STEP Activities Database

Materials: Balloons, String

Divide the group into two teams. Inflate a balloon (all the same size) and attach a string  for each team member.  Have each player tie a balloon to their ankle so that everyone has the same length of balloon trailing on the ground. Then have players keep their arms behind their back and allow no pushing, shoving or running.

The contest is then to have the teams try to burst the others balloon first. The team with the last balloon wins. As your balloon is burst you withdraw from the game.  Identify the teams by the color of the balloon.

How to Play:

One player hides while the rest of the players count to 100. Then they set out to find the hidden player. When one of the players finds the hidden player he/she  secretly joins them, hiding from the rest of the group. This continues until all the players are hidden like a little pack of sardines. When the last player discovers the spot the game is over.

Gather everyone in a cirlce. Initially each person should have a chair.  All chairs should be equidistant from eachother.  It also makes it easier if all the chairs are the same.  Once everyone is in the circle and sitting on their chair instruct them to turn their body 90 degreees to the left.  Everyone should be facing the same direction and the backing of the chair should be on their left side.  Once everyone is situated in this position every person should lean back and place their head on the lap of the person behind them.  After this, everyone should put their left arm over the right shoulder of the person in front of them and their right arm should just be extended to the person behind them over their own right shoulder. 

Once all of this is done, everyone should have a hand to hold.  After all of this has occurred, and everyone is holding hands, the person leading the activity should start gently pulling chairs out from underneath the people taking  part in the activity.  If all goes right, at the end, all of the chairs will be gone, and the students will all be sitting in a circle without chairs. 

This activity builds trust between the people in the group, gets everyone comfortable with each other nut mainly it is for fun.

Ideal Group Size: 10+

Materials: Tent Pole or anything other long, light stick

Time: 10 to 15 Minutes

Procedure: Everyone is instructed to put their two pointer fingers on the “helium pole”. They have to be between someone else’s pointer finger. The object of the game is to get the “pole” to the ground by just using your pointer fingers. When the instructor says go, there will be two people on each side of the”pole” and they will let go of it. The game ends when they get the pole to the ground.

Ideal Group Size: 10+

Materials: An Empty Soda Can

Time: 10 Minutes

Procedure: Arrange students in a circle. The instructor will then go to the middle of the circle and explain that everyone must touch the can. Next, tell them to touch the can, but they can’t have physical contact with anyone else. Once they complete that, you can offer a “challenge” option. Tell them that they have to touch the can without physical contact, and with their eyes closed. This might take a couple of tries but they’ll eventually get it. Once that’s accomplished, the game is finally done.

Ideal Group Size: 10-30
Materials: Chair
Time: 5-20 minutes

Procedure: The Hot Seat is often used as an ice breaker to learn more about a new individual to a group.  Students should be seated in a classroom, or outside and a new individual should be placed in “The Hot Seat.”  The Hot seat will be a chair in front of the rest of the group.  Students are then allowed to ask the new individual questions about their interests, life, and experiences (questions must be appropriate.)  If the new individual feels uncomfortable answering a question they can decline to answer.  This game is a fun ice breaker which puts new individuals on the spot, and allows them to be welcomed into a group easily.  The game should end when the questions start to dwindle, or when the leader of the group chooses.

Ideal Group Size: 8 or more
Materials: None
Time: 10-20 Minutes

Procedure: During eye contact students should be arranged in semi-spacious circle. The instructor should pick one person at random to be in the center of the circle.  The object of the game is to make eye contact with somebody across the circle, and then switch places with the person whom you’ve made eye contact with, as well as to make sure that the person who is in the middle doesn’t take the spot you’re going to.  If the spot that you’re going to is taken by the person in the middle, then you get put into the middle.  The game proceeds until the instructor decides to end it.

Group Size: 8 or more
Materials:  None
Time: 5-10 Minutes
Procedure: Arrange the students in a sizable circle. The object of the game is to name an object for the letter which you are assigned. Every student should be given a letter, and the game should continue until the alphabet is completed.

Group Size: 10-15

Materials: None

Procedure:  Students should sit/stand in a circle in a room with a great deal of general objects.  The object of the game is for a selected student to guess what a larger group of students has chosen while the selected student was out of the room.  While the selected student is out of the room,  the group chooses an object in the room to be an object which the selected student has to guess.   The selected student should return to the room once the group has decided on a certain object.  The leader/instructor should then begin the game by saying “Is it that green shirt?”, “Is it that blue water bottle?”  The secret to the game is that the object mentioned before the object which the group chose will be “Is it that black -insert object here-?”  Hence the name “Black Magic.”

