Updated Jun 30, 2025
Discovering Mythology Challenge Kit crafts, games, and recipes for your participants. If your activity requires any supplementals or you're looking for some extra activities to do, download this PDF to access them.
Goal: To have fun and participate in the Olympic Games.
Take 20-30 pieces of paper and label each with the picture and name of various gods or goddesses. Put the papers in a hat and have each kid select one. This will be the god or goddess that they represent during the Olympic Games. (There may be more than one kid representing the same god or goddess.) Take the small piece of paper and pin it to the back of the contestant’s shirt
The relay race event requires that the girls get into teams of five. The objective of the race is to get the baton from the starting line to the finish. To do this, one kid starts at the starting line, and the rest are spaced out evenly towards the finish line. The starting kid gets the baton, runs their leg of the race, then passes the baton onto the next kid so they can run their leg and so on until the last kid crosses the finish line. Each team races against another to try to beat them to the finish line.
The kids race across a predetermined distance to see who is the fastest. The first one across the finish line wins.
The chariot race involves the kids getting into pairs, linking arms, and having one leg tied to the other kid’s leg. The kids then run from a starting line to a finish line. The first team to cross the finish line wins.
This event is a test to see which kid can jump the farthest. From the starting line, they are allowed to take three steps (it is usually right foot, left foot, then both feet as they jump) before they leap as far as they can.
In the Frisbee Discus, the kids approach the starting line one at a time. Each kid gets a Frisbee, which they hurl out into an open space. The objective of this event is to use a combination of strength, control, and intelligence to launch the Frisbee as far as they can. Only after everyone has tossed their Frisbee should you go and determine who the winner is, and then allow the kids to retrieve their Frisbees.
Using two hula hoops and a skipping rope, create your own Olympic event. Make sure you know the rules of your game and explain them clearly to others playing your event.
Before you start this game, you must prepare the battlefield. Using a few cardboard boxes, build a line on the ground representing the Wall of Troy. Leave a space open for the gate. This space has to be wide enough to allow two kids to run through. Next, you must prepare the Trojan Horse. Get a large cardboard box and set it horizontally. Cut a hole in the middle of the box so you can fit a kid in it. Next to the big hole, cut four more small holes, two on each side. Thread a piece of rope through the two holes on the left to create a handle for the kid to hold onto. Do the same for the other side. Cut one last hole in the back of the box to hold the flag. This will be your horse’s tail. Now, decorate the box to look like a horse.
Now, grab a separate piece of cardboard and cut out a circle. This is going to be a shield, so make it pretty big. After that is done, cut four small holes in the shield. Take two pieces of rope of equal length and thread each piece through two of the holes. Knot the rope off, and you have two rope straps inside the shield for the bearer, one to thread their arm through and the other to hold with their hand. Decorate to look like a Trojan shield.
Sort your kids into two teams, the Defenders and Attackers. Give each kid on the Defenders team a green flag for them to stick into their belt or hang from their pocket. Do the same for the Attackers team, except give them red flags.
Call on one person from each team; this person can change each round you play. The kid from the Defenders team is now Hector, the Prince and the greatest defender of Troy. Give Hector a blue flag instead of a green flag and the shield. Give the kid from the Attackers team the Trojan horse to wear. They are now the hollow Trojan horse designed by Odysseus. It is the Trojan Horse’s job to get inside the wall of Troy. If that happens, the Attackers team wins. Hector’s job is to stop the Trojan horse. Anyone can pull Hector’s flag, but only he can pull the flag from the Trojan Horse. If this should happen, the Defenders win.
Everyone else is either the warriors of Troy, the Defenders, or the warriors of Greece, the Attackers. The Attackers and the Defenders race around, pulling off the other team’s flags to make it easier for their team to succeed.
In this game, the runner is the hero/heroine in training. The objective is to run through an obstacle course, defeat the evil monster in wait and rescue the damsel in distress. This training session will put the hero/heroine’s dexterity, speed, and wits to the test.
The first obstacle is a series of hula hoops lying on the ground in pairs of two, but a bit staggered. The participant has to run through the hoops, placing only one foot in a hoop at a time, much like the tire race shown in football training sessions. After they have gone through the hula-hoops, they have to crawl under a tarp held barely above the ground. Once this feat has been accomplished, the heroine/hero must test their dexterity by walking on a board without falling off either side.
