Angkor Wat

26 Sep 17:30
Duty six :

Start Time Activity Requirements Instructions Scouter
Today, we are going on an adventure to Angkor Wat, a huge and amazing temple in Cambodia!
26 Sep 17:30 5 Activities : Opening Register, beans, flag, totem and skin
Grand Howl
Flag Break
Register
Inspection - belts and shoes
Akela
There are guardians at our temple that don't want us to enter. Can you get past them?
26 Sep 17:35 10 Game : Temple Guardians
Cubs are “explorers.” One or two leaders are “temple guardians.”  
Explorers must cross an open space (the “temple courtyard”) without being tagged.
If tagged, they freeze as statues. Teammates can free them by touching their hand.
Play 2–3 rounds, rotating guardians.
Akela
temple complex functions as a massive, natural sundial, with the central tower perfectly aligned with the rising sun.
26 Sep 17:45 20 Activities : Sundial
  • Two sheets of paper, ideally cardstock or some other heavy stock.
  • Scissors
  • Paper glue
  • Printer
  • Ruler
  • Something pointy, e.g., a pen with no ink or a small screwdriver
  • http://analemmatic.sf.net/cgi-bin/papercraft.pl. - to create the template for your location

Cut out the dial circle from the template provided.  If you like, you can glue it on a harder backing.

The gnomon is the pointer that casts the shadow.  The gnomon is on the second page of the template and has five dashed/dotted lines (depending on your color choices, they may be hard to see; you might want to put a black and white version on screen for references).  The lines that have only dashes (_ _ _ _ _ _ _) are valley folds--you will fold so that the dashed line is at the bottom of the crease.  The lines that have dashes and dots (_ . _ . _ . _ .), i.e., the central line and the lines for the outside flaps, are mountain folds--you will fold so that the dashed and dotted line is at the top of the crease.

Before folding, however, you need to score all the fold lines to make an accurate gnomon.  To do that, use a ruler and draw over them with a pointy object, like a small sharp screwdriver.  Try to remember which lines are mountain and which are valley folds or have the PDF file on your computer screen for reference, since the scoring may make it hard to see the dots and dashes.

After scoring, cut out the gnomon's outer edges.  (I find it easier to score before cutting.)

Make all the creases in this step nice and sharp.  It will be difficult to keep them sharp as you reach the end where they come together.  Using a ruler may be helpful.

Start by folding the gnomon in half along the central mountain-fold line, and pressing the halves together (as below).  Make the halves line up nicely.

Fold and Glue the Gnomon

Then fold back (in the opposite direction to the first fold) along the next two lines, which are valley-fold:

Fold and Glue the Gnomon

Next, carefully glue together the two triangles on either side of the central mountain-fold line, up to the valley-folds you just did:

Fold and Glue the Gnomon

Don't use too much glue--you want a very flat and straight joint.  Wait for the glue to set a bit before the next step.  If you want the gnomon to be stronger, you can embed a wire extracted from a wire-tie along the crease.

Finally, you have two small flaps which will be used to glue the gnomon to the triangular (or, more precisely, diamond-shaped) area on the dial.  They are attached with mountain folds--crease them so they join up but do not overlap:

Fold and Glue the Gnomon

Go back to the gnomon and put glue all over the two small triangular flaps on the bottom of the gnomon, and glue them down into their positions on the dial.  Make sure the flaps don't overlap, but join evenly.  Try to align them as carefully and as symmetrically as you can with the triangles for them on the dial, and glue the flaps down neatly along the creases..  

Optionally, for more precise alignment, you can first cut out the Gnomon sizer triangle.  Then while the glue on the gnomon flaps is still tacky, play with adjusting the exact gnomon height (it goes up if you move the flaps slightly together and down if you move them slightly apart).  The gnomon height should be the same as the height of the Gnomon sizer triangle (with the word Gnomon sizer being horizontal), and the distance from the center of the dial to where the tip of the gnomon overhangs should be the same as the length of the sizer.

To use the dial, you need to place it on a level spot (e.g., a sunlit table) and align the N arrow with geographic or true north (in the northern hemisphere, the gnomon will also point north; in the southern hemisphere, it will point south).  Unfortunately, geographic or true north is not the same as the magnetic north shown by a magnetic compass.  

