AY Honors/Parade Floats/Answer Key
Template:Honor header Instructor Required
1. Learn and implement the following safety rules in the creation of a parade float.
2. List at least five materials that can be used in your float building and decorating.
- Lumber
- Plywood
- Wallboard
- Cloth
- Carpet
- Floral Sheeting
- Foil
- Plants (flowers, boughs, nuts, etc)
- Christmas lights
3. Help build a float by:
a. Helping design a float for your Pathfinder Club/Church youth group.
- Brainstorming
- Design begins with a brainstorming session. This is when everyone in the group blurts out ideas about how the float could look. All the ideas are written down on a whiteboard where everyone can see, and none of the ideas are criticized or dismissed, no matter how ludicrous. if criticism begins during this phase, people will be less expressive. Crazy ideas have a way of sparking sane ideas in others, so you will want to encourage that sort of thinking.
- Select a Design
- Once the brainstorming has run its course, the group should look at all the ideas that have been suggested. This is when the crazy ideas are eliminated. People will by this time have thought more about the ideas that have been presented, and a handful of favorites may stand out. Which of these are actually doable? Once the ideas have been winnowed down to a few, see if you can gain consensus on one of them. Does your group have the skill and resources necessary to pull this off? How? If not, look at the alternatives.
- Engineering
- At this point, you need to figure out the float's physical design. This is the unseen part of the float, but it is highly important. Unless the float has a solid foundation, it will not be safe to put in a parade, much less pile a group of unsuspecting children on it. The float's intended shape will inform the design of its underpinnings.
- Select materials
- Part of the design process is to select materials. Some of these may have been proposed during the brainstorming session, and if so, that's great. If not, make that selection now.
- Make sketches
- Sketch out the float so that everyone can see the big picture. You may need separate sketches for the engineering aspects verses the artistic aspects of the float, but make sure they are compatible.
b. Assist in planning materials needed and be involved in collecting those items.
Once the float has been designed and the materials have been selected, it is time to figure out how much of each type of material will be needed. Once this is known, the material should be gathered. You may have to buy much of it, but it may also be possible to get some of it donated. If you intend to approach a national home improvement franchise for a donation, you will need to do so well in advance. These companies may require the organization to fill out a written request and supply documentation proving tax-exempt status. However, they may agree to fund a great deal of your project, so it is worth considering.
Another strategy is to approach a local business (i.e., one that is not a national franchise). These businesses will not be burdened with the same levels of bureaucracy as a large company. Such donor companies need not be home improvement stores at all. Any type of business may be interested in helping a good cause.
c. Decorating a float for at least 4 hours.
Once you have the design sketched out and the materials in hand, the fun begins. Be attentive to details and remember to have fun. Building a float is a great way to build friendships as well.
4. Be in a parade experience with the float you have helped to build and decorate, and as appropriate, hand out pamphlets that explain the youth/Pathfinder ministry of your group.
a. With at least two shut-ins how your group witnessed in the community
b. Report with pictures and stories for a church or Sabbath School program and for a Pathfinder club worship program
6. Memorize Mark 16:15 and discuss with a group how the honor’s parade float project helps fulfill this biblical command.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."
When a Pathfinder group enters a float in a public parade, it raises community awareness about the club, and by extension, of the church that sponsors it. A float establishes the club's presence in the community in a non-threatening way. It leaves a positive impression on those in the community who see it, predisposing them to view the club and the church in a favorable light.
However, this is merely introductory. A float by itself is unlikely to win souls to Christ. Unless the church follows this up with additional outreach, such as a health seminar, cooking class, smoking cessation program, Vacation Bible School, or an evangelism program, people will most likely not act upon the favorable impression made by the parade float. But a parade float is a wonderful first step.
It is especially helpful if, as required in this honor, the participants distribute pamphlets or explain the club to the parade watchers. This has the potential to attract new members to the club, and thus, to the church.