Ideal Group Size: 5 and up

Materials: A classroom
Time: 10-25 minutes

Procedure:

One student is chosen to go outside of the room for a moment  with a staff to make sure that he is not looking inside. The people inside decide on what the person should do or go. Once the initiative is chosen, the person outside is allowed to come back inside. Once inside, the people who chose what the person should do start humming according to how close that person is to what they shoud or where they should be. Loud humming means they are getting closer. Soft humming means that they are getting farther away. When the person achieves the tack he has been secretly assigned with out knowing, a new person in chosen to repeat the same procedure.

Ideal Group Size: 5 plus

Materials: None

Time: 15-20 Minutes

Procedure:

During this game students may sit wherever they choose in the classroom.  One student is selected to leave the room, while the other students in the group change one thing in the room.  The chosen student is sent to a separate room where they cannot see or hear the classroom in which the larger group is located. Students have free reign as to what they would like to change, for example they may change a student’s position, or an objects placement.  After something has been changed by the large group, the chosen student returns to the classroom and has to pick out what the group changed.  They are only allowed to take three guesses, after either the student has used their three guesses, or has found what has changed, another student is sent into the other room, and another object changed.  The game can continue as long as the instructor chooses.

Ideal Group Size: 10 Plus

Materials: None

Time: 10-25 Minutes

Procedure:

Arrange the students in a circle and choose one student to leave the room which the larger group is in.  Be sure that the student who was chosen to leave is in an area where he/she cannot see or hear the group. Then quietly pick another person to be the leader.  The rest of the group has to ‘follow the leader.’  When the leader is chosen, and the rest of the group follows what he/she is doing then the chosen student can return to the room. The chosen student stands in the middle of the circle gets three guesses to figure out who the leader is based on the groups actions.  After three guesses, if the chosen student still hasn’t correctly guessed the leader, then the leader shows him/herself.  Once the leader is revealed, if the instructor plans to continue the game, then the leader should leave the main room.

Ideal Group Size: 8 or more

Materials: space to run around, pieces of fabric

Time: 10-40 minutes

Procedure:

The leader distributes tails, and there are no teams in Tail Tag.  The object of the game is to get as many tails from other students as possible. You have to protect your “tail” from getting it stolen by another person. If someone ends up stealing your ”tail,” you are eliminated from the current game. The game ends when everybody loses their tails to a certain student, the person who has all of the tails is the winner.

Ideal Group Size: 5-12 students
Materials: none
Time: 10-15 minutes

Procedure:
Gather everyone into a circle. Have any person begin the game by asking any other player a question. The question could be about anything that person would like. The player that is being asked the question cannot answer it, but instead must ask another player a whole different question. No one can laugh or answer the question; if someone fails to do this they are eliminated. The object of the game is to have each person ask a question and have no one laugh or answer the question. The game ends when there is only one person left.

Ideal Group Size: 10 or more

Materials: Space to run around, Index Cards with letters on them,

Time: 15-45 minutes

Procedure:

Divide students into two teams equally distant from 2 piles of scrambled letters. Make sure there are a couple of each letter in both scramble piles.  The object of the game is to spell out the word that the tutor/leader calls out before the other team does. Once the tutor/leader calls a word, the first person in the line of each team runs to where the scrambled letters are, he/she must find the first letter of that word and run back with it. Once the first person comes back with the letter, the next person in line must run to where the letters are located, find the second letter of the word, and run back to the team. Then the next person in line does the same and this procedure continues until the whole word is spelled out. The first team that spells out the whole word correctly, gets a point.  The team with the most points wins. NOTE: DONT USE WORDS WITH TOO MANY REPEATED LETTERS ON THEM. ITS RECOMMENDED TO USE THIS LIST OF WORDS BELOW:

Elephant, Computer, Obsticale, Newspaper, Marshmallow, Challenge, Category, Moderate, Randomize, Exclusive, Engine, Purify, Weightless, Necessary, Metabolism, Indestructive, Goose, Activate, Bridge, Public

Ideal Group Size: 5+

Materials: No materials

Time: 20-25 Minutes

Procedure:
Arrange students in a circle, one person should be placed in the middle.  This person will be instructed to point at an individual in the circle, and say “If you love me baby, give me a smile.”  The individual who the person in the middle pointed to, will reply with “I love you baby, but I can’t give you a smile.”  If the person who was pointed to smiles when he makes the statement, then he is to go in the circle and repeat the process.  This will continue and when time runs out, or students end up getting tired of the game then it can end.

