A Midsummer Night’s Dream Activity Pack
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream Activity Pack
You don’t need to wait until Venturer Camp to start enjoying the theme of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Our wonderful centres have put together this activity pack full of goodies so that you can get a bit of summer warmth this winter, and perhaps a little magic. As with camp, the pack has a wide variety of things to do, from science experiments, to making decorations, to good old workshops and discussions. Some of them will lead straight into camp—feel free to bring
any decorations you make! You can do activities to get to know camp, find out what’s new with centres, or just for the sake of it. Pick whatever you fancy. These can be run by Leaders or Kinsfolk or Venturers, at your regular meetings or separately. Enjoy this taster of camp, including the recipe for crispy wasp stings on buttered toast! A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the theme voted for by Venturers, creates for a sense of enchantment, with mythical
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creatures and characters haunting the woods, the opportunity for transformation and reversal. Hierarchies are inverted, new ways of living discovered. The play itself has many of these moments; lovers’ allegiances are switched by potions, men get donkey’s heads, the Fairy Queen warns about the changing climate. Some of these activities draw on these themes, but you are also invited to take the idea of a Midsummer Night’s Dream and make it your own. What will you dream of?
Contents ‘Lord what fools these mortals be!’ Act III, Scene II, A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Wild Things
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Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll
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Affiliations
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Rainbow Centre
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The Underground Printing Press
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P.A.N.T.S.
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The Donkey’s Head Cafe
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Mest-Up
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Craft Centre
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Paper Lanterns
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Team Science!
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The Fortune Cookie Centres
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Jam Tarts & VBC
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Tranitions Centre
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Plastic Bunting
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Wild Things ‘Let the wild rumpus start!’ Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are
Our centre is all about identity. We will be running workshops every day about different aspects of identity alongside colourful hair-dyeing, braiding and extreme henna! We look forward to seeing you at Venturer Camp!
VENTURER ACTIVITY – IDENTITY STARTER ACTIVITY This activity is about the identity of people in your Venturer group. It should take around 20-30 mins Equipment needed: ·· A4 plain paper ·· Pens/pencils ·· Hat or bowl Everyone take a piece of paper and a pen/ pencil. Write or draw something that you identify with or that represents a part of your identity. For example an avid horse rider might identify with a picture of a horse or a football supporter might feel that a football t-shirt represent part of their identity. Mix everyone’s pieces of paper in a bowl or hat, and pick them out one at a time. Discuss what’s on the paper, but don’t try to guess whose paper it is, let people decide if they want to tell the group. Some things to think about here are; ·· Friends & family ·· Hobbies & pets ·· Sport & music ·· Culture and nationality
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MAIN ACTIVITY This activity is to get people thinking about people’s ideas about teenage identity. It should take around 30-40 mins Equipment needed: ·· Scissors ·· Magazines ·· Newspapers ·· Plain paper (A4/A3) ·· Glue/Sellotape ·· Pens/pencils Get into small group Each group should cut out images and words from a newspaper or magazine which they think relates to the stereotype of a teenager. Some things to think about here would be positive and negative stereotypes, possessions and hobbies a teenager might have and the things that teenagers find important. Draw a ‘teenage person’ in the centre of a piece of paper (you can use the cut out images for this too) and stick the cut out words around them. FEEDBACK Each small group feeds back to the whole Venturer group. Talk about why you draw your teenager the way you did, and why you think the words relate to teenagers. Are stereotypes true? Why do you think they are formed?
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Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll INTRODUCTION: Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll is a session designed to engage Venturers in discussion and decisions about code of conduct on Venturer Camp 2013. To get them to think about what they would like the policy to be. To give parents and leaders the chance to think about it as well and have their input, but to appreciate that this is a camp for venturers, who may have other ideas. To formulate what the overall group thinks on key issues, plus anything else that people are concerned about, so that representatives from the group took their views to open meetings and will take them to pre-camp to help shape the camp policies. This will hopefully mean that venturers feel more included in camp decisions and more likely to follow the policies at camp. To find out more about pre-camp or to send your discussion if you are not attending email vcamp@woodcraft.org.uk EQUIPMENT NEEDED: · Large sheets of paper · Coloured pens Structure of the session:
INTRO (5MINS): Start by saying that Venturer Camp is different to a district camp (if your district has camps) and has a completely different atmosphere from ‘normal’ life. Whilst this is really exciting and means that people can have an amazing time trying out all sorts of new things and meeting all sorts of new people, it can also bring new challenges and problems. Say we want to take into account everyone’s views, and so you’re going to try and discuss some things so that some delegates can let us know at the pre-camp/ by email/phone. DISCUSSION LARGE GROUP (15MINS): If you have a large group, then split into groups of four or five to discuss the issues below. You don’t need to do all of these; you can pick some that you think are relevant to your group, or that your group think are most important, or you can combine some (e.g. sex and respect for others fit together quite well, as do bed times and noise at night).
