Camp kitchen pitchin’

You’ll need

Coloured pens or pencils
Scrap paper
Big pieces of paper

Gather ideas

Everyone should split into small groups.
Each group should think of different ways that camp kitchen gadgets that could help everyone keep their cooking space safe and hygienic. They should jot their ideas down on some scrap paper.

For example, a gadget could hold a wash basin or store kitchen utensils. We’ve included some more ideas under ‘Ways gadgets could help’ below.

In the groups, everyone should work together to choose a few of their ideas and think about the gadgets that could help.
Each group should choose their best gadget idea. An adult should help each group risk assess the use of the gadget, its construction, and its portability before they make their final choice.

Check out key documents such as guidance on camping gas, camping food safety, and carbon monoxide here.

Plan your pitch

Now that they’ve chosen their gadget, each group should get ready to share their idea with everyone.
Each group should plan a five-minute presentation about their gadget.

It’s up to you how people present – you can keep it informal. For example, people could pair up with someone from different groups, people could create posters to show others, or people could present sitting around a table (rather than standing in front of their audience).

Everyone should make sure their presentations include an image of their gadget, instructions for making it, and a list of the materials and equipment people would need. Would people make their gadget before the event and bring it along, or is it something to be made once they arrive?

People could think about the ‘Questions to ask’ below to make sure their presentations cover all of the important points.

The groups should make sure their presentation explains the health and safety benefits of their gadget. How will it keep the cooking space safe and hygienic, make sure food’s stored properly, or prevent food poisoning?

Time to present

Each group should take it in turns to present their ideas.
Give everyone a few minutes to think carefully about each idea. They may want to use the ‘Questions to ask’ below to help them evaluate the ideas fairly.
Everyone should choose a few ideas to take forwards to prototype stage. They don’t need to be perfect yet – the person leading the activity may point out some things that need to change to make everything safer and more hygienic.

It’s up to you how you decide. You could score each idea against the ‘Questions to ask’ or vote with a show of hands or anonymous ballot.

The person leading the activity should help everyone recap how the chosen gadgets help with the health and safety considerations that need to be made when setting up a campsite kitchen.
Everyone should get into new groups, so anyone whose idea wasn’t taken forward is in a group with a gadget that’ll be made into a prototype.

Reflection

This activity was all about communication. How could people share important messages about staying safe in a camp kitchen? How did teams communicate in this activity? Was it easy to share ideas? How did people tell other groups about their ideas?

This activity was also about problem-solving. What problems did each group’s gadgets solve? Could people combine gadgets to make a complete campsite cooking space? They could use a big piece of paper to draw out where each gadget could fit in. Did people come across any problems while planning their gadgets? How did they solve them?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.