The simplest way to align is simply to look at a watch and turn the dial until the shadow shows the correct time.  (You may also want to do an Equation of Time adjustment when reading the time shown on the dial- see the next step.  Also, make sure you make a daylight savings adjustment if the dial is not printed for the current season's time.)  There are other methods.  You can use a magnetic compass and correct for magnetic declination. 

Akela
Imagine a giant stone city, covered in carvings, surrounded by jungle, built a long, long time ago! It's called Angkor Wat and it's a really special place.
26 Sep 18:05 5 Activities : Juice and biscuits Juice and biscuit break
Akela
In Hindu belief, the principle of karma links good deeds to better future circumstances and bad deeds to worse ones
26 Sep 18:10 10 Yarn : Churning the Ocean of Milk See attached Akela
Angkor Wat was built as a temple and later became a Buddhist temple.
26 Sep 18:20 15 Game : Temple Run Divide the Cubs into teams. Each team must navigate a simple obstacle course (jumping over "rocks," crawling under "vines," etc.) to reach a "temple" (designated spot) and retrieve a small "artifact" (a rock or painted piece of wood). First team back wins. Akela
The Buddhist Eightfold Path encourages helping others through its emphasis on Right Action, Right Speech, and Right Livelihood, which promote ethical conduct and compassion
26 Sep 18:35 10 Activities : Good Turn Hand Good turn hand

Discuss Good Turns.  What is a good turn versus what is a duty.

Each Cub to get a printout of the hand to take home and do their diary of a good turn (if not already done).

Akela
Even though we have learnt about a lot of different and ancient cultures over the term - they were all people who built toys for children, enjoyed games and believed in helping others, just like we do today.
26 Sep 18:45 5 Activities : Closing Totem, Skin
Badges, certificates
Announcements
Badge handouts
Grand Howl
Flag Down
Prayer
Dismiss
Akela

Programme prepared on 16 Jan 12:20

Churning the Ocean of Milk




Category Yarn
Time to allocate (mins)
Story
Long ago, the gods and demons decided to work together to churn the vast Ocean of Milk, hoping to find the Amrit, or nectar of immortality. They used a giant mountain as a churning stick and the King of Snakes, Vasuki, as the rope. Mount Mandara kept sinking, so the god Vishnu became a giant turtle, Kurma, to support the mountain. The churning produced many treasures, but also a terrible poison that Lord Shiva drank to save everyone, turning his throat blue. Finally, they found the Amrit, which helped the gods win back their strength, and the beautiful goddess Lakshmi also emerged from the ocean. 

The Great Churning
The Plan: The gods (Devas) and demons (Asuras) needed to become strong and immortal, so they decided to churn the Ocean of Milk to find the magical nectar called Amrit.
The Tools: They chose Mount Mandara as the churning stick and the giant snake Vasuki to be the churning rope.
A Little Trouble: When they placed Mount Mandara in the ocean, it started to sink! To help, Lord Vishnu took the form of a huge turtle, Kurma, and held the mountain on his back so the churning could continue.
Working Together: The gods held the tail of Vasuki the snake, while the demons held his head. They pulled the snake back and forth, spinning the mountain and churning the ocean.
A Scary Surprise: As they churned, a deadly poison called Halahala came out of the ocean. It was so dangerous that it could destroy everything.
Shiva's Sacrifice: To save everyone, Lord Shiva bravely drank the poison. His wife, Parvati, held his throat to stop the poison from going further, and his throat turned blue.
Wonderful Treasures: As they continued to churn, many wonderful things appeared from the ocean's depths, like the moon (Chandra), a beautiful celestial tree, a white elephant named Airavata, and the goddess Lakshmi.
The Nectar Appears: At the very end, Lord Dhanvantari, the divine physician, emerged holding the pot of Amrit.
The Amrit Goes to the Gods: The gods and demons wanted the Amrit for themselves, but they had agreed to share it equally. Lord Vishnu, in the form of a beautiful woman named Mohini, tricked the demons and gave the Amrit only to the gods, restoring their strength

Entry written by Sharon Venn of 1st Randburg

Good Turn Hand




Category Activities
Time to allocate (mins) 10
Outcome Cubs to understand what are good turns
Resources Good turn hand
Instructions

Discuss Good Turns.  What is a good turn versus what is a duty.

Each Cub to get a printout of the hand to take home and do their diary of a good turn (if not already done).


Entry written by Sharon Venn of 1st Randburg

Documents

Good_Turn_hand__1_.pdf