DISCUSSION SMALL GROUP (40MINS): If you have a smaller group, you can either split into just two or three groups and get each group to discuss multiple issues, or facilitate a discussion as a whole group. If this is the case then you can pick just a couple to focus on, or you can combine some (e.g. sex and respect for others fit together quite well, as do bedtimes and noise at night). AREAS TO DISCUSS: ·· Drinking alcohol/smoking ·· Taking drugs ·· Bedtimes/making sure people don’t get too tired/signing in ·· Sex ·· Respect for others ·· Noise at night ·· Respect for the environment (e.g. littering, fires, smoking areas) ·· Anything else that they think is an issue THINGS FOR THEM TO THINK ABOUT DURING EACH DISCUSSION: ·· Whether there needs to be a policy on it at all ·· How people will behave differently on camp to in ‘normal’ life and whether we need to account for this ·· What they would ideally like the policy to be? ·· What they think is realistic? ·· Should there be different rules for Venturers, DFs who are under 18 and over 18s? ·· Any potential problems that your Venturers can see ·· What they think should happen if someone goes against the policy? ·· How will the policy will be enforced? Whilst they are discussing, move between the groups so that they can have a chance to think without having a leader there, but giving them support if they can’t think of anything. Try not to tell them your opinions, just facilitate by suggesting a number of different options or asking them what they think on various issues. If they are struggling, there are some suggesions of possible discussion points at the bottom.
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‘They say “sex, drugs and rock and roll” we say “love hugs and hip hop soul”.’ Lil Sci
ROLE PLAY LARGE GROUP, (20MINS): Ask each group to do a role play on one issue that has arisen from the discussion. Bring the group back together and get them to feedback by preforming their role play and briefly outlining the discussion that they had. On each issue, try to formulate a consensual group decision on what they think the policy should be or take into account and write this down. ROLE PLAY SMALL GROUP, (25MINS): If you have 6 or more people, split into two, otherwise do as a whole group. Ask the group to pick one area and do a role play on an issue that arose from the discussion. (15mins) If you have split, then bring the group back together and get them to feedback by preforming their role play to the other group, otherwise discuss any new issues that have arisen from the role play. Using this and the earlier discussion, try to formulate a consensual group decision on what they think the policy should be or take into account and write this down. PRE-CAMP, (10MINS): Tell them a bit about Pre-Camp in May. See if any of your Venturers might be interested in coming.
IDEAS FOR PROMPTING DISCUSSIONS If people get stuck this is a list of handy questions that may help as starting points to get discussions going. DRINKING ALCOHOL AND SMOKING ·· Should there be specific areas for smoking or drinking alcohol? ·· Should adults be allowed to do it? ·· Should there be a minimum number of adults who must be sober? ·· Should stewards be allowed to cigarettes or alcohol off people who are underage? ·· Should leaders be allowed to take cigarettes or alcohol off people who are underage? ·· What about people who buy alcohol or ciggarettes for under 18s? TAKING OTHER DRUGS Less of a ‘should you be allowed?’ (it’s illegal) more, what should happen if people take them? ·· Should what happens be different for Venturers and over 16s? ·· What about people dealing? ·· Are there any differences in rules between the classes of drug? BEDTIMES/MAKING SURE PEOPLE DON’T GET TOO TIRED ·· Should bedtimes be made/enforced? ·· Should there be a sign in time? ·· What happens after sign in time? ·· Should it be a whole camp policy or down to districts/villages? ·· Should there be a ‘lights out’ time? ·· Different for different ages? ·· Who should be responsible for making sure people sign in/sleep?
