Outreach orienteering

Requirements:
The Orienteering Merit Badge

Materials Needed:

• At least 2 compasses 
• Different examples of maps ( I went to the Forest Service and they gave me a BUNCH of information and a couple hiking trail maps for free then I bought a topographical map for myself from them... The scout office might have topo maps since we were usually getting new ones at camp from them)
• In the scout shop there is an orienteering course that you can buy with a purchase order. You don't need it but it is optional. I went online and got free orienteering course instructions so yeah. 

I love hiking! What do we need to do if we go on a hike? (tell someone where, bring water, etc) What are some things we can to to be nice to other people on the trail? How do we not get lost? Show scouts the different maps. I put one on each table and had them rotate around so that they could get a good look. All the maps were of Ogden (their home area) so it was fun pointing out places that they knew. We talked about different ways to read a map and how they can use a map. We even talked about google maps and maps on the internet and how they can be useful. 

Then I got out the compasses. I had 2 for 8 kids. We talked about the degrees and the arrow and different parts. Then we talked about how to use it and paces. I handed each group a different set of degrees and paces then they had to race to figure out how to do it. It was pretty basic. I just did triangles. 

If you have extra times you can have them draw a map of their neighborhood and ask them what important things they put on their map. 

Resources:
This website shows how to use a compass with a map in case you don't know.
http://funadventureforboys.com/2013/09/13/wilderness-survival-skills-training-how-to-use-a-compass-2/

This website shows how to read topo maps and use a compass.
http://offgridsurvival.com/navigation-how-to-read-topographic-maps/