Navigation

Scoutmastercg.com

Inspiration, Information and Ideas for Scout Leaders

Current Article

INDEX

Navigation

You are here: Home / Outdoor Program / Pioneering Tower Challenge
INDEX

Pioneering Tower Challenge

By

Email, RSS Follow
Pin It

pioneering tower

Pioneering tower challenge; build this tower using this sketch. Send me a picture of the result! It won’t be easy, certainly, but is it possible?

You may want to refer to this book for a little help.

Email, RSS Follow
Pin It
Tags: ,

Comments

  1. Of course, that is dependent on having a place to store those poles! And having a way to carry them to campouts. Must be nice!!

    • After 20 years working with units on their pioneering programs, I’ve finally built my own personal Spar Barn, and if I do say so myself, it’s beautiful! Before that, we’ve stored our spars in supply closets where troops meet, under makeshift tarp shelters outdoors, and to varying extents at Scout Camp facilities.

      As for transporting the longer spars, folks mostly use flatbed trailers, but we see them lashed to the top of troop trailers and frequently in the back of pickup trucks.

      “Determination remains the enduring answer to most problems.” — John Thurman, Camp Chief, Gilwell Park

  2. Even you could build it (using fourth dimensional space) it still couldn’t be more than 3 feet tall according to the BSA’s current, enlightened, rules.

    • Mike; since you posted your comment I have been looking through the Guide to Safe Scouting for restrictions on pioneering projects. Can’t find the rules to which you refer. Can you enlighten me? Before I have my Troop do this project?

      • I was being a bit facetious. Nevertheless, check out the section on “Working at Heights”:

        http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2012/05/01/check-the-bsas-tool-use-policy-before-your-next-service-project/comment-page-1/

        Not sure how you can allow anyone under 18 to work on the construction of any pioneering tower more than four feet off the ground, or climb a finished one of greater than six feet in height. My reading of this is that even if you built the ‘real’ version of the tower shown in this article and anyone got hurt, you would be in violation of Scouting rules — and thus legally liable.

        Welcome to the Brave New World of Scouting.

        • Hi Mike and Keith. At the Jamboree, we constructed six towers in the Pioneering Area. Two of them were built for climbing and adhered to the present BSA policy and restrictions. They got a lot of play and were climbed on gleefully, consistently and continually by the troops and crews visiting Garden Ground Mountain. Here’s a post with photos and descriptions of the two climbing towers we put up: http://scoutpioneering.com/2013/08/07/climbing-towers-at-the-jamboree/

          By the way, with all the designs out there, and there are MANY, these shorter structures still provide interesting engineering challenges, require Scout Pioneering skills, careful planning and necessary teamwork. And, they’re FUN. But, let’s bear in mind, a whole lot of pioneering is done close to the ground. Let’s not forget impressive gateways, amazing (and often very useful) camp gadgets, and of course BRIDGES!

          One last thing. Though I’m fine with abiding by the present height restrictions, I still fondly remember the good ole days when there were no height issues. Scouts could have very safely climbed our Double Ladder Signal Tower, Hour Glass Tower, and Stilt Tower, and been VERY safe. Pioneering accidents, as really rare as they have been in Scouting’s history, mainly result through carelessness and slipshod pioneering skills. The accidents and injuries at this last Jamboree were MANY, stemming primarily from BMX and mountain biking, far, far more (way, way more) than have ever occurred related to Pioneering.

  3. I didn’t know M.C.Escher wrote a book on pioneering projects. What intrigues me is how you where one finds the right wood to make those bends from the front – to – back corners and sides. We want some of that wood! Great drawing!

    • Craig and Jim:

      Of course, depending upon where you’re located, getting the spars you need for the projects you want to build can be a challenge, perhaps now more than ever. As in anything worth the undertaking, there are a variety of obstacles we might encounter, some easy to overcome, others standing four square in our way requiring more attention and effort.

      Where to find the spars???? (We’re not all as fortunate as the ever-lovable Doug Young who is the Scoutmaster of a new troop in Oregon focusing on Pioneering.) Here is a link to a blog post entitled: Pioneering Stumbling Blocks for Those Who haven’t Gotten Started Yet: http://scoutpioneering.com/2013/04/30/pioneering-stumbling-blocks-for-those-who-havent-gotten-started-yet/ Read Stumbling Block 3.

  4. Craig; We keep a large supply of poles we have collected over the years in storage, and take them with us to campouts and other times when we are doing pioneering projects. It has been many years since we have had to add to our collection. However, as you see appropriate deadfall make use of it to build your Troop’s supply.

  5. Most of the towers we build end up being asymmetrical despite our best intentions, but even so I doubt we could build this “tower of babel”. My biggest complaint with pioneering now is with safety rules, boys are not even allowed to climb up the tower without helmets, ropes, etc. I look at those videos from South African Troops and just go wow! We would never be allowed to build something like that at Scout camp.

  6. Craig: We sometimes ask the government (in Quebec) to go on an acre of wood they are going to cut down entirely, and we go before them to take all the wood we can.

  8. Our troop is starting Pioneering Merit Badge this month, I’ll be sure to pass this along to the counselor and scouts. We’re doing a pioneering camp-out in November and I’ll encourage the scouts to give this one a go 🙂

  9. The problem I’ve noticed about pioneering projects nowadays is the availability of the timbers to do so. Even 40 years ago when I was building these towers, it was a lot of time and effort to do things like select “double trees” in order to remove one side and other responsible thinning. We continually discourage the Scouts from cutting trees. I’ve seen bamboo chosen as an alternative, but that poses other problems. So what is the alternative for providing Scouts with timbers for these large pioneering projects, or even the wood for basic scoutcraft structures that we would build on a weekend camping trip? Particularly when we are teaching them Leave No Trace! principles?