Fowl Play - Art - 200

“After a thousand watercolors you
will find you have fallen in love
with paper and paint.”

-Rex Brandt

Objective:

Find a feather then create a watercolor painting of it.

Details:

1) Gather your art materials. You’ll need:

• Watercolor Paints (This objective requires watercoloring. Please don’t substitute another medium)

• A Brush

• Watercolor Paper (Not 100% necessary, but makes for a better experience)

2) (Optional) If you are new to watercolors, consider tackling our H20 art objective before continuing on with this one.

3) Aquire a feather. You can find one yourself or buy one. Finding one yourself might take a while, but will be an interesting experience in itself. You’ll be seeing feathers for months after your concerted effort to find one. If you do buy one, do your best to buy a genuine feather.

4) Make a watercolor of your feather. This may be a learning process, so feel free to give this a try several times. Remember that while you’ll be doing your best to reproduce your feather on the page, it won’t look exactly the same. (And that’s not a bad thing!)

If you’re not sure where to get started, check out “A Feather” from Kateri Ewing as she shows you her artistic process.

5) Take a photo of your best watercolor feather next to the original feather. Share it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your art in our Facebook group.

Fowl Play - Photography - 150

Objective:

Take a photo that includes birds in flight.

Details:

1) Stay alert. You’ll increase the likelihood of grabbing the perfect shot by keeping this objective top of mind.

2) Keep your standards high! Your goal is not just to get a photo of a bird in flight, but to get a photo whose subject and composition you feel proud of. This might mean pursuing this objective over a long period of time. Remember, while the subject of your photo may be the birds themselves, it’s also ok to have the birds play a supporting role. Just make sure you feel the birds help tell the story of the photo.

3) When you’ve taken the perfect shot, post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your photo in our Facebook group.
 

Fowl Play - Find - 300

Objective:

Search for or hide a geocache or letterbox honoring our feathered friends.

Details:

1) Choose an avian related theme that appeals to you.

Need some inspiration? What about…

• Highlighting a specific bird species

• Creating a puzzle about migration patterns

• Encouraging your finders to do some birding on the way to the hide and report what they saw in their log

• Providing a feather quill for the purposes of log signing

• Hiding your cache/box inside a fake birdhouse

2) Create a geocache or letterbox that highlights your feathered friends theme.

IMPORTANT! Make sure that as you create your hide, it truly is an homage to birds.

Your hide should utilize AT LEAST TWO of the following:

• A name that alludes to your theme

• An in theme logbook

• An in theme container

• A stamp relevant to your theme (Letterboxes, Letterbox Hybrids)

• Written information about your theme (Teach them something!)

• Be hidden at a relevant location

3) Hide, submit and have your hide approved.

4) Take a photo of your hide (either at its resting place or in progress) and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your hide in our Facebook group.

5) Give us a link to your hide in the comments below. Additionally, tell us which of the two hide requirements listed about you included.

*A "find/hide" can be either a geocache or letterbox. Not familiar with either? Watch this video by Groundspeak, the #1 lister of geocaches or read about letterboxing from Atlas Quest. However, if you've never geocached or letterboxed, we highly suggest you start with a different find objective. It's best to make 100+ finds before you hide.

Fowl Play - DIY - 300

Objective:

Taste a less conventionally eaten bird egg.

Details:

1) Choose a bird egg that is not commonly consumed in your country. For those who live in the US, this means any bird egg that is not from a chicken or duck. You are also highly encouraged to choose an egg type you haven’t previously eaten.

Edible bird eggs include:

Turkey
Goose
Quail
Pheasant
Emu
Ostrich

2) Do your research and figure out where you can acquire your “exotic” egg. Then go get one!

3) If you eat the egg at a restaurant, this step is already done for you. For our home chefs, you’ll need to research how to prepare your egg, and then cook it.

4) Great, you’ve got a cooked egg in front of you. Now give it a try!

5) Take a photo to document your culinary adventure and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your photo in our Facebook group.

6) In the comments below, describe your egg tasting journey. What egg did you try? Where did you get it? How was it prepared. And, most importantly, did it taste like chicken?!

Note: If (and only if) you have a dietary restriction that makes eating eggs a problem, please do the alternative Fowl Play DIY objective instead.

Fowl Play - DIY ALTERNATIVE - 300

THIS IS THE ALTERNATIVE DIY OBJECTIVE. PLEASE ONLY COMPLETE THIS OBJECTIVE IF YOU HAVE A DIETARY RESTRICTION THAT PREVENTS YOU FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE OBJECTIVE LISTED ON THE QUEST CARD.

