Discovery Canyon VBS
Starter Kit

• Director Guide
• Kindergarten–Grade 1 Kid Pack
• Discovery Canyon VBS Songbook
• Preschool Leader Guide
• Kindergarten–Grade 1 Leader Guide
• Grades 2–3 Leader Guide
• Grades 4–6 Leader Guide
• Preschool Bible Story Foldout
• Grades 2–3 Bible Book
• Grades 4–6 Bible Book
• Preview DVD/Music CD Sampler
• Trading Cards
• Cavern Crafts Activity Site Guide
• Gully Games Activity Site Guide
• Canyon Rhythm Activity Site Guide
• Sagebrush Storytelling Activity Site Guide
• Shadow Science Activity Site Guide

• Canyon Critters
• Kindergarten–Grade 1 Bible Book
• Discovery Canyon Pouch

• Publicity Poster
• Name Tag
• Volunteer Thank-You
• Kid Certificate
• VBS Invitation Postcard
• Attendance Chart
• Stickers
• Iron-On Transfer

Canyon Decorating Tips

The Discovery Canyon Director Guide is filled with decorating tips. Here are just a few decorating ideas to bring your Canyon to life!

How to turn your church into Discovery Canyon

Convert your church to a Canyon from the riverbed to the sky. Artwork for activity site backdrops are ready to trace and paint. All it takes is a few extra hands and a little creativity! Don’t forget to include:

• A clear blue sky with a big, bright sun

• Canyon pathways and trails

• Canyon caverns and walls

• A riverbed and waterfall

• All of the canyon critters

Build a Waterfall

Make a waterfall on a pillar by taping long pieces of blue fabric near the top and letting it “pool” on the floor. Add strips of blue party streamers and white fabric batting at the top for extra effect. Or lean a ladder against a wall or in the corner of a room and cascade translucent streamers down the ladder rungs. Stack mashed-in cardboard boxes on the side to form the canyon walls.

Canyon Walls
Wide expanses of torn strips of yellow, brown, orange, and purple roll paper will create the look of the canyon layers and plateau vistas.

Rocks and Boulders
 Yes, you can use real rocks, but even easier—wad up brown paper grocery bags, or mound paper-stuffed garbage bags spray-painted to look like rocks. Create boulders by painting and stacking cardboard boxes. For more realistic-looking boulders, use chicken wire, paper mâche, and paint. Or drape crates with natural colored fabric. Add a bit of greenery or dried weeds for a natural effect.

Display your VBS 2008 pictures!

Prepare a display using photographs from last year’s VBS, along with items from this year’s Discovery Canyon. Also include several samples of crafts from Discovery Canyon. Use the display to generate interest in volunteering and registering.

Encourage everyone to join in!

Decorate the entrance to your fellowship area like the entrance to a Discovery Canyon cave. Surround the cave with boulders to give the impression of walking right into “Discovery Canyon.” Include your congregation’s name on the sign (for example, Good Shepherd Camp). Arrange for several youth to dress in Discovery Canyon T-shirts and hand out Discovery Canyon stickers to people as they enter the fellowship area. Set up a CD player and play the Discovery Canyon Song CD to attract attention.

Other attention-getting ideas!

• Invite volunteers to wear Discovery Canyon T-shirts and visit Sunday school classes, giving a brief overview of the VBS Bible story themes and a hint of the fun to come!

• Enlist volunteers to circulate after worship services, wearing VBS T-shirts and carrying bright signs or sporting buttons that read, “Ask me about VBS!"
  

• Hang the Discovery Canyon Outdoor Banner.
                                      
                                             

• Display Discovery Canyon Posters to communicate the Daily Bible Stories. These posters can be used again during the Opening Celebration, at the Sagebrush Storytelling activity site, and in the pre-school classrooms.
                                      
                                               

• Ask your church youth group to hold a phone-a-thon, extending personal invitations to kids to sign up for Discovery Canyon.

• Make eye-catching (and ear-pleasing) VBS invitations. Make copies of the Music CD. Loop twirling ribbon around the Music CD jewel case with a sticker inviting families to register their kids for VBS. Then use the CDs as door hangers in the neighborhood.
  

Don’t Forget: Start early and have a canyon full of fun!

Start early!

Prayerfully consider your needs and how God will touch the lives of the kids who attend Discovery Canyon.

• Develop a list of possible staff members. Consider adults of various age groups: youth, college students, retirees, and former VBS staff.

• Build enthusiasm with publicity, posters, and skits during worship time.

• Set up a Discovery Canyon display in the narthex of your church. Include a DVD player and show the Discovery Canyon Preview DVD and/or the Music Video DVD during fellowship time.

• Provide clear guidelines for each position. Photocopy the staff description sheets/invitation letters for distribution to potential staff.

• Insert a volunteer flyer into the church bulletin or enlist the help of a friendly leader to greet people in your narthex or fellowship area. He or she can wear a Discovery Canyon T-shirt, passing out flyers that tell how volunteers can help with VBS.

• Make personal contacts. Have job descriptions and resources available when you meet. Allow time for the volunteer to prayerfully consider the invitation.

• Grab people’s attention by setting up a Discovery Canyon corner in a high traffic area of your church.

• Hang the Discovery Canyon Outdoor Banner on your church wall and afterwards hang it outside.

• Cover a table with a Canyon color tablecloth and then lay out sample products from your Discovery Canyon Starter Kit.

• Set the Canyon Critters all around the display. Make sure to place materials and information about VBS close by.

• Display several completed craft projects and play the Canyon Song CD or Music Video DVD in the background.
  

Free to You!

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Discovery Canyon Logos & Wallpaper (click on images to enlarge and save)