After walking along the board, they must dash quickly across an open space and race to the next challenge: milking a cow. Every hero/heroine must prove that they are as good at handling the normal as well as the mythological. Using a saw horse and a rubber glove filled with water (with tiny holes poked in the fingers so the water can come through), your heroine/hero must milk a certain amount of water into a bucket before they can move on.
Next, they take up a dart and hurl it at a balloon tied to a wooden board. The balloons will have faces drawn on them to make them a mythological monster. If the dart flies true, the monster is slain.
Then the heroine/hero picks up a spoon and their damsel in distress (a decorated hard-boiled egg) and places them on the spoon. Taking great care not to harm the gentle lady, the hero/heroine in training must bring them back to the starting line and become a true hero/heroine.
Decorate the clay pot or vase by painting a story on it like the ancient Greeks did.
On a scrap piece of paper, draw a rough picture of what you want to put on a pottery paper plate. You can draw anything you want: a god, monster, hero, or maybe even a tree! Most pottery designs usually have a circle around them, but you don’t have to include it if you don’t want to. Next, paint your paper plate a single colour and let it dry. *Note: acrylic paint dries very fast. If your girls are old enough to keep it off their clothes, it's a great option. If it does get onto something, wash it out immediately! Once it dries, it is not washable.
After the paint is dry, it’s time to decorate it with your chosen image! Most Greek pottery usually only has one or two colours, but you can easily create your own style. Bend two pipe cleaners into oval shapes and tape or staple them to opposite sides of your plate as handles, and you’re done!
On a toilet paper roll, draw and colour your mythological creature. Cut out various parts, wings, horns, arms, and heads, out of paper, colour them, and glue them onto the roll.
Take a piece of cardboard and draw a large circle on it, then cut it out. On the second piece of cardboard, cut out a slightly larger circle than the first. Glue the smaller circle in the middle of the larger circle to form your shield. You could use one piece of cardboard as the shield and draw on the border, but the second circle makes a natural border, and it also makes the shield stronger.
Once your shield is complete, it’s time to decorate it. Draw on your design and then paint it. You could also paint the border to make it stand out more. Finally, your warriors need to be able to hold the shield easily. Cut out two strips of cardboard and attach them to the back of your shield with glue. Let dry.
The scrapbook craft requires you to decorate a series of pages and two covers, a front and back, hole-punch the pages, then bind the book together with leather, string, shoelace, or whatever material you want.
Put your name down and decorate it with mythological symbols, creatures, heroes, or gods.
Decorate the inside front cover with your own god or goddess. Underneath your divine being, describe what his or her powers, looks, responsibilities, symbols, and animal sign are. Next, write down how your god or goddess is related to the Olympians.
Take pictures of you and your friends and leaders doing projects or teaching about Greek mythology. Print the pictures and glue them onto the pages of your book. Write what you were doing and who is in the picture somewhere on the same page as the picture. Colour and decorate the page as you wish.
Decorate the inside back cover with your own hero or mythological monster. Underneath your drawing, describe what his or her powers are. Next, write down how your hero or mythological monster is famous.
Like the back of a story book, write a few sentences describing what your scrapbook is about. You might want to write about your drawings or pictures with your friends, or even your favourite thing about mythology. After you’ve finished your sentences, draw a border around them and decorate the empty space left.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
In a large bowl, combine the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, red onion, and olives.
Whisk together the oil and vinegar. Before serving, add the oil and vinegar, feta cheese and salt. Toss together and serve.
Pronounced ree-ghah-NAH-thah
This is one version of Greek bruschetta and a favourite and easy recipe for a quick snack or accompaniment to drinks. Use homemade crusty country bread or thick slices of sourdough, French, or Italian bread.
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Note: Quantities depend on the number of people and the size of their appetites. Be creative!
Grill the bread over coals, in the oven, or on a countertop grill until the ridges are clearly defined and the bread is crusty. Brush well with olive oil while hot. Top with enough chopped tomatoes to cover, and add crumbled feta cheese to taste. Sprinkle with oregano and serve.
