99 Ideas for Den Meetings

  1. Boys put on a sample den meeting for parents.
  2. Indoor track meet, e.g., feather toss, straw throw, balloon heave, standing broad jump, "foot race" by measuring foot length.
  3. Visit a newspaper office.
  4. Visit a match factory.
  5. Visit the zoo.
  6. Kickball game using a ball of rags or feathers.
  7. Visit a farm.
  8. Den bowling tournament.
  9. Parents take den to a sporting event.
  10. Ice-skating or roller-skating.
  11. Parent with an interesting occupation tells boys about it (e.g., jet pilot, police officer, fire fighter, etc.).
  12. Parent with a special hobby tells and displays it (e.g., model-making).
  13. Backyard breakfast cookout.
  14. Work on an achievement everyone needs.
  15. Treasure hunt.
  16. Scavenger hunt for Cub Scout objects.
  17. Marble shooting contest.
  18. Safety inspection of everyone's bikes.
  19. Pet exhibit. Each Cub Scout brings and tells about his.
  20. Boys bring their collections (stamps, etc.) and tell about them.
  21. Game-making day - ring toss, box hockey, etc.
  22. Use pinewood derby cars in a game, e.g., roll on pavement and try to stop in marked areas for points.
  23. Archery at a local archery range.
  24. Star high school or college athlete tells about his sport.
  25. Fishing for prizes (largest, longest, smallest, etc.).
  26. Visit a Monmouth County Historic Site.
  27. Go on a tour with the New Jersey Audubon Society's Owl Haven Nature Center.
  28. Local geography day. Using local maps have the scouts guide the den to some of the principal local civic buildings.
  29. Have an Explorer Scout tell about Philmont.
  30. Have a Boy Scout tell about a jamboree.
  31. Telephone day - boys stay home, call each other with relay messages on a prearranged plan.
  32. Visit a weather station.
  33. Use a phone chain to cancel a regular meeting and call a special "surprise" meeting.
  34. Shell collecting at the beach.
  35. Woods hike for leaf collections.
  36. Visit to The Monmouth Museum located on the campus of Brookdale Community College.
  37. Friend with an unusual experience tells about it.
  38. Visit to fire station.
  39. Visit to police station or New Jersey State Police Museum & Learning Center.
  40. Science teacher presents a project.
  41. Night meeting to study the stars. Find out what's in tonight's sky from The Earth and Sky Radio Show.
  42. Dinosaur day - each boy brings his models.
  43. Model day (planes, cars, etc.) - each boy displays his best.
  44. Visit the telephone company.
  45. Visit hobby store; on return, make a list all the hobbies the boys can think of.
  46. Den uniform inspection.
  47. Visit the airport.
  48. Design new closing ceremonies.
  49. Visit a library; librarian tells what services are provided besides books. Each boy gets a card and takes out a book.
  50. Bird-watching contest for most birds and most different kinds.
  51. Boys mix, bake, ice, and eat cupcakes.
  52. Science day with microscope. Look at hair, water, etc.
  53. Magic day with each boy doing his favorite trick.
  54. Session on first aid.
  55. Bait-casting practice (with parents' help).
  56. Contest for judging weight, sizes of objects, heights.
  57. Have a swap day.
  58. Play charades.
  59. Local postal worker tells about their work.
  60. Without a watch, each boy tries to walk around the block in an exact number of minutes.
  61. Photography hobbyist takes pictures of each boy, who then sees the photo developed.
  62. Make puppets for show.
  63. Make sailboats to race on a pond.
  64. Go rock collecting.
  65. Mother Day gifts.
  66. Joke telling. Pick den winner by vote.
  67. Tall-tale contest. Pick den winner by vote.
  68. Ping Pong contest (or basket-shooting, miniature golf, baseball throw, hockey, etc.)
  69. Build birdhouses.
  70. Make and fly paper airplanes.
  71. Hat-making contest. Supply paper, string, and paste. Judge for largest, smallest, most unusual, most historical, most debonair, etc.
  72. Practice Cub Scout or other songs. Enter lip-sync contest.
  73. Make collages of old holiday cards.
  74. Build den equipment box.
  75. Build den window display.
  76. Jump-rope contest.
  77. Catch butterflies.
  78. Coin collector shows coins.
  79. Visit the Tuckerton Seaport.
  80. Scrambled word game, using Cub Scout words.
  81. Make Indian masks out of paper bags, or make entire costumes.
  82. Make clay models, paint, and fire them.
  83. Have plastic models to work on only at den meetings.
  84. Softball game with another den.
  85. Handicrafts - beads, belts, paints, etc.
  86. Start a crystal-growing hobby.
  87. Service project for church or school.
  88. Make den scrapbook of photos and souvenirs.
  89. Plant a vegetable garden.
  90. Cub Scouts plan next month's activity.
  91. Visit botanical garden, aquarium (Jenkinson's Aquarium) or planetarium (Robert J. Novins Planetarium, Ocean County College, College Dr. (off Hooper Ave.), 08754-2001, (732) 255-0342).
  92. During fall roundup and Scouting Anniversary Week, den gives program in school classroom to tell and show what Cub Scouting is.
  93. Make neckerchief slides.
  94. Make Halloween costumes.
  95. Build a papier-mâché fort or Indian camp.
  96. Lifeguard or Boy Scout demonstrates water safety.
  97. Tour two blocks and look for safety hazards.
  98. Develop a new den skit.
  99. Cubmaster speaks to den about how it can provide fun for all.

Based on an article by James R. Gregg, in the 1986 Pow Wow Book of the W.D. Boyce Council, Peoria, IL