Objective:

Build a functional birdhouse or bird feeder.

Details:

1) Decide whether you’d like to make a birdhouse or bird feeder. Then, browse the web for DIY instructions or inspiration that work for you.

Inspiration:

Simple Classic “One Board” Birdhouse

PVC Pipe Birdhouse

Living Roof Birdhouse

A Replica of Your Own House for birds!

Lego Bird Feeder

Wine Bottle Bird Feeder

Note: We’re BUILDING here! Please don’t buy a prefabricated birdhouse and embellish it.

2) Make your birdhouse or bird feeder.

3) Place your creation outside for the birds to enjoy! (This is the best part!)

4) After placing it outside, take a photo of your creation and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your experience in our Facebook group.

5) In the comments below, describe your DIY process. What did you make make? What inspiration or tutorials, if any, did you use? Was it any fun? Did anything interesting happen? Did you learn anything?

Fowl Play - Research - Up to 100

Objective:

Learn and practice a bird call.

Details:

1) Spend some time researching bird calls. How do you make them? Which birds are most often mimicked? Which birds are most easily mimicked?

2) Choose a call you’d like to imitate, then practice the call. (+50)

Notes: (1) If your research points you to instruments that help you create the sound, you’re welcome to use them! (2) Obviously this doesn’t include simply playing an audio recording of the bird. We want you to physically recreate the sound.

3) Record your best shot at your bird call. Remember, you’re not expected to “practice until perfect” on this relatively low point objective. The whole exercise, start to finish, is expected to take about an hour.

4) Share your recording with the Quest Scouts community (+50) by posting a link to it in the comments below.

Host the call anywhere you like. We suggest Youtube for video files, and Soundcloud for audio files. Really, you can host anywhere you’d like as long as it’s accessible to all.

IMPORTANT: You have not completed this portion of the objective if you have not made your call accessible through a public link below. For most objectives, we're pretty loose about the posting requirements. This is not the case here.

5) The points! Imitating the call in the privacy of your home (1-2) is +50 points. Sharing your recorded call (3-4) with your fellow scouts is another +50 points, for a total of 100. If you choose not to share your call, but still try it out on your own, you may collect 50 points without the additional 50 points you would have earned for sharing.

Up In Flames Micro Objective - Art - 50

Quest Scouts inspires your to squeeze the most out of life while collecting real-life, physical badges. 

Objective:

Watch videos of four unique methods for creating art with fire.

Details:

1) Watch the four videos below for 10+ minutes. Since this is a micro objective, feel free to skip portions of the larger videos if you find you’re not interested in them. Of course, if you want to watch them all in full, more power to you!

Using gasoline and fireworks to burn an image into wood

Mitsuo Shoji speaks of a child-like fascination with fire, and like many ceramic artists, is intrigued by the serendipitous action of the kiln, its alchemical transformative power. A childhood fascination with drawing suggested an artistic bent, but Mitsuo enrolled in the ceramics department of the prestigious Kyoto University of Art and Music because it had the least number of students. Under the guidance of luminaries Yagi Kazuo (1918-1979), founder of the Sodeisha Movement and regarded as the pioneer of modern Japanese ceramics, and Kiyomizu Kyubei (Rokubei VII 1922-2006), Mitsuo adopted clay as his sculptural medium. Mitsuo’s early career consisted of concept-driven installations influenced by Sodeisha’s mission to validate ceramics as autonomous fine art. This experimental phase saw him “pouring clay onto the floor and watching it crack”. A meeting with leading American ceramic artist Paul Soldner (1921-2011) whom Mitsuo describes as “more Japanese than I was at the time”, caused a reassessment of approach. Soldner remained committed to function and lamented the diluting of Japanese tradition. In the environs of Kyoto, renowned for its traditions in both ceramic and cuisine, Mitsuo broadened his repertoire to include functional vessels. Mitsuo’s contemporary practice consists primarily of elegantly powerful hand built sculptural forms and mixed media paintings. His signature ceramic technique, one he says is still emerging, is a continuing evolution of ‘zogan’ , the inlaying of coloured materials in the main ceramic body. His Japanese heritage can be seen in the symbolic circles of Zen and in his interpretations of Shinto kami, the spirits that inhabit all living things. His inlay designs are influenced by the cadences of Buddhist chanting. In Mitsuo’s paintings, we see the merging of Australian experience with Japanese heritage. His early love of drawing has manifested serendipitously through the language of ceramics. The random patterns of materials- slip and foil- on boards recording the details of ceramic firings suggested landscapes and were the catalyst for experimentation. Oil and acrylic paints failed, but the beloved crayons of his childhood, burnt on the surface of the boards together with applied gold and silver foil, created wondrous textural landscapes: “ painting like burned bushfire, burned bark- aboriginal people burn bark”. Mitsuo cites Paul Cezanne “Everything in nature is formed upon the sphere, the cone and the cylinder” as inspiration for a significant and continuing body of work that uses these forms literally to question the meaning of life. Hints of the mystical symbols of alchemy and seductive moonscapes suggest the landscape of the psyche beyond the physical. In 1973 Mitsuo began his professional career at Caulfield Institute of Technology, met his wife Chris and began ‘calling Australia home’. An illustrious 29 year teaching career at Sydney University has culminated in the recent award of an Honorary Associate Professorship. Thirty-six years later at the peak of a nationally and internationally acclaimed career.

