team building without the mud

Learning Pathways: Social Intelligence, Teamwork

Focus: Kinaesthetic

Activity Set Up:

Prior to the activity cut 6 pieces of string per team, into 1-2 metre lengths it doesn't have to be exact. Tie each piece to a rubber band as evenly spaced as possible.

Divide the group up into teams of 6 or smaller (minimum of 3)
Give each team a rubber band & string and 10 paper / plastic cups. Place the cups on a table, spread out and upside down.

Challenge the group to build a pyramid out of the paper cups (4 on the bottom, 3 on the next row, 2, then finally 1 on top).
Group members may not touch the cups with their hands, or any other part of their bodies.
If a cup falls on the floor they have to continue the task from the floor.

Equipment:

PER TEAM
One rubber band (must fit around a cup)
6 pieces of string 1-2 metres long

Aim:

To improve communication and teamwork

Tip:
Using thick elastic bands works best.

Cup Stacker Team Brief

The group to build a pyramid out of the paper cups (4 on the bottom, 3 on the next row, 2, then finally 1 on top).

Group members may not touch the cups with their hands, or any other part of their bodies.

If a cup falls on the floor they have to continue the task from the floor.

You are only allowed the equipment provided.

Aim:

To improve communication and teamwork

Tip:

Plan ahead and communicate with each other.

Learning Pathways: Creative Thinking

Activity Focus: Communication / Auditory / Creativity

Activity Set Up:

The team have to create a perfect square on the ground only using the equipment provided,

The whole team must be blindfolded

The square should have approximately half metre sides

The team have ten minutes to plan, 20 minutes to experiment (blindfolded) and 10 minutes to come up with a solution that they can recreate accurately.

Equipment:

PER TEAM
5 Tent pegs
Blindfold for each each team member
4 Metres of string

Aim:

To encourage communication and problem solving techniques,

Tip:

It is a good idea to have a sighted (non-blindfolded) safety officer for each team. It is their task to monitor the safety of each team member. They are not allowed to help with the solution.

Learning Pathways: Social Intelligence

Activity Focus: Communication / Kinaesthetic / Teamwork

Activity Set Up:

Lay out a course for the team to follow and have a target in place at the end of the course
(i.e. bucket, cup bin etc)
Give each team member a length of plastic tubing
Give 1 team member the L-bend tube

Explain:
The team have to transport the marble (or other object) into the target (bucket etc). You can only use the equipment given to you to transport the marble
Each person can only touch his / her tubing
No one may move their feet whilst the marble is in their tube
The marble may not come into contact with anything but the tubes and the final container.
You may not block the ends of the tubes with any objects / other tubes.

Notes:
The marble could represent something significant / relevant to the group (a big client / assignment etc)

Variations:
Have a blocked tube (usually seen as a defective resource, but is very valuable if used creatively)
Use multiple marbles
Use water instead of marbles e.g. They have to fill a cup to a certain level (this is very challenging!)
Have the final container at the top of a flight of stairs (Check Health & Safety if using stairs)

Equipment:

1 marble
1 piece of 8-12" plastic tubing per person
1 L-bend

Aim:

A quick thinking team activity that requires communication, teamwork and planning.

Tip:

Check that the group are comfortable to be very close to each other.

Make sure the area is clear of obstructions etc