Ideal Group Size: 6 or more

Materials: a small marble

Time: As long as you would like it to be

Procedure:

The group of students are placed in a circle, shoulder to sholder facing the center of the circle. The staff will choose one of the students to be the person in the middle. The person in the middle can either close their eyes or leave the room until the staff has given one of the people the marble. Once one of the students have been given the marble, that person can either keep the marble or pass it on to the next person inconspicously. The other people in the circle have the same choice. By now, the person in the middle has opened their eyes and are looking around to see who they suspect must have the marble. They have three chances to guess the right person. If they do not succeed in pointing out the person with the marble, the person with the marble must show it and the game restaqrts with the same person in the middle. If the person in the middle has guesssed correctly, then the person with the marble is now in the middle and the game restarts.

like kickball w/mats

Ideal Group Size: 10 or  more (they are divided into two equal groups)

 Materials: Rope and 4 cones
Time: 10-45 minutes
Procedure:

A rope is layed down flat on the floor horizantally going in opposite directions. In the middle of the rope, cones will be placed to make the area in which nobody will be allowed in. It is an empty game. Two cones will be on one end two feet apart and the other two cones will be approximately four feet away from the cones and they will also be two feet apart. The two groups of people, number of people depends on size of the group are standing at opposite ends of the rope. They are not allowed in the middle of the area. The object of the game is to have the least amount of rope on your group’s side. The group with the least amount of rope is the victor!!! (There is a way that both teams can win o= )

Ideal Group Size: 10+

Materials: Blindfold, Fuzzy Balls

Time: 15 t0 30 minutes

Procedure: Students will get paired up. One student in that pair will be chosen to be blindfolded with a fuzzy ball. the object of the game is to tag every pair with a ball and be the last one to get tagged. The unblindfolded person gives directions to the blindfolded one on where to throw the ball or where to move. Once a pair tags every other pair, the game is over.

blindfolded with noodle – protect item

Ideal Group Size: 10 to 20 students

Materials: blindfold

Time: 10-20 minutes

Procedure:

Arrange students in a circle, holding hands.  Take a volunteer to the center of the circle and blindfold her/him.  Spin the blindfolded volunteer around a few times, so they’re not sure which way they’re facing.  The blindfolded person in the circle needs to try to touch anyone in the circle.  The circle tries to avoid that touch by moving.  The circle cannot disconnect at any point and has the job of also keeping the blindfolded person safe.  Be sure to play this game in a wide open, relatively flat field.  Remind students that the primary job of the people in the circle is to keep the blindfolded person safe, so if the group moves near an obstacle, the circle should stop moving and not allow the blindfolded person to run into the obstacle.

Toxic Eggs

Ideal Group Size:  3 or 4 per group 

Materials: Foil, Tape, Straws, Pennies, A large container (A bucket of some sort) filled with water, Paper and Pen

Time: 15 – 45 minutes

Procedure:

The object of the game is to get the students to create a foil boat using foil, straws, and tape. The boats should be able to with stand a large amount of pennies before sinking. Depending on the amount of students, divide them up into groups of three or four. Hand out the materials and wait 15 to 20 minutes for the students to create their foil boats. After they have finished, take the boat and place it into a water filled container. Students will place pennies onto the boat one by one. If the boat with stands more then 50 pennies, place 5 pennies at a time. If it is still floating above the water after 100 pennies, increase the amount to 10 pennies at a time until the boat sinks. Make sure to record the amount of pennies each boat held on a piece of paper. Repeat process to each boat that is build. The team with the boat that was able to with stand the most pennies before sinking is the winner. 

Bridges

Parachutes

Ideal Group Size:  3 or 4 per group 
Materials: Tissue Paper, Scissors, Foam Cups, Plastic Plates, String, Pipe Cleaners, Construction Paper, Gauzes, Hole Puncher, Eggs (you can use the cartons as well), A place that the eggs are able to drop from (at least 10 to 20 ft.), Markers,
Time: 30-90 minutes
Procedure:

The items are put in a simulation of a store. Each group is given a certain number of credits that they can spend. The credits will be like cash. All of the materials are given a certain price to obtain it, like a regular store. The eggs though, are given free. The students can only buy as many products as they can afford. The prices are up to you, this just limits their amount of materials that they have. The groups are given 30 to 40 minutes to construct an object that is able to carry the egg. It also has to be able to be dropped and keep the egg from breaking. They are also allowed to decorate the object that they have constructed with their markers. They can also decorate their eggs as well and give them names if they choose to. Once their object has been completed and the egg has been placed inside, one student has to bring the egg to the area that it is being dropped from. The rest go to the bottom where the egg is being dropped from. One staff will be at each area to supervise. The eggs are then thrown off from the top of the assigned area to the bottom. The surviving eggs will be given another round of falling until there is only one egg left that has not broken. The group with the unbroken egg willl be the champions.