Ya está terminado mi nuevo Proyecto de Fire Painting. He utilizado una iluminación cálida (con velas) porque estoy cansado de la tonalidad fría de la iluminación artificial, con las velas la escena adquiere un tono mas realista para mi gusto. En ningún momento ha habido peligro de provocar un incendio, he permanecido sin separarme en todo momento al lado de la escena hasta terminar el plano. Todas las localizaciones se han hecho en Extremadura y llevo 6 meses con este Proyecto que al fin ve la luz. He utilizado para hacer este Timelapse: Canon 100d Canon7d Lentes: Tokina 11-16mm f2,8/Canon 15-85mm f 3,5/Canon 50 mm f1,8.

Artist Betsy Eby creates encaustic paintings influenced by rhythms of nature and classical music.

2) In the comments below, let us know a) Which art was most visually pleasing to you and b) Which type of art you think would be most fun to create.

Up In Flames Micro Objective - Literature - 50

Quest Scouts inspires your to squeeze the most out of life while collecting real-life, physical badges. 

Objective:

Read Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire” then re-write the protagonist’s adventure.

Details:

1) Read “To Build a Fire,” written by Jack London in 1908.

2) After reading, think about decisions our protagonist makes throughout his journey, and the outcomes that follow those decisions. What positive qualities does our protagonist have? What about negative qualities? What might our protagonist have done differently?

3) Just for fun, let’s re-write the ending of this story! Choose any point on page 78 to move the story in a different direction. Write 1-2 paragraphs that push our protagonist in a new direction.

4) Share your modified ending in the comments below!

Up In Flames Micro Objective - DIY - 50

Quest Scouts inspires your to squeeze the most out of life while collecting real-life, physical badges. 

Objective:

Light a candle and relax in its glow.

Details:

This micro objective is what you make of it. Sure, it’s simple! But we hope that you’ll take this opportunity to create and appreciate an atmosphere of calm and relaxation. Enjoy!

1) Grab a candle! You certainly don’t have to, but this would be a great excuse to “treat yo self” to a brand new, slightly overpriced candle.

2) Wait for (or plan) a time where you can truly relax. Evening, or a nice rainy day, would be great.

3) Light your candle and relax. Read a book, work on a puzzle, listen to music- do whatever you want!

4) In the comments below, describe your relaxing moment. What did the candle feel/smell like? What activity did you partake in?

Up In Flames - Media - 150

Objective:

Watch one of the fire themed movies or documentaries from the list provided.

Details:

1) Watch one of the fire themed movies or documentaries listed below.

2) Let us know which you watched and what you thought of it in the comments below.

They're the heroes that represent the best of America. #OnlyTheBrave, Based on the True Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots - now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital: www.onlythebrave-movie.com Subscribe to Sony Pictures for exclusive video updates: http://bit.ly/SonyPicsSubscribe Follow Us on Social: https://www.facebook.com/OnlyTheBraveMovie https://www.instagram.com/OnlyTheBraveMovie/ To learn more about how you can support the wildland firefighter communities through THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN FUND, go to WWW.ONLYTHEBRAVE-MOVIE.COM All men are created equal...