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SEX AND CONSENT ·· Should there be discussion of safe sex on camp? ·· Should condoms be readily available? ·· Should there be/what sort of sex advice/counselling service should there be at camp? ·· What should happen in the case of an over 16 sleeping with an under 16? ·· What if someone is worried that they might have had sex or unsafe sex – what can they do and where should they go? ·· What can we do to ensure people don’t feel pressured? RESPECT FOR OTHERS ·· Should we/how can we promote a ‘no means no’ policy? ·· How can we encourage people to act with respect for each other? ·· What is respectful/disrespectful behaviour? ·· What can people do if they feel that they or someone else is being treated with disrespect? NOISE AT NIGHT ·· Should there be different times for central and village quiet time? ·· What might be the issues around noise, who might noise affect (e.g. other campers, local people)? ·· How can disagreements be resolved? RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ·· Littering ·· Fires ·· Smoking areas ·· Climbing trees ·· People’s tents ·· The site’s buildings
Affiliations
Have you ever thought that your group would enjoy learning about what’s going on in their community and working with other organisations to change something in their area? You might think Venturer Camp to be simply an opportunity to get involved with Woodcraft on a national level, but have you ever thought of bringing a delegation with you from your community? Working with Alice Hewson, our affiliations co-ordinator, this could become a reality! The hour long session below gives you a taster of what kind of issues you might discuss when working on bringing a UK delegation to Venturer Camp, so give it a try.
INTRODUCTION: Have a discussion with your group about Venturer Camp, what kind of things you can come away with from the camp and why it’s an amazing experience. If no one from your group has been to a Venturer Camp before, broaden the question to any Woodcraft Folk camp that they’ve been on as a district, region or internationally. WHAT’S THE BENEFIT OF BRINGING A UK DELEGATION? (20 MINS): Prepare 3 bits of flip chart paper with a question on each (what’s the benefits for our group? What’s the benefits for the other group? And what’s the benefits for the wider camp?) 1. Split the group up into 3 and give them 5 mins discussing each question, before swapping the bits of paper around. Remind the group to not only think of the short term, but also the long term benefits 2. Feed back to the group “MAPPING OUR MATES” – AN ACTIVITY FROM THE LEADING FOR THE FUTURE RESOURCE (40MINS): On post it notes, write down all of the different groups in your community that your group knows about. It might be helpful to have an internet connection if you get stuck for ideas, or ask everyone the week before to find information on 1 group. 1. Put all of the post-its on a bit of flip chart and as a group, discuss the ideas and try and come up with a keyword or two for each community group to sum up their values 2. Now let’s look at your community. Draw a large circle and put your group in the middle of the bit of paper. Put all of the post it notes around the edge of the paper. The more the community group fits with your values/activities the closer you should move the post-it note to the centre of the paper. 3. Discuss as a group where you would
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put each one until you’ve got through all of the options 4. But how well do you know these groups in your community? Colour code this on your map – green for having close connections, orange is for having some links and red for no links at all. Do any of these groups jump out to you as someone you might like to approach to bring to Venturer Camp (or work on another project)? We’re not suggesting that you’re going to come up with a perfect project in one session – but hopefully it gives the group time to think about some of the issues. It might be good to have a discussion about what information you need to make a decision and set some deadlines on when you want to do things by. FURTHER ON: Some things that you might need to think about when approaching another group: › How can you explain what Woodcraft is if they don’t already know what it is? › How do you explain Venturer Camp? › What can both the groups offer each other? › Why is it beneficial? › Where are you going to get funding from? The bit of flipchart paper you had at the beginning of the session might give you some helpful ideas – or why not try it again once you’ve narrowed down what group(s) you’d like to work with? FOR MORE SUPPORT AND IDEAS: 1. Take a look at Unit 3 of the Leading for the Future resource 2. Talk to Alice Hewson, the Venturer Camp affiliations co-ordinator: 07898228822 alice.hewson@hotmail.co.uk 3. Get Action Project Funding, talk to Joe Wyatt from Folk House 02077034173 joe.wyatt@woodcraft.org.uk
Rainbow Centre
Labels and for Clothes...? RESOURCES NEEDED ·· Post it notes ·· Pens ·· The definitions below
ACTIVITY Write one of the words below onto post it notes- one word per note. Give each Venturer a word on their forehead, without letting them see it. Now, instruct Venturers to wander around, asking yes/ no questions to work out what word they have on their head. Let them know all the words are related to gender or sexuality identities. When all (or most) of the Venturers have got their word, get everyone to sit back in a circle. Go round, and ask them to explain what their word means. If necessary, there is a definition of the words below. If there is still time, you could go into a debate about whether or not labels like these are important to identity, and if labelling ourselves like this can create more problems than they solve. *Remember labels are a personal thing and different people will have different definitions.