Mousetrap Cars

Ideal Group Size: 1+
Materials: Borax (laundry booster, can be found in the laundry detergent aisle), Elmers glue (must be Elemers glue), water, food coloring, bowls/containers, cups
Time: 30-90 minutes

Procedure:

First mix water and Borax to create a saturated Borax/water solution. Put two parts glue in a bowl or cup and add 2-3 drops of food coloring (depending on how dark you want to color to be).  Then add one part of the Borax solution slowly, to the two parts of glue into a container or cup. Add the Borax solution slowly checking the consistancy as you add it little by little. If too much Borax solution is added it will become too solid to worlk with. Once it is completely mixed it should semi-solidify. Finally it is ready to play with. To be put away it should be placed in a small Ziploc bag.

Ideal Group Size:  4 to 5 per group

Materials: Mouse traps, plastic spoons, duct tape, Eraser, Rubber band, Marshmallows (Small ones work best), popscicle sticks

Time: 20-30 minutes

Procedure:

The object of the game is to create a catapult that can launch a marshmallow onto a target that is a few feet away. Divide the students into groups of four or five. Place all materials on to a table that has been cleared off. The students should go over to the table and pick out the objects that they would like to utalize. The spoon and mouse trap is a major component in the catapult so make sure they all have these two items. Also keep an eye on how they work with the mouse trap, it could be dangerous. It should always be strapped down by a rubber band to make sure that is does not release unsuspectedly. The rest of the materials are up to them to decide whether or not those items will help them achieve their goal. Wait about 20 minutes for them to build their marshmallow catapults. While they are building their catapults, find a hallway to create the target. Using some duct tape create two squares, one square being fairly large while the other is smaller and a few feet away from the other. The square should be ten feet away from the area that the catapultls are going to be placed at. Once the students are done, tape down one of the catapults to the floor and place a marshmallow on to the spoon. The student then must launch the marshmallow into the desginated area. First being the larger one. The student gets three tries before letting the next student launch their marshmallow. After all the students launched there marshmallows, they get another chance to launch a marshmallow into the smaller square which is farther then the larger one. Once again they get three tries. As soon as they all had their attempts, congradulate their attempts and reward them with the left over marshmellows. =DD

Ideal Group Size: 4 or more

Materials: none

Time: 10 – 30 minutes

Procedure:

Players start by sitting around a table or desk.  All players put both hands, palms down, on the table/desk.  Each player takes his or her right hand and places it on the table over the person to their right’s hand, creating crossed hands around the table.  As a demonstration, a leader will start by tapping his or her hand on the table.  The person’s hand that is next to that will tap, then the next hand and so on until the hands have all tapped in order around the table.  The hands need to be tapped in order.  If at any time a hand is moved out of turn, that HAND is out.  Also, at any time a player may decide to tap their hand two times.  This reverses the direction that the taps are going.  As hands are eliminated, the remaining hands do not readjust or move position.  Play continues until there is only one person left.

Ideal Group Size: 8 or more

Materials: none

Time: 5-15 minutes

Procedure:

Participants should be in a circle (can be standing or in chairs).  A volunteer should stand in the center of the circle.  The volunteer asks a question starting with, “Have you ever….”  The questions should reflect something that the person has actually done and ideally it should be something interesting.  Anyone in the circle that has done what they’re asking about needs to change locations with someone else on the circle.  They can’t move to a space immediately next to them.  The person in the center moves to a spot on the circle.  The person left without a spot in the circle becomes the one asking the next question.  This game can be a fun way for the participants to get to know each other better.

Group Size:10 to 25

Materials: 3-5 fuzzy balls

Time: 10-20 minutes

Procedure: Arrange the students into a circle (some space between students).  Take out one fuzzy ball, say a student’s name, and toss the ball to that student.  Then they pass the ball to somebody else, saying their name before they throw it to them.  Keep it going until everyone gets the ball at least once.  Make the point that the goal is to keep the ball from touching the ground, so the tosses should be gentle.  Also, be sure to let the students know that they need to remember who they threw the ball to.  Once the ball has been returned to the person who started it, start it going around again.  One it’s moved through a few people, add another ball.  You can keep adding balls as the game goes to make it more fun.  Once the group has it well figured out, tell them they have to reverse the flow – they need to throw it to the person that threw it to them.

