Venture Scouts : Programme Ideas

Exclusion Game

What to do...

Divide the young people into three groups. Place a dot on the forehead each person: Red for one group, Green for another, Blue for the third.

Round 1.

The Greens have all the power and are given chairs to sit down comfortably. They may be treated to a glass of minerals or some chocolate They order the Reds to stand together with their noses touching one wall They may not look round or talk. They are totally excluded from the activity. Meanwhile the Greens give orders to the Blues, e.g. Hop on one leg, do 10 press-ups, make animal noises, count backwards in Irish.

The Blues must do what the Greens tell them, (within the bounds of safety)

Round 2.

After a few minutes stop and change the roles round - bringing the Reds away from the wall and instead serving the Blues, etc. Hold a third round so that each group has experienced exclusion domination and privilege.

Alternatively, do not play rounds two and three. This will leave stronger feelings to fuel the discussion. Only play it this way if you consider your group are mature enough to be able for the strong feelings, especially among the excluded.

Debrief

Give everyone a chance to talk about what happened in the game, what they felt at each stage in the game, and what they wanted to do. Focus on how people felt: left-out, angry, powerful..... Now explain clearly that the group is leaving the game behind to focus on what the game can teach us about real life. Now ask does this really happen in Ireland? What groups in Ireland experience exclusion frequently? Select a couple of the groups named and let the members draw up a list of the ways it happens. Is this fair? From their own feelings in the game, how do they imagine people who are excluded from society feel?

The Great Egg Bonanza

This exercise is design to develop teamwork, initiative , and construction skills as well as developing the mental skills of the group.

Each team of Venturer are set a constructive task, whereby they have to design and build a gadget from miscellaneous bits and pieces of no real value. The teams must then complete the objective against each other and the clock.

Each team will need some equipment

I No. Elastic Band ( power source), Cling film, newspaper, cellotape, pipe cleaners, milk cartons, paperclips, odds and ends

Projects

Move an egg from one position to another 10 metres away. Without breaking it, or touching the ground

Lift an egg 1 metre off the ground over a barrier and onto the other side, without breaking it. Construct an egg timer, to tell exactly 2 minutes, every time. Construct a devise that will package an egg, this devise must be capable of travelling a distance of at least 3 metres (off the end of a plank) and survive a freefall from the top of the hall or den ( distance at least 7 - 10 metres )

Time limit

Write out the projects and seal in an envelope. Give each team at least 1.30 mins to 2 hours to make the craft or devise. Allow half an hour for testing.

Contest Rules

Only one egg will be given for testing purposes, and one egg for final test. Eggs may not be taped or cast in a solid A streamer maybe attached to the freefall craft but it can be no longer than 3 metres

In construction and craft / devise you may not use padding of any type to protect the egg. You can however employ shock absorbers but they can only be activated on impact - something like an air bag in a car or crumple panels in cars that collapse on impact. The craft / devise must be self propelled -once it is set up to go it must travel by itself.

Rules can be changed at short notice to circumvent the? benders - of- rules? and (heaven forbid) ?cheaters?

Hints for experiment and practice

In designing your craft/devise, first consider the basics you have to work with - a one litre milk carton, an egg, some sort of shock absorber, bits and pieces and perhaps a streamer. As you experiment, consider what you can change, here are a few suggestions: -Change the shape of the carton, its weight, surface. Add nose cones, bumpers, cushioners. Change the egg position Change the shock absorber, size, shape, weight, material. Try elasticity, crushability, padding, and cradling. Change the streamer, size, shape, weight, material.

Change to fins and flaps for guidance.

It is an excellent idea to cover the floor of your test area with a sheet of plastic taped to the floor. Each team is

responsible for cleaning up their mess (the best part of it at least ). When the challenge is over the plastic can be rolled up and placed in the bin.