Only The Brave

Available through Amazon Prime Video

Directed by: Gianfranco Rosi Fire at Sea Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Documentary Capturing life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis. Subscribe to INDIE & FILM FESTIVALS: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYg Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn We're on SNAPCHAT: http://bit.ly/2cOzfcy Like us on FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/1QyRMsE Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt You're quite the artsy one, aren't you?

Fire At Sea

Available through Netflix and Amazon Prime Video

"Woman on Fire" follows Brooke Guinan, the first openly transgender firefighter in New York City. A character-driven documentary, the film follows Brooke as she sets out to challenge perceptions of what it means to be transgender in today's America.

Woman On Fire

Available through Amazon Prime Video

This is the trailer for the Lifetime movie Trial By Fire (although at the end you will see the working title "Raging Inferno"). I cut this trailer and it was rather difficult because we had none of the VFX shots done, so I had to substitute shots from...

Trial by Fire (aka Smoke Jumper)

Available through Netflix DVD 

Up In Flames - Literature - 300

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than
any dream made or paid for in factories.” 

– Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451

Objective:

Choose and read a highly combustable book from our fiery reading list.

Details:

1) Choose and read a fire themed book from the list provided.

Quest Scouts Fiery Reading List:

The Big Burn: Teddy Rosevelt and the Fire That Saved America
by Timothy Egan

Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury

Blaze: The Forensics of Fire
by Nicholas Faith

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871: the story of the blaze that destroyed the Midwest's largest city
by Charles River Editors (Suggested by Zoma Olson)

The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon (Suggested by Zoma Olson)

The Esperanza Fire: arson, murder, and the agony of Engine 57 by John N. Maclean (Suggested by Zoma Olson)

Granite Mountain: The Firsthand Account of a Tragic Wildfire, Its Lone Survivor, and the Firefighters Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice by Brendan McDonough (Suggested by Michael Forrest)

2) Check out the book from you local library, buy it at your local bookstore or get it on Amazon.

3) Read the book! (Listening to the audio version is ok too!)

4) Write a short book review and post it in the comments below. Include the title, author, and things that you liked or disliked about the book. If you read a non-fiction book, also include 3 things you learned while reading. 

Up In Flames - Photography - 250

“If your house was burning, what would
you take with you? It's a conflict
between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take
reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question.”

-Foster Huntington

Objective:

Take a “Burning House Project” photo.

Details:

1) Spend some time checking out the photos at The Burning House Project.

2) Take a day or two to contemplate what you would bring with you if you only had a few moments to evacuate your house. (Of course, in an actual fire, many don’t have this luxury. This is a best case scenario, hypothetical exercise.) Don’t skip this step! This is as much a thought exercise as it is a photography objective.

3) Take your own Burning House Project photo, and write a caption to go along with it. Your caption may be a simple list of the items pictured, or a more detailed explanation of why and how you chose the items you did.

4) Share your photo and caption on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. You can also share your experiences in our Facebook group.

Note: If your photo is too personal, you may choose not to share on social media. It’s fine to keep this objective to yourself.

Up In Flames - Travel - 300

“It is not light that we need, but fire;
it is not the gentle shower, but
thunder. We need the storm,
the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”

-Frederick Douglass

Objective:

Attend a fire centric festival or community event.

Details:

1) Identify an upcoming fire centric event. This might take a bit of research and planning.

Inspiration:

Festivals, like Michigan Nordic Fire Festival or the Redding Fire Festival.

Fire safety demonstrations, like those that happen at Florida Fire Fest.

Fire station open house demonstrations, like those put on by Roanoke Texas. 

Community marshmallow roasts, like the one thrown by the Town of Tecumseh in Ontatio, Canada.

Note: 1) Key to this objective is the community aspect. We're not looking for an event at your house, or a friends house. We're looking for a public event related to fire. 2) There should be live fire, as in actual flames, as a component of the event you choose. 

2) Go to the event! 

3) Take a photo at the event and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your photo in our Facebook group.

4) In the comments below, describe your fire filled adventure. Who did you go with? Was it any fun? Did anything interesting happen? Did you learn anything?

Up In Flames - Visit - 300

Objective:

Dine at a fondue restaurant.

Details:

1) Identify a fondue restaurant you’d like to try. This might be a restaurant that specializes in fondue, or a restaurant that simply has fondue as an option on the menu. If you’ve been to a fondue restaurant before, consider trying out a new restaurant or ordering a cheese outside your comfort zone.

Alternative Objective: Instead of dining out, prepare and serve fondue at home. Use fancy cheeses if at all possible! Please note, we encourage you to dine out for this objective! Even if it takes advanced planning, we think it will be worth the effort. However, we’re allowing this alternative due to potential geographic, financial and/or dietary issues.

