Weekly Quest · Prepare
Power Outage Mini Drill
The Power Outage Mini Drill turns off the nonessential lights for one hour so your family can practice staying calm, capable, and well-lit using nothing but your backup gear. It is a hands-on confidence builder that feels less like homework and more like a camping night at home. Families who run it once almost always want to do it again.
This page describes the Power Outage Mini Drill, Week 47 of Outside's 52-week family quest calendar, a 60-minute medium-difficulty activity in which families turn off nonessential lights and practice using backup lighting and portable power. The guide covers how to run the drill, age-appropriate roles for kids 4 through 14, and what practical skills families build. It is published by Outside, the family adventure app, where the quest is completed and the Outage Ready badge is earned. The quest awards 450 XP upon completion in the Outside app.
| XP | 450 |
|---|---|
| Time | 60 minutes |
| Week | 47 of 52 |
| Badge | Outage Ready |
| Difficulty | Medium |
Why this quest is worth an hour of your evening
Most families never find out how prepared they actually are until the power goes out on a cold Tuesday night with dinner half-cooked and homework on the table. The Power Outage Mini Drill flips that script. You choose the hour, you set the scene, and you find out together -- calmly, on your own terms -- exactly what you have, where it is, and how well it works.
There is something quietly satisfying about watching a nine-year-old click on a headlamp and take charge of the kitchen counter. This quest builds real readiness, but the feeling families walk away with is closer to pride than relief.
How to run the drill well
Start with a short family huddle. Ask everyone what they think will be tricky and what they are curious to discover. Then switch off the nonessential lights and let your backup gear do the talking.
Gather your flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, and any battery packs or hand-crank chargers you own before you start -- do not go hunting once the drill is live. Walk through your home together. Where are the dark corners? Can you read the stove controls by lantern light? Can you charge a phone? Work through those questions as a team rather than having one adult solve everything. The hour goes fast, and the conversation it sparks is half the value.
Log your progress and complete the quest in the Outside app to earn your Outage Ready badge and 450 XP.
Making it work for every age
Kids ages 4 to 6 do best with one clear job: carry a small flashlight and be the official light-holder for whatever the family is doing. That sense of contribution is real, and they feel it.
Kids ages 7 to 10 can take inventory -- counting batteries, checking that chargers actually work, and noting what the family is missing. Give them a small notebook and they will treat it like a field report.
Kids ages 11 to 14 are ready to think through scenarios. What would we do if this happened during a snowstorm? What if someone needed medicine that requires refrigeration? Let them lead part of the debrief. Teenagers who feel trusted with real problems tend to stay engaged.
What your family actually takes away
After the hour is up and the lights are back on, most families report the same thing: they feel lighter, not heavier. They found a dead flashlight before it mattered, located the candles they forgot they had, and figured out that their battery pack holds a useful charge.
The deeper gain is harder to measure but just as real. Kids who practice calm responses to ordinary disruptions carry that steadiness into bigger moments. Preparedness built through curiosity and hands-on play sticks in a way that a list on the refrigerator never quite does. This is one of those quests that earns its 450 XP.
Supplies and what to have ready
You do not need to buy anything new to run this drill. Start with what you have:
- Flashlights and spare batteries - Headlamps (one per person is ideal) - A battery-powered or hand-crank lantern - Any portable battery packs or power banks - Candles and matches if your family uses them, stored where everyone knows to find them
After the drill, your shopping list will write itself. Families typically discover one or two gaps -- a missing lantern, a drained battery pack -- and those are exactly the right problems to find now rather than later. Comfortable shoes and water are listed in the Outside app as official supplies; the real supply is curiosity.
Write down one thing you found out about your family tonight that you did not know before the lights went off.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need special gear to do this quest?
No. The drill is designed to work with whatever you already own. The whole point is to find out what you have and whether it actually works. If you finish the hour and decide to add a lantern or a better battery pack, that is a win -- but you do not need to buy anything before you start.
Is this too scary for young kids?
It is designed to be the opposite. Because you choose the time and control the conditions, there is nothing unpredictable about it. Younger kids typically find it exciting rather than unsettling, especially when they have a job to do -- like carrying a flashlight or being in charge of a specific room. Keep the tone light and curious, and they will follow your lead.
How do we complete the quest and earn the badge?
The quest is completed in the Outside app, where you will find the official in-app steps, the reflection prompt, and the Outage Ready badge waiting after you finish. Log your experience, answer the reflection question, and the 450 XP posts to your family profile automatically.
What time of day works best for this drill?
Evening works well because reduced natural light makes the backup gear feel genuinely necessary rather than optional. That said, any hour works. Some families run it on a weekend afternoon and focus entirely on testing gear and talking through scenarios, saving the full darkness experience for a follow-up round.