Make some DIY lawn darts
You’ll need
- Some gathered sticks
- A sharp knife
- Ribbon in different colours
- Rope or hula hoops
- Cones
- Some modeling clay (optional)
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
Planning this activity
- Make sure you check out our guidance on using a knife safely
Make the darts
- Find several straight sticks, about 30cm long and 2 to 3 cm in diameter. You should aim to collect six sticks that all roughly all the same size and width. You could also use sticks bought from a craft shop.
- An adult should carefully sharpen each stick to a point.
- If older sections, such as Scouts and Explorers, are doing this, a demonstration and safety advice should be given by an adult first, then the activity itself should be closely supervised.
- Cut three pieces of ribbon into around 15cm lengths. Tie the ribbon to the blunt end of your darts. These’ll act as a tail, helping to stabilise the dart’s flight
Sort your board
- Using some rope, create three or more circles on your lawn. These will be the targets. You could also use hula hoops.
- Using cones or another piece of rope, mark a throwing line about 10 metres away from the circles.
- You should agree the number of points that each target will be worth. You could write these on a piece of paper and put it next to the circle to help people to remember, too.
- Choose someone to keep score. This could be a young leader, adult volunteer or young person.
Play the game
- One at a time, each player should stand behind the throwing line and throws all three of their darts and attempt to land them on the target.
- To score points, the dart must both be in the circle and be sticking into the ground. It shouldn’t be flat on the ground.
- You might need to add some modelling clay around the dart at the sharp end, but not over the point. This will help to add some weight to the dart and help the dart fall in the right direction.
- Once all the darts have been thrown, the player should add up the points and
- The person should remove their darts before the next player goes. An adult should supervise the collection of the darts to make sure the playing area’s completely clear before throwing begins. Alternatively, an adult could collect the darts after each through.
- Make sure any observers are well away from the playing area and, again, make sure the playing area’s completely clear before throwing begins
- The winner’s the player or team who scores the most points.
Reflection
It’s really satisfying to make a fun game that you might usually buy. How well did your lawn darts work? Will you keep them and play with them again? Did you find any good techniques to use? Did you share this with anyone? How did you encourage the other players? If you didn’t land in the hoop, what did you do next time? Did you persevere and try again?
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.
- Outdoor activities
You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.
- Gardening and nature
Everyone must wash their hands after the activity has finished. Wear gloves if needed. Explain how to safely use equipment and set clear boundaries so everyone knows what’s allowed.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- To make it easier or harder, you could add or remove the competitive element from the game.
- To make it easier, you could pre-cut the sticks into the dart shape. You may also want to leave the sticks as you found them, rather than cutting or shaping them into a point.
- If people may struggle with making the darts, is there another way they could join in? Could they be the referee? Could you purchase or make some darts for everyone to use instead of asking people to make them themselves? You could pre-cut the tissue paper or pre-sharpen the sticks, as needed.
- If anyone needs help or struggles with fine motor skills, give them the opportunity to work in pairs, with a young leader or an adult volunteer. Alternatively, swap out the items for something easier to handle.
- You should try to make your obstacles as accessible as possible for everyone your group. For example, you could have some hoops closer to the throwing line to make them achievable for everyone.
- Picking up materials could be a challenge – so ask helpers to assist with collecting.
- Think about the space you’ll be in and the equipment you’re using in advance to make sure it’s accessible to everyone in the group. For example, by avoiding steps or including space to rest. Make sure the course and any objects or obstacles used are suitable for everyone in your group, too.
- If needed, let people be in bigger groups to make sure everyone’s supported in taking part in the activity. A young leader could join a group to help people to take part, too.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
You could try making some other garden games, such as bowling skittles or outdoor noughts and crosses.