"Micro Quest BINGO"

In an attempt to introduce more people to Quest Scouts, Dylan created a BINGO game consisting of multiple Micro Quests.  Each day a new micro quest is published and if you do the activity within two days, you can cross off the corresponding square on your Bingo card:

SEP 14: N-38 Media – Watch kite video

Wisconsin Hiker: I kept trying to figure out how it worked, how one guy could be controlling all those kites. Were there separate strings for each kite or were several connected? It was interesting to see how a few landed early, but didn't seem to affect the others that were still flying. Overall it was pretty cool and reminded me of my dad (deceased), who had some great kites that he flew on the beach.

Martini Man: It actually seemed like an animation of birdlike figures basically dive-bombing some real or imagined threat. So strange to consider this was a little over one minute video of collapsed twenty minutes of what I presume was a single kite flying. Very nice........


SEP 15: I-23 Literature – Write a book review on a 3”x3” piece of paper

Wisconsin Hiker's review

Martini Man's review

SEP 16: I-17 Game – Play GeoGuessr, a fun game in which you are "dropped" in a random place on google maps. You then navigate around and use context clues to guess where you are in the world. When you have an idea, you place a pin on the map and click "make guess" to see how well you did.

 
Wisconsin Hiker: Wow! What a COOL game! I'm not that good with flags and languages, but I managed to do pretty well. I played one game of 5 rounds and my score was 15,416. The total number of miles I was off for the 5 rounds was ~3,200. I was really close on one: less than 35 miles off! I was also pretty close on two others (135 miles and 210 miles). The other two I was off by over 1,000, but I still felt I had done pretty well guessing. Thanks to Quest Scouts for introducing us to a very entertaining game!

Martini Man: OK, I really sucked. Off by over 25,000 miles!!!! Score was only 3762 for 5 rounds. Not so very hot at all............

SEP 17: O-64 Art – create an abstract work of art

Wisconsin Hiker's creation

Martini Mans's creation, Title: The Shattered Mind of the Soon-to-Be Retired

SEP 18: G-57 Travel - get a bit more exercise than normal today  (Didn't do - we just did a 5-mile hike with our hiking club, but didn't do anything "extra")

SEP 19: G-45 Game - Play an arcade game (Didn't do - it was our niece Amanda's wedding day!)

SEP 20: B-11 Research - Pick out something you own to get rid of by donating or throwing away (Didn't do - we cleaned a lot out last year so didn't take the time to identify something for Bingo. But we certainly do still have a lot we can get rid of!)

SEP 21: I-16 Media - Watch a a short video/animation about the history of light.

Wisconsin Hiker: I loved the black & white images and immediately thought of carvings for letterbox stamps. The "evolution of light" story seemed to start with destructive fires, which was unsettling, but then paralleled so many important inventions. We are now so used to artificial light and "light on demand" that it is an eye-opener if we lose power. Then we are back to candle light (and our electronics, only as long as the battery lasts). I enjoyed the short, but interesting, video!

Martini Man: I thought it a tad "in yo face", but that is probably due to the fact I did not like the music much. I did think the metamorphosis of imagery was interesting and that sustained my attention.
SEP 22: O-69 Art - Draw an artistic interpretation of the word BINGO on an index card. (Didn't do. It was my mom's last day of her visit from FL and we did other things)

SEP 23: G-48  Art - Post an eye-catching pattern

Wisconsin Hiker: Mosaic on the floor at the Wisconsin Center

Martini Man:  Patio Pavers

SEP 24: B-14 Game - Complete an on-line jigsaw puzzle of the Quest Scout logo.

Martini Man finished in a bit over 17 minutes and Wisconsin Hiker require 22 minutes.

SEP 25: no call

SEP 26: I-29  Find - Find a letterbox

Martini Man:  We took a historic and FREE ferry across the Wisconsin River to find the "Teas by the Ferry" letterbox.

Wisconsin Hiker:  We enjoyed walking on a beach on a gorgeous fall day to find "The Dirty Turtle" letterbox.

SEP 27: G-53 Literature - Write an acrostic poem using the word BINGO as your base word.
Wisconsin Hiker:

Martini Man:

Basements and halls are lined with folding tables and chairs;
In anticipation of a crowd of life-weary people looking for a diversion at the local parish
Now observe the eager players as they file in to their favorite seats, hoping for good fortune.
Greens, blues, reds are some of the colors that brightly decorate the cards as the calls are made.
Oh, jubilant the winning cries when Lady Luck smiles down on the winner!

SEP 28: N-32  Travel - Take a short stroll outdoors and breathe deeply for several minutes.  Then use one word to comment on how you felt or what you were thinking about.

Wisconsin Hiker: Warmth

Martini Man: Serenity


SEP 29: B-9 Media - Watch Slomo video https://youtu.be/HRcTuBMRXzw

Wisconsin Hiker:  The idea of "doing what you want" definitely becomes stronger the older you get. After years of working and acquiring, the prospect of just relaxing and having fun without needing so much "stuff" is very attractive. It's nice to see someone that has found his "bliss". However I'm curious about his vision problems - were they fixed? Getting worse? Obviously to skate he must be able to see well enough to avoid obstacles.

