A large contingent of scouts and leaders from the Strzelecki Scout District had a great day out in Melbourne last month.
Mixing with more than 8000 other scouts from across Victoria at the inaugural Big Day Scout, scouts played a wide game that was a world-first – following SMS clues in a competition involving ‘selfies’, social media and street art.
According to Strzelecki District Commissioner, Sharon Noonan, games traditionally are outdoor games played over a large area, in open paddocks or the bush, usually at night, and involving 20 to 30 Scouts navigating in the dark or sneaking up on a guarded light.
“This time, they raced around Melbourne’s CBD, following multiples trails up lanes and through malls, trying to find 15 pieces of street art based on Scouting’s broad adventure program,” Ms Noonan said.
“The scouts literally surged from Federation Square at 10 am on Sunday and followed a trail of SMS clues containing an estimated 35,000 text messages. They photographed ‘selfies’ with each art work found and uploaded the photos to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #BigDayScout.
“The whole day was highly organised The painted walls and art installations are the work of some of Melbourne’s leading street artists, who have worked with local youth over recent months to plan and create the works.”
Well known actor and former scout Shane Jacobson was also inducted as Victoria’s Chief Scout.
This is usually a vice-regal position however, current Governor Alex Chernov AC will continue to support Scouts Victoria as its Patron.
Big Day Scout launched the 2015 Scouting year, promoting a new era of activities and an opportunity for all youth members to share through social media their scouting experiences and opportunities.