Pronounced pahg-hoh-TOH yah pehth-YAH
There is no cooking needed; it’s just great fun for kids of all ages. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Then, whisk in, in the order written, the whipped cream, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until it becomes a frothy mixture. Older children can use a hand mixer.
Add in chocolate chips, nuts, cocoa, pieces of fruit, crunchy pieces of cookies, cereal or anything else you want. Just mix them in! Freeze the mixture in one or more covered metal containers; this way, the ice cream freezes more evenly. Check after a couple of hours. It may not be totally frozen, but who can wait? When frozen, pack in ice cream containers. Yields about 8 cups.
Dish up a little Mediterranean flavour with this Spinach, Feta, and Tomato Omelet.
4 main-dish servings
Total Time: 23 min
Goal: To be the last person left on the wall.
The kids run from one end of the designated playing area to the other and try not to get tagged by Hades, the person in the middle. The middle person says, “Hades on the Wall,” which is the cue for the girls to run from one wall to the other. If a person gets tagged, they are a middle person too and can tag people of their own.
The objective of this game is to get the most points by guessing who that monster is. You can play as a single player or in teams. Print the cards provided on pages 42 and 43. Shuffle the cards and have one person in the group select a card. Then, without showing anyone else the card, act out who that monster is. The rest of the group tries to guess what mythological creature you are. Whoever guesses right gets a point, then someone else draws a card. The game ends when the first person or team gets ten points.
|
Name |
Pronunciation | Description |
|
Centaur |
sen-tawr | A wise creature with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse. They are known for their knowledge of lore and great archery skills. |
|
Cerberus |
sur'-bur-uhs | Hades’ three-headed dog guards the door to the underworld. |
|
Chimera |
ki-meer-us | A magical creature with the body and head of a lion, a tail of a snake, and a second head, that of a goat. |
|
Cyclops |
sy'-klahps | A one-eyed monster that is taller and broader than a regular-sized man. |
|
Griffin |
grif'-in | The griffin has the head, shoulders, wings, and feet of a large bird and the hind legs and tail of a lion. |
|
Harpy |
hahr-pee | This half-human, half-bird female was known by the ancient Greeks as the seagull of the seas. The harpy loves nothing more than stealing sailor’s lunches and pooping on them as they fly away with their spoils. |
|
Hydra |
hahy-druh | The Hydra is a serpent with many heads (Stories vary from 5-100 heads), but only one of the heads is mortal. If you cut off any head but the mortal one, one (in some stories, two) head would grow back in the original head’s place. |
|
Medusa/Gorgon |
muh-doo'-suh/gohr'-guhns | The Gorgon, most often called Medusa, is a beautiful woman with snakes for hair. If you gazed into Medusa’s eyes or saw her face, you would turn to stone. |
|
Minotaur |
min-uh-tawr | This creature is a cross between a man and a bull. In ancient Greek mythology, this creature dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction. |
|
Pegasus |
peg'-uh-suhs | Pegasus is a beautiful white-winged horse that is actually one of Medusa’s two sons. |
|
Phoenix |
fee'-niks | A beautiful bird with a colourful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or blue, purple, and green in some stories). When a phoenix has reached the end of its life cycle, it bursts into flame, from which a baby phoenix emerges. |
|
Satyrs |
say'-tur | Satyrs were originally a troop of men who accompanied the god Dionysus through the forest as they played their pipes. In the Roman era, satyrs began to be shown with the upper body of a man and the lower half of a goat. |
|
Siren |
sahy-ruhn | Sirens are often portrayed as mermaid-like women. They were considered dangerous creatures that lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. |
|
Sphinx |
s-fing-ks | The sphinx has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a bird, and the face of a woman. In Greek mythology, the sphinx tells riddles, and those who can’t solve them are eaten. |
As a third-generation Scouter, Pauline is a writer passionate about giving back to the Guiding and Scouting programs. She grew up making beaver buggies with the boys, selling popcorn as a Cub and practicing outdoor skills with the Scouts. Instead of moving on to Ventures, she became an assistant leader for Cubs, also known as a Kim. Pauline is proud to pass on her Scouting knowledge to an international audience.
