Personnel: Bobcat candidate, parents, Cubmaster
Equipment: 1x6 board, 2 nails, 2 strings 18" long, 2 metal washers
1. Drive a nail into each end of the board, slightly off-center.
With 1/4" left protruding. Print ACHIEVEMENT on one side of the board and PARENT COOPERATION on the other. Tie a washer to one end of each of the strings.
2. Ask the Bobcat candidate to take the string and washer and lift the board from the floor by hooking the washer over the nail. It will slip off.
3. Ask the Bobcat's parents to try the same thing with the same string.
4. When they have tried and failed, pull the second string from your pocket and give it to the boy. Tell him and his parents to put a washer on each nail and together pull the board up. Together, they should succeed. The board should slip so the words can be seen.
1. Explain that achievements in Cub Scouting will always depend on the Cub Scout and his parents working together, just as they have done tonight.