2) Visit the fondue restaurant. Make sure to eat up and have a great time.

3) Take a photo while at the fondue restaurant and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your fondue photos in our Facebook group.

4) In the comments below, describe your fondue dining experience. Where did you go? What type of cheese(s) and additional ingredients did your fondue contain? Was this your first time at a fondue restaurant? What made this trip special?

Up In Flames - Art - 250

“The artist has to be a guardian
of the culture.”

-Robert Longo

Objective:

Try your hand at drawing with charcoal sticks.

Details:

1) Use your research skills to identify and view charcoal drawings. You could do this through your computer, at a library, at an art gallery, or even a museum. Spend 30-45 minutes exploring the world of charcoal art. Making sure you commit some quality time to exploring other’s use of charcoal in drawing will help fuel an appreciation for the medium and its artists.

2) In the comments below, share the charcoal artist whose work you enjoyed the most. Make sure to describe the artist’s work and what you liked about it.

3) Gather your materials. You’ll need:

• Charcoal Sticks

• Rough Paper (They sell charcoal specific paper, but any rough paper will do.)

• Paper Towel or Blending Stump

4) Create! We're leaving this objective wide open as some of you might be charcoal pros, while others will be brand new to the medium. If you've never used charcoal before, start by making patterns. If you're a little more advanced (or simply feeling adventurous,) consider creating a drawing inspired by your previous research.

If you're feeling lost, there are a bunch of great tutorials on Youtube.

Note: The most important thing here is that you spend time with the charcoal. In order to complete this objective you should spend at least 45 minutes exploring the medium. This is a high point art objective, and deserves a fair effort.

5) Take a photo of your charcoal drawing and share it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your art in our Facebook group.

6) In the comments below, In addition to sharing the artist whose work you enjoyed (#2), describe your experience creating with charcoal.  

Up In Flames - Photography - 150

www.adorama.com This Tech Tip takes us to the great outdoors and places us right in front of the ol' "hippie television," aka, the campfire. Low-light situations such as the campfire present a number of challenges for getting the right exposure so that your friends and family aren't underexposed and the campfire, or light source, isn't overexposed.

Objective:

Take an A+ photo lit only by firelight.

Details:

1) Obtain a non-camera phone. Camera phones are great, but they don’t work well in low light. For this objective you’ll need a point and shoot or something fancier. The key here is that you should be able to adjust camera settings. If you don’t own one, consider borrowing a camera from a friend who does.

2) Watch Firelight Photography: Getting the Shot with Corey Rich. If you’re using a point and shoot camera, follow up with How to Photograph Fire. You may also want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the camera you’re using.

3) Choose your subject. Do you want to take a photograph of a person lit by fire? What about a fire itself? A landscape illuminated by fire? The choice is up to you.

4) Using the tips you learned from the above video(s), take your photo. In fact, take a bunch of photos! The more photos you take, the more likely you are to get something you’re proud of.

5) Choose your best fire illuminated shot and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your photo in our Facebook group.

Up In Flames - Find - 300

Objective:

Create a hide that highlights fire or fire safety.

Details:

1) Choose a fire related theme that appeals to you.

Need some inspiration? What about…

• Smokey The Bear

• Fire Safety Tips

• A historical fire

• Firefighters

• Fire Lookouts

2) Create a geocache or letterbox that highlights your fire theme.

IMPORTANT! We want the theme of your hide to scream fire! (Just don’t hide it in a crowded theatre…) Simply naming it with a fire themed is not enough.

Your hide should utilize AT LEAST TWO of the following:

• A name that alludes to your theme

• An in theme logbook

• An in theme container

• A stamp relevant to your theme (Letterboxes, Letterbox Hybrids)

• Written information about your theme (Teach them something!)

• Be hidden at a relevant location

3) Hide, submit and have your hide approved.

4) Take a photo of your hide (either at it’s resting place or in progress) and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #QuestScouts. Alternatively, you can also share your hide in our Facebook group.

5) Give us a link to your hide in the comments below.

*A "find/hide" can be either a geocache or letterbox. Not familiar with either? Watch this video by Groundspeak, the #1 lister of geocaches or read about letterboxing from Atlas Quest. However, if you've never geocached or letterboxed, we highly suggest you start with a different find objective. It's best to make 100+ finds before you hide.