# Looking for ideas for widgets to build with the Boy Scouts...



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I am the scoutmaster for my local troop and I work with the 12-13 year-old boys. We try and go camping nearly every month and I have found that my boys really don't have a lot of useful things for our scouting adventures. So I would like to start building inexpensive items with the boys that are not only useful, but cool.

In the coming weeks (after I drink enough soda) I will be teaching them to make penny-can stoves out of two pop cans.

http://www.goodshomedesign.com/how-to-make-a-penny-can-stove/

Do any of you have any other ideas that I could have my boys build that are useful and fairly inexpensive to make?

About the only other thing that we have made was crawdad traps. But I would love to be able to teach these boys skills that they can carry through life.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

PS: I did this with them a while ago too


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

When I was a scoutmaster I had them make bullroarers. We had a great time and the scouts loved them. They drove me crazy for the rest of the trip but...hey, they love them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullroarer


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

We also made a emergency fire starter kits. Vaseline on cottonballs, paraffin-soaked wood chips or cardboard, 0000 steel wool with a striker or battery, a length of 550 parachute cord...etc.


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## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

Make live traps. This one is the traditional rabbit trap design, but I've never seen it trap a rabbit. Pot guts and squirrels are pretty easy to catch, though.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

Here are a few we did:
Willow Whistles
Rubber Band Coyote Call (two curved pieces of wood with a flat rubber band running lengthwise, like you used to do with a blade of grass between your thumbs)
Atlatl
Bow and String Fire Starter
Survival Kits (homemade waterproof matches inside a medicine bottle wrapped with fishing line, also inside was a sewing needle, fishing hook... all the regular stuff.
Molotov ****tails (Grubscout Leader wandered off for too long)


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Was going to recommend the crawfish traps but you already did it. How about home made rocket stoves? Build'em and let them cook up an egg to see if it works.

http://prepared-housewives.com/how-to-build-a-rocket-stove-and-impress-the-boys/

PS: I googled up instructions and that was the first link that came up... I really dont hang out on prepared housewives.com ROFL...

-DallanC


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## Shep (Sep 21, 2007)

We made flies a few times, and also made some ice picks from wooden dowels and nails. They thought they were pretty cool, and took them with them when we went ice fishing last year and we've made the bracelets out of paracord.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Cooky said:


> Bow and String Fire Starter


Now that's a good idea! That's a fun one.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

How about bird nest boxes,we built some and put them up for some birds up by strawberry years ago.It was fun and was good for nature,and I think we even tied in a merit badge with it.I dont know if thats a widget or not:mrgreen:


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

Can you build slingshots in Boy Scouts?


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## polarbear (Aug 1, 2011)

We made fishing nets out of the inner strands of paracord, kinda like this. 



 Unfortunately I showed them at scout camp and they skipped all their merit badge classes making them over and over. They loved it.


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## redleg (Dec 5, 2007)

if you make snowshoes, make 2 for each scout, so they can actually use them


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