‘If repression has indeed been the fundamental link between power, knowledge, and sexuality since the classical age, it stands to reason that we will not be able to free ourselves from it except at a considerable cost.’ Michel Foucault Page 11
HOMOSEXUAL: A person who is romantically and sexually attracted to people of the same gender. HETEROSEXUAL: A person who is romantically and sexually attracted to people of the opposite gender. BISEXUAL: A person who is romantically and sexually attracted to people of two genders. GAY: A person who is romantically and sexually most attracted to people of their own gender LESBIAN: A woman who is romantically and sexually most attracted to other women. SEX: This is your physical characteristics, whether you are male or female bodied. GENDER: This is your personal identity, expressed through things like behaviour and appearance. TRANSGENDER: A person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. CISGENDER: A person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. AGENDER: A person who does not identify as any gender. QUEER: An umbrella term that is used to describe a person who is not cisgender or heterosexual. A reclaimed term, often used for political reasons. GENDER QUEER: A person who rejects traditional gender categories, often for political reasons Genderfluid- A person whose gender identity changes- they could sometimes identify as male, sometimes female, sometimes another gender. PANSEXUAL: A person who is attracted to people, regardless of gender ASEXUAL: Someone who does not experience sexual attraction to anyone HETEROFLEXIBLE: A person who is predominantly heterosexual or straight, but is sometimes attracted to and has sexual relationships with people of the same sex. HOMOFLEXIBLE: A person who is predominantly homosexual or gay/ lesbian, but is sometimes attracted to and has sexual relationships with people of the opposite sex. INTERSEX: A person whose sex organs or hormone production are not strictly male or female. At least one in 100 people have an intersex condition.
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The Underground Printing Press ‘Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly. They’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.’ Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
At Venturer Camp The Underground Printing Press will be harnessing your views, your words, your images and ideas and helping you to shout them from the ridgepoles, to plaster them across the trees and whisper them secretly into every ear. It will be the poison ink, the breath-taking poster, the nagging leafleteer, the badge that makes you stop and think, the idea that just won’t go away. But before you loose your own ideas on the world, why not take the chance to free a book into the wild and see what happens…
INTRODUCTION: Talk about books you like and why you like them. Have other people in your group read the same things as you? What is the first book you remember reading or being read to you? Where do you like to read? Do you like to read? What is the best book you have ever read? What is the best book you’ve never read…? BOOK SWAP: A book swap involves choosing a book or books, putting a book plate in the front, leaving the book somewhere in the wild to be found and read! 1. Bring in a book you are happy to swap, or as a group choose a couple of books you want to swap as a group – you could get these from a local charity shop, they could be donated by a group member or friend or you could get them from a book shop. (Not from Amazon, but that’s a whole other group night…) 2. Make labels for the front of the book(s) that you are going to swap. Decide as a group what you want to include on this. Here a-re some suggestions: (a) A welcome to whoever finds it asking them to read it and then pass it on.
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx Page 13
(b) An explanation of who your group is. (c) A bit about why you liked the book. (d) A place for each reader to write their name and perhaps a comment before they pass the book on on someone else. (e) A way for the finder to let you all know they have found the book.* 3. Decide as a group where to release the book(s) into the wild. This could be anywhere at all, but if it is rainy weather it might be best to choose somewhere a bit sheltered! 4. Set the books free... EXISTING BOOK SWAPPING PROJECTS YOU MIGHT WANT TO LINK INTO ARE AT: www.bookcrossing.com www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/sep/14/ guardian-and-observer-book-swap-how-totake-part *Don’t put personal details like a phone number as you don’t know who might find the book and it is best to be safe. You could set up an email address especially for this project and put that on the book, or you can use an existing book sharing website to track it.
