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Flysheet storytelling

Pitch a tent to set the scene, then cast some silhouettes together.

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You’ll need

  • Clean items of recycling
  • Big pieces of paper
  • Sticky tack
  • Scissors
  • Scrap card
  • Pens or pencils
  • Torch or phone
  • Camera or phone
  • Tents
  • Mallets
  • Torches
  • Wooden skewers

Choose your equipment

  • Lightweight tents work best for this – choose ones designed for two, three, or four people. You’ll need one tent for each small group; it doesn’t matter if they’re not the same model or size.
  • You could ask to borrow tents if you don’t have enough – other volunteers, friends and family, or other local groups may be able to help. Let people know what you’ll be using the tents for.
  • Check the tents before you begin, so you know there aren’t any missing or broken parts.
  • Ask people to collect clean, dry, recycling and bring it with them so you have enough. Sweet wrappers or cellophane are fun as they cast pretty colours.
  • It may be helpful to have some photos or books for inspiration – for example, pictures of past adventures, or books about expeditions.

You could also print off some examples of shadow puppet scenes found online: Pinterest is a great site for exploring this theme.

Before you begin

  • If you want this activity to count towards the Scouts Outdoor Challenge Award, you’ll need to do it during a night away.
  • Decide where you’ll pitch your tents. Ideally, you’ll be spread out but you could do it indoors or outdoors, as long as it’s dry.
  • If you need to remind yourself about types of tents and tent pitching, Scout Adventures have some really helpful resources. They also have videos about pitching a tent, organising a tent, and striking a tent.
  • Have recycling bags handy so you can get rid of unwanted bits of recycling as you’re making your silhouettes. If you’re not sure what can be recycled in the area you’re doing the activity, check out Recycle Now’s recycling locator.

Pitch the tent

  1. Everyone should split into small groups.
  2. Each group should find a suitable piece of flat ground or floor to pitch their tent. They should make sure there’s plenty of space between them and any other groups – including enough space to move the poles around safely.

Outdoors, people should avoid pitching under trees, or on the banks of rivers or lakes. If they’re indoors, they shouldn’t pitch near doors or furniture, and fire escapes shouldn’t be obstructed.

  1. Each group should clear the area of any obstacles.
  2. Everyone should follow the manufacturer’s instructions for their tent to pitch it. Not everyone will need to be ‘hands on’ all of the time – some people may want to direct or check the instructions.

We’ve included some general guidance, based on common features and steps, below. You may want to share this, depending on the instructions that come with the tent.

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the model of tent you’re using.

  1. Carefully empty the bag and put each component on the ground. Be especially careful with small things like pegs – it’s best to put them together on top of the empty tent bag.
  2. Open out the tent and make sure all of the doors are closed.
  3. Decide where to thread the poles first. Some tents are designed so users put the inner up first and lay the outer over the top; others are designed to put the outer up first and clip the inner up inside.
  4. Assemble the poles, line them up, and insert them through the sleeves of the tent. If anyone has to climb onto or into the tent, they should take their shoes off and crawl on their hands and knees so they don’t damage the tent.
  5. Clip the ends of the poles into the eyelets or rings at the bottom edge of the tent.
  6. Secure the inner and outer parts of the tent together using the clips available. Line it up – if the outer’s laid on top, make sure the poles are aligned with the seams. If you’re outdoors, check that the front door’s not opening into the wind.
  7. If you’re outdoors, peg down the corners and fix guy lines in place using tent pegs. Secure the pegs at a 45-degree angle, pointing out from the tent. (If you’re indoors, chat about how you’d do this step if you were outdoors.)

 

Set the scene

  1. Each group should take their shoes off and spend a couple of minutes experimenting with how they can use torches to cast shadow animals in a tent. They should use their hands to make shapes for now – it’s just a practise so everyone understands the concept.
  1. Each group should leave their tent and think about a theme for their scene. They should focus on something to do with exploration and outdoor adventure, for example, a rafting adventure, climbers scaling a mountain, or a cosy camping scene.
  1. Once each group has an idea, they should use a big sheet of paper to finalise their design. They should also jot down what they’ll use to create each aspect.
  2. Each group should use the recyclable materials, scrap card, and scrap paper to create a scene. They shouldn’t use scissors inside (or near) the tents.
  3. Everyone should think about how they’ll secure their non-moving scene so it stays upright on its own. Pushing the skewers into sticky tack often works, as the sticky tack acts as a weighted base.
  4. Everyone should take photos of their creations.
  5. Once they’re finished, everyone should take their creations apart carefully and lay them flat so they can be put up again later. It’s best not to sleep in tents with creations up, in case they get squashed.
  6. At the end of the event, when their creations won’t be used again, they should completely dismantle everything and recycle as much as they can.
  • Tidy everything up and pack away the rest of the space before taking down the tents. This is so people have somewhere safe to store equipment while they’re packing down if the weather’s bad at the end of a camp.
  • Ideally, wait until the tent’s dry before you pack it away. If you have to pack away a wet tent, air it out as soon as you can – otherwise, the damp will damage the tent and it’ll smell awful too.
  • Remove the tent pegs by loosening the guy line and using it as a handle underneath the peg notch. Pull in line with the peg’s direction of entry – the best way to do this is by bending your knees and then standing up.
  • Make sure all of the parts of the tent are clean. Use a cloth to wipe them down if you need to – pay attention to the ground sheet, if the tent has one, as it’s likely to be muddy or grassy.
  • Tie the guy lines by folding them into thirds and bundling each line into an overhand knot.
  • Make sure all of the parts of the tent are there – you may want to count them up.
  • Pack the tent back into the bag. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions so it doesn’t get damaged. Most tents can be easily packed if they’re rolled into a long, round shape the same length as their bag.

Reflection

This activity was all about developing skills. Pitching and striking a tent is one of the most important camping skills. This activity gave it a creative twist: did people enjoy having another purpose for their tent, as well as it being somewhere to sleep? Did it make them think about how they used it for other activities? For example, it may have helped them think about pitching it really well, or encouraged them to become familiar with storage areas. How else could people use creative activities to help them gain useful outdoor skills? For example, a bit of creative storytelling could make first aid practise more fun.

The activity also needed people to be team players. Which part of this activity needed the most teamwork? Did people find it easier to work together on some tasks than others? Did people take on different roles in the team? For example, the people most familiar with pitching tents might not have been full of creative ideas for shadow scenes.

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.

Poles and long objects

Be careful when moving poles or long items. Take care if the ends are sharp. Have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Scissors

Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Rubbish and recycling

All items should be clean and suitable for this activity.

  • You could change the theme of the shadow scene, for example, if you’re holding a themed camp.
  • You could create moving scenes if you want to.
  • It’s up to you how much support adult leaders provide when people are pitching and striking their tents. It’ll probably depend on how much time you have, and how experienced people are.

It’s OK if some people take different roles in pitching the tents. Anyone who finds the physical aspects tricky could check the instructions or direct everyone else – it’s always useful to have someone keeping an eye on everything to make sure the team’s working smoothly together!

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Outdoor Challenge Award

If people enjoyed the creative challenge, they could combine the scenes into a mega-scene. They could share their creation online, or with other groups.

Let young people steer this activity – they should work together to practise an important outdoor skill and flex their creative muscles by exploring the possibilities with their lightweight tents.