On the flipside
You’ll need
- Scarves (such as neckers)
Feel joy, wonder, and calm when interacting with the natural world.
Before you begin
Choose an appropriate outdoor area for this activity. If you’re going to meet there (rather than at your usual meeting place), make sure parents and carers know exactly where you’ll be and what time to drop off and collect everyone.
Play the game
- Everyone should gather at the agreed place.
- The person leading the activity should explain any specific safety arrangements for the activity.
- Everyone should get into pairs.
- One people in each pair should tie their scarf over their eyes to make a blindfold.
- The other person in each pair should guide their blindfolded friend somewhere interesting and position them in a way that captures a unique view.
- Once they’re in position, the blindfolded person should feel, smell, and listen to everything around them. Can they work out what they’re looking at?
- After the blindfolded person has used their senses to explore where they are, they can remove their blindfold and take in the view.
Reflection
This activity gave everyone a chance to think about what makes a great leader. Some people had the chance to give leading a go.
What was it like to guide someone who couldn’t see? Was it a lot of responsibility? If the person leading hadn’t tried their best, others could’ve hurt themselves. It was important for the leaders to be trustworthy.
This activity was also about valuing the outdoors. Ask everyone to say three words about the nature they experienced.
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.
- Visits away from your meeting place
Complete a thorough risk assessment and include hazards, such as roads, woodland, plants, animals, and bodies of water (for example, rivers, ponds, lakes, and seas). You’ll probably need more adult helpers than usual. Your risk assessment should include how many adults you need. The young people to adult ratios are a minimum requirement. When you do your risk assessment, you might decide that you need more adults than the ratio specifies. Think about extra equipment that you may need to take with you, such as high visibility clothing, a first aid kit, water, and waterproofs. Throughout the activity, watch out for changes in the weather and do regular headcounts.
- Active games
The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
- The person guiding their blindfolded partner could lead them with worded directions only.
- Challenge people to rely on their other senses to guess where they are correctly before they remove their blindfold.
- People can move at their own pace – this isn’t a competitive game.
- No-one has to be blindfolded if they don’t want to be. They could just close their eyes, or they could choose someone else to have their turn.
- If it gets too noisy and anyone doesn’t like the noise, the person leading the activity can remind everyone to be quieter.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