P.A.N.T.S. Performing Arts ‘N’ Theatre Stuff taster session
REHEARSING CHANGE: THEATRE EXERCISE Theatre is about telling stories, using your body as well as your voice and your mind. It’s also a great way of ‘trying out’ solutions to challenges in a safe environment, where you can play around with lots of ideas without worrying about getting anything wrong – because there is no wrong. Think of it as a rehearsal for real action. If you find an answer that works, then you can go out into the world and make it happen. Objectives: ·· To explore how to tell stories effectively ·· To think about different ways of presenting problems ·· To try out different solutions
WARM UP, ONE WORD AT A TIME: Sit in a circle, pick one person to begin a story by saying one word, e.g. ‘Once’ (... upon-a-time). Go around the circle, with each person only allowed to add one word before it passes on to the next person. Depending on the size of the group, let it go around the circle 3 or 4 times, and then ask people to try and bring the story to an end. ·· If the story begins to make no sense, stop and suggest that people really listen carefully to the words that have come before, and add words that will help contribute to the bigger story, rather than taking it off in their own direction. It’s about working together. The story can be silly, and creative, but it’s got to make sense too, grammatically if not thematically! ·· Try this a few times until a clear story has been told. ·· Ask how carefully the group thinks words needed to be chosen to get the story across clearly. MAIN ACTIVITY, FREEZE FRAMES (20 – 30 MINS): Split the group into even-ish groups of 2-5. Ask them to think about an issue in the local area, or for their age group. Get them to create a frozen image that presents this problem clearly. People need to think about how they’re going to use their bodies to tell the story. It’d also be good ask them to consider: ·· Who the main ‘characters’ or people
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·· ··
are within the problem. Is there more than one point of view to the problem? How can this be shown? Are there any wider issues that might’ve caused the specific problem? Could this be presented within the image?
Ask each person to come up with one sentence that sums up their character’s inner thoughts/point of view. Once they have completed both, take it in turns to show them back to the rest of the group. ·· First, only show the frozen image, and see if the others can guess what the issue being shown is. ·· Next (whether they guess or not) ask each person to come out of the freeze and say their sentence, and then remake the frozen image. ·· Finally, get the audience to discuss what part of the image or ‘point of view’ could be changed to create a solution. If someone has an idea, ask the group showing the image to change their positions/come up with new sentences that could help solve the problem. Different solutions can be tried. EXTRAS: If the group is more into visual arts, this can be done as a drawing/painting exercise, either by doing one image of the problem and another of a solution, or as comic strips with speech bubbles. Take a photo of each freeze frame so you
‘Come now; what masques, what dances shall we have, To wear away this long age of three hours Between our after-supper and bed-time? Where is our usual manager of mirth? What revels are in hand? Is there no play, To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?’ Act V, Scene I, A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Making candles You Will Need: •
• • • • • •
Wax – This can be from melting down old candles (make sure they’re the same colour), or using wax beads or beeswax (both available online) Cotton string Portable burner Tin can(s) Large pot Dye discs (optional) Essential oils (optional)
Candles are fantastically messy to make, a session which is guaranteed to allow the shyest of Venturers relax and enjoy themselves. Step One: preparing the wax Melting wax is similar in process to melting chocolate – place the wax in the tin can, and the tin can into the pot, filled with water. This pot then needs to go onto the burner, and as the water gets hotter, the wax will start to melt. Keep stirring it until it’s completely liquid. This is when you can add the dye discs; to change the wax’s colour, or the essential oils; to make the candle scented. You could have multiple tin cans inside your pot, each containing a different colour or smell of wax.
Step Two: Choosing your format
You could create a candle by filling a mould or by dipping. The filling method gets more difficult as soon as you start working with a group with more than five children, but this can be sidestepped by implementing “stations”, each with one burner and one adult.
Filling a Mould
Dipping
Cut a measure of the string that is about 3 inches larger than your mould. Pinching the string with two fingers, lower it into the mould until it is touching the bottom, and then lower a little more. Keep a hold of the string while filling your choice of wax into the mould (may require two sets of hands) Stick a pin through the string at the top and rest this across the edge of your mould to keep it in place while the wax is solidifying Trim the string to appropriate wick size, about 2 cm above the wax. Some ideas for moulds are drawn, but you can use anything that could hold water really. Jars can be covered in colourful tissue paper to change the light colour.
Cut a measure of string about 3 inches longer than you want your candle to be. Bear in mind that the length of the tin can is probably the tallest it can get. The diagram is a little faulty: the tin can isn’t in a pot of water. However, it’s right in principle. Dip your string into the wax and after taking it out, hold the wax covered string until it dries. Repeat until your candle is as fat as you want it to be. The wax should still be a little soft, and you can use this to squash it into shapes or forms. Be careful you don’t spoil the balance! Hang your finished candles on the washing line by the wick.
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Making Wind chimes You Will Need: •
• • • • •
•
Cordless screwdriver, with the smallest possible screw installed. String or fishing wire. Pliers – at least one per group of four. 1 Wire coat hanger per Venturer. Chimes (examples below) Paint – acrylic, or oil paint if you want it more weather resistant. Bear in mind that oil paint needs turpentine to wash it off hands, surfaces and brushes. Old clothes/ aprons to protect against paint stains.
