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Description

Visit a place of worship and share your experiences.

Source: https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/what-can-you-spot/

Resources

Pens or pencils
Camera or phone
‘What can you spot?’ sheet PDF

Take it further
If there are places of worship near your meeting place, you could also explore the buildings and services that make up your local community, and meet someone who serves your community. Then you’d also meet requirement one of the Beavers My World Challenge Award. You could also take photographs on your visit, to work towards your Beaver Photographer Activity Badge.

Youth shaped guidance
It’s up to you how you decide where to visit. Maybe you could bring in a map or list of nearby places, and ask people to choose which one they’d most like to visit. What are people’s reasons? How will you make the final decision?

Instructions

Before you begin
• Let everyone have their say about where they’d like to visit, but try to choose somewhere people don’t usually go, or a place related to a faith they don’t know much about.
• Once you’ve chosen a place, it can take a while to get in contact and arrange a date and time.
• Don’t forget to do your risk assessment, and let parents and carers know all of the details. Why not invite them along on the visit? Between everyone, you may know someone who worships at the place you’re visiting—perhaps they’d like to act as guides.


Visiting the place of worship
1 Once everyone’s arrived, split into four groups (there should be an adult with each group). It’s up to you whether you travel there together from your usual meeting place, or whether you ask parents and carers to take people straight to the place of worship.
2 The person leading the activity should remind everyone that they need to be respectful in the building. Everyone should think about what this means, and share their suggestions. Ideas could include being quiet, and remembering it’s a place people may be worshipping or praying. Everyone should follow any rules or guidelines they’re given, and no one should touch anything unless they’re told it’s OK, as some of the objects may be sacred or delicate.
3 Everyone should go into the place of worship, and use their senses to see how it feels. What can they see and hear? What does it smell like? If you’re allowed to touch anything, how does it feel? Otherwise, what’s the temperature like? Is the ground hard or soft?
4 The person leading the activity should give each group the ‘What can you spot?’ sheet, and some pens or pencils. They may give each group a camera or smartphone too, if the people at the place of worship say it’s OK.
5 Each group should start with a different set of questions, so it doesn’t get too crowded. They should move around and answer all of the questions.


After the visit
It’s up to you whether you return to your normal meeting place and talk there, or whether you stay at the place of worship and ask parents and carers to collect everyone from there.
1 Everyone should gather together in a circle.
2 Each group should take it in turns to share their favourite part of the visit, and something they found out that they didn’t know before.
3 Everyone should think about how they’d like to thank the place of worship for hosting them. They may decide to send letters, cards, or drawings. The person leading the activity should help everyone decide and create their thank you. It might be easiest to decide together, and then make the thank you the next time you meet.


Reflection
- It was important to respect others during your visit. Why are places of worship important for people? They’re a space people can gather together, pray, and celebrate, and they’re also a calm space to reflect. Think about a place that’s really special to you, and how relaxed and happy you feel there. That’s how some people feel about the place they go to worship. How did you show respect and trust for other people, even though some of them probably had different backgrounds and beliefs to you?
- This visit also reminded you that you’re a local, national, and international citizen. The people at the place of worship are also local, national, and international citizens. Did they do anything differently to you? Was anything the same? Why is it important that people can go to places of worship if they want to?


Change the level of challenge
- The adult in each group can help with the reading and writing. It’s OK if people want to draw the answer instead of writing.
- You may want to turn it into a competition—you could offer a prize (for example, choosing a game to play when you next meet) to the group with the most right answers.
- You might have the chance to ask someone from the place of worship questions. If you do, it may be a good idea to help everyone think of some before it’s question time, in case minds go blank in the moment.
- Some people may like to look at any leaflets or books that are available to find out more.

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Badge Links

• Faith - Visit