Martini Man: I must confess I found it rather moving. Not sure everyone has the financial wherewithal to perform the escape Slomo made. But he certainly gave up much to get to the place where he is and it was inspirational to watch and listen to. Find Nirvana on a pair of skates..... who knew......

SEP 30: N-39 DIY - Leave a cheerful note in a public place for a stranger to find.

Wisconsin Hiker left a note at a local grocery store

Martini Man left a note on a ledge in his office building

OCT 1: O-71 Photography - Take a photograph that captures balance or symmetry.

Wisconsin Hiker: The iconic arches!

Martini Man: Now here's some symmetry I can relate to!

OCT 2: no call

OCT 3: O-80 DIY - Design a Quest

Wisconsin Hiker:

Quest Theme: Long distance trails

Title: Hit the Trail!

Media: Watch one of the following movies and comment on it: “The Way”, “Wild!” or “Tracks”

Literature: Read Barefoot Sisters Southbound by Lucy Letcher and Susan Letcher

Research: Research the history of a trail over 200 miles long. When was it established? When completed? What type of transportation allowed? Where is it located? How many hikers typically visit the trail in a year? What are the highlights of the trail?

Travel: Take a hike or bike on a portion of a long distance trail. For this objective, the trail should be at least 25 miles in length, but you need to only travel on a portion of it. Write about your experience and include your distance traveled on the trail.

Art: Go to any trail and create a public work of art with materials along the trail. This could include rocks, feathers, pine cones, sticks or any other materials you find along the trail. Take a photo of your completed masterpiece.

Photography: Make a photo collage of a hike along a trail showing the trail name/symbol, a trail blaze/marker and a landmark or scenery along the trail. (Pic Monkey http://www.picmonkey.com is a free & easy on-line tool for making photo collages.)

DIY: Trail magic often refers to the act of providing food or beverages for people traveling along a long distance trail. Find a spot to provide “trail magic” and report on your experience in the comments section.

Find: Find a box/cache along a long distance trail. Report the name of the box/cache below and any comments about your experience in finding it.

Game: Get outdoors on a trail and play one of the outdoor games described on these websites. Describe what you played (and post a photo if possible)

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/hiking-basics/groups-families-and-pets/hiking-games-and-activities

http://parktrust.org/files/boredombusterhikinggames.pdf

http://www.wta.org/hiking-info/children/how-to/keep-kids-adults-entertained-on-trail

Micro Quests:
Literature: Research blogs written by people currently hiking a long distance trail. Read entries from several days of their blog.

Other MQ: TBD

Martini Man:

"Discover Your Past" - a Quest based on genealogy and family research.

Media: Watch The Human Family Tree
Literature: Read up on how to do genealogical research.
Travel: Travel to a regional ethnic resource like Bishops Hill in Illinois.
Visit: a Local genealogical research facility. It can be as simple as your local library.
Research: One family member at least two generations back. Find out more than vital statistical dates. See if you can construct a story about them
Art: Find a picture of an ancestor and make a sketch.
Photography: Arrange some old family heirlooms and make a nice artsy photo of them.
Diy: Make a shadow box of old photos and keepsakes with the theme being a cherished relative.
Find: The gravesite of an ancestor.
Games: Play the Game of Genealogy.



OCT 4: G-51 Art - Interpret the prompt "On the winning team" to make index card art. (Didn't do)


OCT 5: B-8 Travel - Think about your normal routines and make a slight change to one of them.

Wisconsin Hiker: I get three daily emails from Page-a-Day calendars with interesting information about sights to see, books to read and a trivia question. However I usually skip opening them, thinking I'll go back later to read them. Starting today, I will read them first thing in the morning to start the day with some inspirations for future trips or reading!

Martini Man: So let's see. Rather than goof around on the computer in the morning, maybe a nice short walk in the neighborhood would do me more good. Might try that tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

We had fun doing these Micro Quests and earned our special badge on October 5.

BINGO! on the diagonal

Our final comments:

Wisconsin Hiker: BINGO! We have a Digital QS membership since May 2015 and enjoyed doing the BINGO micro quests. However since we're still trying to catch up on completing some of the regular Quests, it got to be a lot of stuff to fit into a day/week, especially when my mom was visiting us. I completed 15 of the 20 Bingo Micro quests posted so far. Hard to say which ones I liked best... probably the GeoGuessr game and designing a quest. However some of the videos and art projects were also very entertaining and the BINGO poem stretched us a bit in a good way.

Martini Man: Well, the whole experience with the Bingo Microquests kept me on my toes (as well as my ever vigilant Wisconsin Hiker). Tell you what. Surely hope you liked the genealogy idea for a Quest Badge. Also liked the little walk I took to achieve that one Zen moment you asked us to find the other day.


This is now our 7th badge:

"Micro Quest Bingo" badge