Wind chimes have always been connected with all things fairy, with uses ranging from using them to ward off evil spirits, to keeping birds away from crops, to tricking enemies into thinking the woods are haunted to creating a calm atmosphere in your home. The tinkling reminds me of a far off clearing where sprites dance wildly, laughing in the moonlight . . . Step One: Prepare your hanger
Use the pliers to unbend the coat hangers to make a long length of wire. Cut each one into quarters, and then two of the quarters into eighths. You should end up with two quarters and four eighths of a coat hanger, but don’t worry about the measurements not being exact – an approximation is fine. Now use the pliers again to make a loop at the centre and both ends of each length of wire. Connect your pieces of wire together by threading your string or fishing wire through the loops (see diagram). Ensure that it won’t unravel if there is a substantial weight on the end of it – use a standard knot several times, or Google sturdy sailor’s knots. The last parts, on which your chimes will be attached, need to have the string threaded all the way through, with both ends hanging (shown on one of the ends).
Step Two: Attach your Chimes
No matter what you’ve used for your chime, you need to find a way to bore through it and thread the string ends from the frame, making sure you allow it to dangle. With cutlery it would be good to drill the holding end. Bamboo sticks, or any other pipe-shaped chimes work best when you drill two holes straight through one end. I would bore a hole through one side of a bottle top. Although beads can be a form of chime, you can also use them for decoration, threading them on before tying your main object.
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Chime Examples: Your chimes can be anything from bamboo sticks to bottle tops, to spoons! As long as they make a nice sound when tapped, it’s perfect – even just threading beads onto the string looks and sounds nice. You can also use a mixture of trinkets and charms, available online or from a haberdashery. If you’re using spoons or something metal, it may be a good idea to bore the holes through before the session, as it can take a while. If you want to paint your chimes, I recommend splitting this activity into two sessions: one to prepare your chimes, and one to prepare the hanger and assemble the two, which allows paint to dry and gives the Venturers more time to create.
Paper Lanterns THINGS YOU WILL NEED ·· Glass jars ·· PVA Glue ·· Coloured Tissue Paper ·· Paintbrushes ·· Tea light candles ·· Container of water
 1. Mix the PVA with water in a container.
2. Paint the PVA onto a section of the jar
3. Stick a piece of coloured tissue to the painted area. This can be a cut or ripped shape
4. Paint with PVA on top of the piece of tissue.
5. Continue to do this with different colours and different shapes
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Stand Back!
I’m going to try
Science! Page 22
Team Science HOMEMADE COMPASS EQUIPMENT: ·· Needle ·· Bowl ·· Water ·· Bar magnet with clear north/south distinction ·· Coloured permanent marker/short, thin piece of thread ·· Scissors ·· Wax paper
INSTRUCTIONS: Magnetise your sewing needle by rubbing one end with the ‘north’ pole of your magnet 50 times – mark this end with the permanent marker or by tying thread around it. Then rub the other end of the needle with the ‘south’ pole 50 times. Cut a small circle, of diameter about two thirds the length of the needle, out of the wax paper. Carefully thread the needle through the paper twice, so that both ends lies on one side of the circle – see diagram. Float the wax paper on the water with the side on which the ends of the needle sit facing up, and only the centre of the needle in the water. As the needle floats on the water, it should rotate so that the coloured end points north – you can also make it rotate by moving the bar magnet around the bowl HOW DOES IT WORK? It functions as a compass does – the ‘north’ end of the needle is attracted to the geographical north pole of the Earth, which is actually the Earth’s magnetic south pole (confusingly enough). North and south poles of magnets are opposites, and so are attracted to each other (like objects with opposite electric charge). The Earth’s magnetic field is what attracts charged particles from the Sun, released in solar flares, towards the Earth’s north and south poles. Here they collide with particles in the atmosphere, a collision which results in the spectacular northern and southern lights. Magnetic field lines flow from north to south – as the arrows indicate, the north pole is at the bottom and the south pole is as the top.
