Campers are given recycled newspapers, masking tape and very little instruction. To work together and make a chair out of recycled newspapers and masking tape. Split campers into groups of 5-10 kids per group. Campers are given recycled newspapers and masking tape and asked to make a chair strong enough to support the weight of a counselor. Each group will …
Read MoreTeam Building Activities
paint pass
can be played with a big or small group of kids. kids sit around a table (floor is ok too) Give each kid a paper and 1 color paint with a paint brush. tell them to start to draw a picture with their color paint, after about 30 seconds, instruct them to pass their paper to the right and each …
Read MorePDQ
Every one starts with their hands in the middle on top of each other. The lead person(usually the person that won the last game) will give everyone a number. Then the leader says “PDQ” and everyone jumps back. Now the only person that can initiate a jump (straight up in to the air) is the person whose turn it is …
Read MorePeople Machine
Divide group into even numbered teams (4-8 participants are ideal). Advise teams to make themselves into a machine, with as many parts (gears, levers, etc.) as they can devise. The machine should have motion and sound, and include all team members. Give the teams five minutes to prepare their machine. Once the time is up, the teams take turns presenting …
Read MorePeople Pass
Arrange the group in two lines and ask them to lie down on the ground, lying face up with their heads in the middle and feet on the outside of both lines. This activity is done best on soft grass, mats or other soft surface. Everyone in the lines raises their arms in the air. One person stands at the …
Read MorePrejudice
Contributed by Bonnie Knapp, University of Iowa Make up index cards that have descriptions of different types of people. It could cover race, religion, disabilities, whatever you come up with. Each person has an index card placed on their back and they don’t know what they have been labeled with. Each person has to guess what their label is by …
Read MoreRaging River
cones (4) large play area planks/boards Team building, listening skills, communication Equipment Required: Large area, 4 cones and boards (square foam boards anything they can step on without getting hurt) Placing Equipment: Set up 2 cones 10-20 feet apart (do the same with the other two cones). Divide campers into two groups. NOTE: the amount of boards per team must …
Read MoreRush Hour Traffic
Everyone partners up and has one blindfold. The person who is the car puts on the blindfold and holds hands up as ÛÏbumpersÛ right in front of shoulders, thumbs almost touching. The driver stands behind the car, placing hands on their shoulders. The facilitator plays policeman calling for ÛÏtraffic rolling,Û ÛÏslow for school area,Û ÛÏred light,Û ÛÏfreeways,Û etc. The drivers …
Read MoreScrambled Puzzle
Blindfolds for all but one in the group. Simple Puzzles: at least 1 piece per person in the blindfolded group. Master Picture or completed puzzle for 1 person who can see. Set-up: Have group sits blindfolded at either a round a table or in a circle. One person sits out without a blindfold with his or her back to the …
Read MoreSearch by Sound
Large number of small objects ( eg. macaroni. toothpicks. pieces of string) Before the players come into the room, the leader scatters the objects about the room in inconspicuous places. Use all of one object, such as toothpicks, macaroni or pennies. Divide the group into even teams, with 5- 6 people per team. Give each team the name of a …
Read MoreSecret Football
-25 yard field -4 cones for end markers -one small object such as a super ball, paper clip, or chapstick tube -For every possession, each team is trying trick the other team in order to score a touchdown, or goal, worth one point. -This game is fun for all ages; it teaches cooperation and teamwork between young and old. -All …
Read MoreShoe Grab
campers with shoes. Have the campers sit in a circle and tell them to take off one shoe. Have them throw their shoes in a pile in the middle. There will be lots of jokes about the smell, so best to do this activity outside. Tell them on the count of three, to go in the middle and grab a …
Read MoreSpeed Pass
A tennis ball or any object that can easily be passed by hand. To see how fast a group can get everyone to touch the tennis ball. The goal of this activity is to give a group an opportunity to work together to achieve a simple goal. The task is to pass an object so that each member of the …
Read MoreTeam Radar
1 long piece of rope or webbing A marker for the final destination Blindfolds 2-15 people start at one end of a course that will lead them through the woods. They should be able to see the final mark. The group is given minutes to ÛÏlandmark,Û pace, and work out how they will find the marker when blindfolded. NOTE: They …
Read MoreThe Bravest Knight
Camp fire To teach the cubs that telling tall stories and exageration does not make you a better person, and that to tell truth is always more rewarding, no matter how boring it might seem at the time. In the Kingdom of Britain, King Edward sent out a decree, calling for all the knights of the land to gather in …
Read MoreThe Rope Game
A 10-20ft long rope/string/line Get the group working together to get everyone up and over the rope. Hang a rope, laundry line, or string about 5 feet in the air between two trees or poles. With a group, tell them that they all must get up and over the rope without hitting the rope. If they touch the rope, they …
Read MoreThumbs Up, Down, Middle
This activity is a very valuable way to encourage participation in the debriefing part of your team building activity for a couple of reasons: It allows participants to see how opinions of a particular experience vary greatly in the group. It provides the facilitator with an opportunity to focus the group discussion on a particular topic. 1) Have the group …
Read MoreTraffic Jam
Poly Spots, one per person plus one. Any type of marker that one can stand on is fine. 1. Have each person line up and stand on a poly spot, place the extra spot in the middle of the line 2. The goal of the game is to get side A to side B and Side B to side A, …
Read MoreTrust Tube
Arrange a group of 10-20 participants in two lines facing each other, with the participants about six feet apart from the person next to them. Once the individual lines are set, separate the lines from one another by about eight feet. All particpants put their hands up to spot for safety. Have two pariticpants stand at one end of the …
Read MoreTrust Walk
Have everyone find a partner. One person is blindfolded and the other will be leading. The one who is leading needs to take the other through a obstacle course of some sort (it can be natural or made). The leader cannot touch the other person and must direct them using only words. To make it more difficult have an entire …
Read MoreTrust Walk (Revised/Updated)
flat sheet forty or more traditional mouse traps follow directions Great to lead into a lesson on trusting God fully. Before students arrive lay a flat sheet out on the floor. Now set up about forty or more mouse traps. The cheap ones work perfect. I bought 2 for $2.00 at Norther Tool. They don’t trip easy and are easy …
Read MoreTub Turn
Big metal tub (old fashion wash tub) or farm-drinking trough. Fill metal tub with water to a depth of 3-4″. The group sits around the tub and with knees bent and feet on the trough and they lift it. Then: a) take off left shoe and pass around circle b) turn the tub 180å¡ – 360å¡. Note: If protection from …
Read MoreWireless Communication
Set-up: 1. Put the rope down as a starting line. 2. Ask the group to select their best listener. Bring that person forward 20′ and blindfold them. Tell them they cannot speak from then on until the game is over. Also tell them not to move unless told to do so. 3. Ask the group to select their best communicator. …
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