Team Building Activities The Wave Have 2 hula hoops or garden hose secured into hoops Have the entire group form a circle and join hands, spreading out so that arms are outstretched. Disconnect two hands long enough to hang a hoop on one person s arm, then reconnect. The group must move the hoop all the way around the circle without anyone letting go of anyone s hand. Once the goal has been reached, start 2 hoops on opposite sides of the circle going in opposite directions so that the hoops will have to pass each other. The hoops represent water droplets passing through the water cycle without ever ending. (Take a moment to review the water cycle.)
River Crossing Set up 2 parallel lines of cones about 20 yards apart Place 3 boards behind one line of cones The team needs to devise a strategy to work together to cross from one line of cones to the other, staying on the boards provided. You are a family of baby turtles who must cross the river to reach a safe habitat. In the river are hungry fish large enough to eat you. To stay safe from the fish, you must not touch the water, which is all of the space between the lines of cones. You are safe when you are behind the cones or completely on one of the boards. Work together to get every member of your family to the opposite shore. If anybody touches the river, the entire group must start over. Students cross the river to reach the safe habitat. = Students Key = Plywood SAFE HABITAT = Orange Cones
Alligator Boards Set up 2 parallel lines of cones about 20 yards apart Line up 2 alligator boards side-by-side for each team of 5-7 people behind one line of cones. Participants place one foot on each board and pick up a handle on each board. They must work together to walk past the finish line (the other line of cones). If anyone touches the ground, they must start over. Daddy penguins carry their babies on their feet to keep them warm. You are a family of baby penguins and the boards are your daddy s feet. Daddy s trying to move you quickly away from predators. Don t fall off or you might freeze to death or get eaten!
Toxic Waste Partially fill one can with water Place an empty can about 10 yards away Have the rubber loop attached to handles The team needs to devise a strategy to work together to use the handled loop to pick up the filled can and pour it into the empty can without spilling any water. There has been a toxic waste spill. All of the toxic waste has been contained in the filled can. You and your team must move the toxic waste to the treatment plant (the empty can) where it can be treated and made safe. The waste is so dangerous that you cannot touch the can at all. You must use the special rubber loop tool to handle the can. If any of the toxic waste spills, you must start over.
Snake Ball none Have the group stand in a small circle. Have each member reach across the circle and take someone s hand. They may not take the hand of the person next to them. Then, have each person reach across the circle and take a different person s hand. They may not take the hand of the person next to them. The snakes are totally tangled! You must untangle yourself so that you form a neat circle without anyone letting go of anyone s hand.
Tarp Flip Lay a tarp on the ground The team will all stand on the black side of the tarp. The team needs to devise a strategy to work together to turn the tarp over so that the black side of the tarp is down and the silver side is up. No team member may touch the ground off of the tarp with any body part during the challenge. It s time to turn over a new leaf! Brainstorm things you could change in your life to help the environment!
Pipeline Place destination bucket about 10 yards from starting point Give one of the colored half cylinders (pipes) to the first child at the starting point. Have other children get pipes Explain the rules: Students must move a ball from the first pipe into the destination bucket The ball MUST be moving (rolling) at all times Nobody may touch the ball with any part of their bodies When the ball is in YOUR pipe, you may not move your feet Drop the ball into the first child s pipe. The ball is energy moving through a food web. If the energy ever stops flowing through the food web, the whole food web will die. Don t break the chain or your whole ecosystem might die out! (Take a moment to brainstorm food webs.)
Rear View Mirror Have a set of blindfolds prepared Have a blank chalkboard Have a piece of chalk for each team Divide group into teams of 3. Each team has a leader, a speaker, and a seeker. Seekers are isolated and blindfolded. Tell the leaders and speakers that they are going to guide their seekers, who are blindfolded to complete the task of writing a word on a chalkboard. There should be one letter for each seeker (example: the word TEAMWORK for a group of 24). Speakers stand in a row with their backs to the seekers. They are NOT allowed to look at the seekers. Leaders stand facing the speakers. They WILL be able to see what the seekers are doing, but leaders are NOT allowed to speak AT ALL. Leaders and speakers will need to work together to communicate directions to the seekers. Seekers are guided into the room and placed in front of their respective teams. A piece of chalk is placed several paces behind each seeker. Speakers must work with their leaders to direct the seekers to pick up the chalk and write their assigned letters in the proper place on the board to spell out the word properly. Once the task is completed, debrief and then possibly repeat with a totally different task (example: stacking chairs in a particular way)
Lichen Your Partner Have rope handcuffs prepared Partner the group in pairs. Cuff one partner s hands by putting the loops of one rope around that person s wrists. Take another rope and hold it so it makes an X with the cuffed rope. The other partner should put his/her wrists through that second rope s loops. The partners now each have their own rope, but the ropes are crossed. The goal is for the partners to work together to uncross their ropes WITHOUT either partner removing their wrists from their own loops. Tell the story: Allen Algae and Farrah Fungus (United States) Long ago there was a fungus named Farrah. Now, Farrah Fungus was very good at building houses, but she wasn t a very good cook. In fact, she couldn t even make her own food; like all funguses, she had to find dead plants or animals to eat, and sometimes she couldn t find much food. One day, while Farrah Fungus was sitting on a tree stump, she looked over at a rain puddle and saw something green growing there. The green thing looked up at her and smiled. What s your name? the green thing said. I m Farrah Fungus. What s your name? I m Allen Algae and I was just making some food out of sunshine. Are you hungry? Farrah Fungus blew right over there, and people say that Farrah Fungus and Allen Algae took a lichen (liking) to each other. They decided to get married. And from then on, Farrah Fungus would make a house and Allen Algae would make food; and they could live wherever they wanted, as long as there was sunlight. That s why to this day, when we see a lichen plant, we tell the symbiotic story of a fungus and an alga that fell in love. Keep that in mind the next time you see lichen on a rock.