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‘He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.’ Leonardo da Vinci
Experiments SHRINKING COIN EQUIPMENT: ·· Paper ·· 1p coin ·· 2p coin
INSTRUCTIONS: Trace a close circle around the edge of the 1p coin and cut it out. Put the 1p coin through the hole in the paper, and then demonstrate that the 2p coin will not fit. Fold the paper so that the circular hole is cut exactly in half, with a semi-circular hole along the folded side. Slip the 2p coin between the halves to show that it still does not fit through the hole. Now pinch the fold on either side of the hole and twist the paper so that your thumbs get closer together, allowing the paper to fan out towards and away from you – the gap will widen and the 2p coin will fall out of the paper. This looks like it shouldn’t be possible, but it can be done because you have are allowing the paper to move into a third dimension.
BERNOULLI BALLS EQUIPMENT: ·· Hair dryer – best used on cool setting, so that nothing overheats. ·· Small light balls (such as polystyrene balls or ping pong balls) – these should be smaller in diameter than the width of the hair dryer output
INSTRUCTIONS: Turn on the hair dryer with the outlet pointing upwards. Place a ball carefully in the flow from the hairdryer – it will balance in the air. Move the hairdryer from side to side, keeping it pointing upwards and at the same horizontal level – the ball will stay in the air stream. Try this up and down as well. Carefully tilt the hairdryer – the ball will stay in the air stream with no support directly beneath it. See how far you can tilt it! EXPERIMENT How many balls can you levitate with the air stream? Does it work with different sizes? HOW DOES IT WORK? This effect also lies behind the suspension of aeroplanes – the aerofoil of the wings encourages air to flow more quickly over the top, thus making the pressure of the slower-moving air beneath higher – this holds the plane up.
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‘Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.’ Albert Einstein
‘The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” but “That's funny...”’ Isaac Asimov
THE POWER OF WORDS INGREDIENTS: ·· Table with flat edge ·· Ruler ·· Newspaper
INSTRUCTIONS Lay the ruler over the edge of the table so that ~1/3 of its length is over the edge. What do you think will happen to the ruler if you hit the free end from above? Discuss this and try it out (it will flip off the table). Discuss how you might stop this happening – you should reach the conclusion that a counterweight at the far end of the ruler is needed. How are you going to do this with only a sheet of newspaper? Try it first folded up, to concentrate the weight of the ruler – does this hold the ruler down when you flip it? Discuss how else you might use the paper to keep the ruler down, and if anyone suggests the correct method, ask them to explain how it works. Unfold the newspaper completely and lay it over the two thirds of the ruler on the table, with the ruler roughly in the centre of the sheet – try to get as little air as possible between the paper and the table. The ruler will be much, much harder to flip over. HOW DOES IT WORK? Air pressure is key to this demonstration. Pressure is equal to force per unit area, so force is equal to pressure times area. Air pressure is constant, so the greater the surface area of the newspaper, the more force is acting upon it. When the newspaper is unfolded its area is much greater than when it is folded and so is better able to counter the upwards force of the ruler beneath it. Minimising air trapped between the paper and the table reduces the upwards force of air on the paper. Air pressure and the force it exerts have a wide range of applications; for example, rubber suckers on a smooth surface force out the air between themselves and the smooth surface they are attached to. This means that the external atmospheric pressure is much higher, pushing the sucker securely against the wall. Vacuum cleaners work similarly: they create a vacuum, and dust and dirt is pushed in by the higher pressure of air outside the bag. A lot of water pumps also work using a pressure gradient to force water against gravity.
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‘Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.’ Mary Kay Ash
The Fortune Cookie Centre The Fortune Cookie Centre is all about choosing where you want your Woodcraft Folk journey to take you and getting the skills, ideas and resources to help you on your way. Want to start a DF group in your area when you leave Venturers? Want to run a local event, or represent Woodcraft in your school? Drop in and get some help. There will be workshops to help you: ·· Lead a group or an activity ·· Campaign on issues you care about ·· Start your own project ·· Work more closely with other Venturer groups ·· Have your say in Woodcraft Folk democracy The Centre will also be the place to collect your Fortune Cookie Challenges – a lucky dip of challenges to undertake either during Venturer Camp or in your group once you’re home again. Plus of course edible fortune cookies.
