Easter Fun at Shackleton ESU!

This week at Shackleton ESU, we celebrated Easter with an evening full of creativity, teamwork, and, of course, chocolate! Our Explorers got stuck into some fantastic activities that combined festive fun with a delicious treat. Egg-citing Easter Egg Characters The highlight of the evening was decorating our very own Easter egg characters. Each Explorer was given a chocolate egg and a range of decorations to bring their designs to life. From cute and quirky to funny and fantastic, the results were truly impressive! With a mix of edible decorations, icing, and a whole lot of imagination, the creations showcased the group’s …

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Shackleton ESU’s Swing-Building Adventure

Last night, Shackleton Explorer Scouts had a thrilling meeting where they built swings using pioneering skills. The explorers worked together to master lashings, tying knots like square and diagonal lashings to create strong, safe swing structures. The energy was high as teams collaborated to troubleshoot and perfect their designs, all while learning key skills in knot-tying, teamwork, and safety. The best part? Once the swings were complete, the explorers got to test their creations and enjoy the fruits of their labor. The activity was a perfect blend of fun and learning, with everyone gaining confidence in their pioneering abilities.

Shackleton Explorer Scouts Enjoy Pancake Night!

This week, Shackleton Explorer Scouts in Crawley had a fun-filled evening making and cooking pancakes. The Scouts learned valuable cooking skills, from mixing ingredients to perfecting their pancake flipping techniques. With plenty of creativity, they topped their pancakes with delicious sweet and savory fillings. It was a fantastic night of teamwork, learning, and, of course, tasty treats!

Communication Challenge

On Monday, Shackleton ESU had a communication challenge evening. In groups of 4, they had to build a puzzle in teams however there was a twist. One Explorer was blind folded, one had the instructions, one had the puzzle pieces and one had the job of running and communicating between them all! There are some photos of the evening below:

Crafting Adventure: Last Monday with the Explorers

Last Monday evening, our Explorers got crafty with paracord bracelets, woggles, keyrings, and leather pyrography. Scouts learned essential knot-tying techniques while creating stylish paracord bracelets and personalised woggles. They also explored creativity and design by crafting unique keyrings that could be used or gifted. For those seeking a challenge, leather pyrography allowed them to burn intricate patterns into leather, honing precision and focus. These activities helped build problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and teamwork, all while fostering creativity. It was a fun, hands-on evening that showcased how practical skills and adventure go hand in hand!

Hunted

On Monday, we held a unit version of Hunted. This year was the first year all teams were caught and the hunters were victorious! You will need to use guile and cunning to avoid the hunter force who roam Crawley searching for your teams. You will be considered captured if a hunter team is able to gain a clearly identifiable photograph of one of your team whilst you are on the run.  You will not be notified if you have been ‘captured’ until you reach HQ.  Therefore, keep moving and stay stealthy and don’t assume you’ve been captured even if you’re seen, you may …

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First Aid

On Monday, we had an evening of First Aid Training ahead of our upcoming expeditions and summer activities. We focused on: Everyone got fully involved and we hope you never have to use these skills in reality but they are a #skillforlife!

Mountain Activity Camp 2024

Over Easter Weekend, 13 Explorers and their leaders travelled to Cornel Scout Campsite in North Wales. Originally we planned to climb Snowdon on Saturday but snowy weather meant we had to do our contingency, lower level route heading over Foel Fras, Carnedd Gwenllian and Foel Grach. On Sunday, we headed out to Craig Caseg Ffraith for a day of climbing and abseiling led by Sean and Tim. Everyone got to attempt the 5 different climbs and abseil which was a first for many of natural rock! Before we departed on Monday, the groups headed out for a final low level …

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Backwoods Cooking / Fire Lighting

On Monday, the Explorers turned their hand to fire lighting and backwoods cooking. After what seemed like an eternity, most of the groups managed to light their fires (using the trusty fire lighter due to very wet wood!). The Explorers then cooked Pizza and Banoffee Pie (backwoods style!). Overall an enjoyable evening with the cooking giving mixed results!

Chocolate Truffles

This week at Explorers, everyone gave chocolate truffle making a go! The results were varied and much mess was made in the process of making them!

Basketball

On Monday, we visited Hazelwick School to play a game of Basketball. We started by practising our different shots including layups and free throws. We then split into play some mini games before we had a knock out tournament between all 4 teams. We also welcomed 5 new members moving up from Scouts. A few photos are below.

Young people first: Safeguarding and Safety in Scouting

Wherever we go and whatever we do, we put young people’s safety and wellbeing first. Here's how.