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Description

Active filler game involving clearing meteors (soft balls) from a planets atmosphere while learning what a meteor is.

Resources

Soft balls (at least 20), could also use scrunched up paper or foil depending on the size of the space.
Tape or cones to mark the boundary.

Instructions

Divide the area you are in, into two halves using tape or cones if needed. Leaving a small gap between the two sides works well to stop Beavers moving into the other teams accidentally.
Whilst a leader is explaining the below, another can scatter balls evenly across the two sides (or the game can be set up beforehand).

Explain to the beavers that each side of the room is a different planet: Earth or Mars for example. As planets orbit the Sun sometimes they come across dusty trails and debris left over from a passing comet (a giant icy, dusty rock from further out in space). When the pieces enter our atmosphere they are called a meteor. Most burn up because we have a protective atmosphere made of air. Ask the Beavers to rub their hands together for a few seconds. Can they feel the heat? This is because of friction, which happens when two things rub against another. When the very fast moving meteor ‘rubs’ against the air in our atmosphere it causes enough heat to break them up or burn them (have they ever seen a ‘shooting star’? This is a meteor burning up!) but some reach the surface (meteorites), usually bigger ones.

In this game the mission is to work as a team to clear the atmosphere of meteors by throwing them out of their side. Explain that the beavers need to take care not to throw at anyone else (aim low) and that they must not cross the boundary. They will have a time limit (1-2 mins) and at the end they will stop on a command like freeze/stop or a whistle being blown. They must not throw any more balls after this. The balls/meteors on each side will be counted to determine which planets team have cleared the most and have survived the meteor shower. The beavers can do the counting themselves and whisper their total to the leader for a bit more suspense before the winner is revealed!
You can play multiple rounds of the game, adding more challenges if needed e.g using non dominant hand to throw, hopping while throwing, gathering a ball for a team meet to throw etc) and once the final game is over, everyone should help clear up.

Tags

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Badge Links

• Space - Life on Earth
• Teamwork - Team game