MYSTERY PRESENT Before Venturer Camp, we have a short list of challenges for your group – pick one and bring along the results to camp to get a mystery present from the Fortune Cookie Centre. RUN AN ACTIVITY FOR THE ELFINS OR PIONEERS IN YOUR DISTRICT: Pick something fun from the Games Games Games book or DVD, or choose a craft activity you know they’ll enjoy, and take it along to one of their group nights. Alternatively, some of you could run a session for the other Venturers from Leading for the Future, the set of activities your leader should have that will transform you all into leaders of action and change! Bring a comment from one of your participants to the Fortune Cookie Centre to get a mystery present. MAKE FRIENDS WITH ANOTHER ORGANISATION: Invite over or visit a community group you’d like to get to know, and talk about topics you could run a joint project on. (Poverty? The cuts? The environment?) Take a photo of the two groups / representatives and an example of the issue you would work on – bring it to Venturer Camp and you might get £500 to make the project happen!
‘Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.’ Warren Buffett Page 26
BE THE EXPERTS: choose a theme your group knows about and discuss what your top tips would be for another group who wanted to learn from you. It could be campfire cooking, peaceful protest… or simply working brilliantly together. Create a poster or something else eye-catching that shares your expert advice. Publish it on -woodcraft.org.uk, bring it to camp and be prepared to swap expertise with other Venturer groups! CAMPAIGNING AND MEDIA: Make a short film or write an article about a political or social issue your group cares really strongly about. Share it on our campaign video site vimeo.com/ channels/ourtimes and on the Venturer Camp Facebook page https://www. facebook.com/events/169778999822583/ for plenty of publicity! MAKE YOUR OWN FORTUNE COOKIES: Use the guide below to make origami fortune cookies. You could decorate the paper with a Woodcraft or Midsummer Night’s Dream theme first, and make up fortunes that might come true at
The Jam Café
VBC
THE PERFECT JAM TART RECIPIE
VENTURER BROADCASTING CO-OPERATIVE
INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT: ·· 200g plain flour plus a little extra ·· Pinch of salt ·· 100g margarine ·· 1 tsp sugar ·· ½ tsp cinnamon ·· 2 tbsp iced water ·· Jam (any kind!) ·· Pastry cutter ·· Greased cupcake tin (s)
Choose one of the 7 themes of Venturer Camp (Welcome to the Woods, Love and Disobedience, Escape to the Woods, March of the Fairies, The World Amok, Day of Transformations, and Weddings). In groups of around 5, plan and perform a short (5 minutes or so) piece of acting around one or more of these themes. This about what you would need to change if you were making this into a film. What shots would you need to take? Are yhere any propos you would need? Where you would film it? If you have cameras you could try making it into a film and bringing it to camp.
INSTRUCTIONS ·· Sift flour and salt into a large bowl, and add the butter ·· Rub the butter into the flour until it looks like crumbs ·· Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir in the water ·· Combine the ingredients into a dough, adding more water if need be ·· Sprinkle some flour onto a surface and roll out the pastry to about 0.5cm thickness ·· Cut out rounds of pastry and lay them in the tins ·· Put a teaspoon of jam in each one ·· Cut any spare pastry into shapes to go on top of the jam ·· Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown ·· Be careful! Hot jam easily burns!
EXAMPLE IDEA: Love and Disobedience: Lisa comes out to her parents as gay; they don't accept it but she refuses to hide her identity, but with the help of her new girlfriend Clara she persuades them to accept her as herself.
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Plastic Bag Bunting THINGS YOU WILL NEED ·· Coloured plastic scraps or old plastic bags ·· Clear sticky back plastic ·· Scissors ·· String/Ribbon ·· Hole Punch – you could use scissors instead

1. Cut two triangles out of the sticky back plastic making sure that they are the same size.
2. Peel off the back to leave just the sticky side up
3. Cut or tear out shapes out of the plastic and stick onto the sticky side.
4. Once finished, peel off the other triangle and stick it on top. Trim the edges if necessary.
5. Use a hole-punch or scissors to make holes 1inch apart from each other along the top edge.
6. Thread a string or ribbon through the holes. Hang up and admire
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Venturer Camp 2013 A Midsummer Night's Dream Programme Co-ordinators: Conor Whelan conormtwhelan@gmail.com Emma Jagne emma-jagne@hotmail.co.uk Ventuer Camp Co-ordinator: Jack Brown jack.brown@woodcraft.org.uk Ventuer Camp on the Web facebook.com/venturer.camp vcamp@woodcraft.org.uk @VenturerCamp #VCamp A Midsummer Night's Dream Character Illustrations: Luke Farookhi Folk House 83 Crampton Street London SE17 3BQ info@woodcraft.org.uk
A Woodcraft Folk Publication Woodcraft Folk. Registered charity in England & Wales (1148195) and in Scotland (SC039791). Registered in England & Wales Company No. 8133727