about what we thought would and wouldn't work, and coming up with some basic principles for creating a good kit, we were divided up into teams and told to come up with a kit. (We didn't have to actually create the kit, but explain what we'd put in it, and how it could be used by troops.) It was not necessary to develop a cute name for the kit, although some of the sample kits had them. Our contribution:

In case you're stuck in the lodge on a rainy day at camp, you can teach trail signs, using the snacks you've brought! Put down a tablecloth, and have two groups lay out trails using standard trail signs on the table. For sticks, use pretzels, bread sticks, or pieces of licorice. For rocks, use grapes, kisses or mini-marshmallows (or any small roundish candy). Have each of the two groups try to follow the other group's trail around the table...

One of Sue's favorites is

Sit quietly, listening. Every time you hear a noise, point to it (silently!). The effect is of a bunch of conductors, conducting nature!