Group Size:10-25

Materials:4-6 fuzzy balls, 4 cones

Procedure: 

The leader or instructor should set the four cones into a spacious square.  (The space should be spacious enough for students to run around in.)  After set up, the leader gives four to six students the fuzzy balls and instructs them that after three steps, they must throw the ball at another person or pass the ball by rolling it on the ground in front of them.  (Students cannot take more than three steps with the ball.)  The object of the game is to hit their fellow students with the fuzzy balls, or for the students avoiding being tagged for as long as possible.  Once tagged, the student must kneel down and wait for the person who originally tagged them, to be tagged out.  Once the person who tagged that student is out, they are able to get up and run around again.

Group Size:10-30

Materials: 1 fuzzy ball, Cones to set up boundaries

Procedure:

One student is chosen to be the “Monarch”.  The monarch’s job is to bring more players into their monarchy by hitting them with a fuzzy ball.  When the monarch is alone at the start, they can run with the ball and chase after people.  Once the monarch has added at least one other player to their monarchy by hitting them with a ball, no one in the monarchy is allowed to move with the ball in their hands.  Members of the monarchy can pass the ball to each other.  The game ends when everyone has joined the monarchy.

Students can be encouraged to be silly by getting on one knee and yelling “I love the Monarchy!” once they are tagged.

Ideal Group Size:3+

Materials: Foam pipe insulation, scissors, hot glue guns, hot glue sticks, masking tape, marbles, structures to build on/against

Time: 30-60 minutes

Procedure: There is some preparation involved in this game, instructors should cut the pipe insulation in half in order to make the track for the roller coasters before students begin.  Students will be provided with a set number of tracks and a pair of scissors, as well as a hot glue gun and hot glue sticks (only responsible students should be trusted with the glue guns.)  Instruct students on the properties of physics (potential energy, kinetic energy etc,) also tell students they may use anything they can to build upon, but their marble must make it from beginning to end.

Ideal Group Size: 5+

Materials: Jump Rope

Time: 10-30 minutes

Procedure: Someone is picked to make a jump pattern while jumping rope. Next, the rest of the group follows the pattern that the first person created.

Ideal Group Size: 8 or more

Materials: space to run around

Time: 10-45 minutes

Procedure:

The group stands in a circle holding hands.  One person is chosen to be the “cat” and one is chosen to be the “mouse”.  The mouse stands inside the circle.  The cat stands outside the circle.  The people in the circle let go of the hands, but stay close enough together to be able to grab hands later.  The mouse can go in and out of the circle, but the cat must stay outside of the circle.  On “go” the mouse will sneak in and out of the circle.   As this happens, each “hole” (between two people) the mouse goes through closes.  Whether the mouse goes out between two people, or in between two people, those people hold hands to close the hole.  That hole can not be used again.  The mouse’s job is to close all the holes before getting tagged by the cat.  The cat is trying to tag the mouse before this happens.

Mousetrap

Ideal Group Size: 8 to 25

Materials: none

Time: 10-25 minutes

Procedure: Arrange the students in a circle around you, and then have them turn around so that their backs are facing in/you.  Tell them to close their eyes.  Pick one student to be the “killer” by silently tapping them in the back.  Once you’ve picked a killer and walked around long enough that it’s not obvious who you’ve picked, have the students turn around and start shaking hands with one another.  (You can have them say their names to each other, if they don’t know each other yet.)  The student who is the “killer” can kill anyone they shake hand with by tickling the victim’s hand with their index finger.  The victim must shake hands with two more people before screaming and dropping to the ground (encouraging drama here makes it more fun for the kids).  They are now dead and must remain silent and out of the game.  The “killer” is trying to kill the entire group, without being discovered.  If someone (who hasn’t been killed/tickled) thinks they know who the killer is, they need to find another student, a witness, who agrees with them before telling the facilitator.  If they correctly identify the “killer”, then the game is over.  If they are incorrect, then they are both “dead”.

Be sure to give clear instructions before playing this game.  Make sure you accentuate the fact that they must shake hands with two more people before dying and that they can’t say who the killer is once they’ve been tickled/killed.  You’ll likely have a few people that don’t want to shake hands with anyone, so be aware and encourage them.

Ideal Group Size: 10-20

Materials: Sheet

Time: 10-15 minutes

Procedure:

Divide group in two and have them sit on the floor (teams facing each other).  They need to sit relatively close together with about 5 feet between the teams.  Between the two teams, have 2 staff members hold up the sheet so that the teams can’t see each other.  Have each team put one team member directly in front of the sheet (sitting inches from the sheet).  Count to 3 and drop the sheet.  The first of the two kids at the sheet to say the other’s name, wins.  The losing student moves to the winning student’s team.  Repeat.

You can watch a short demo video below.

Ideal Group Size: 14 or more

Materials: space to run around, cones, soft balls

Time: 20-45 minutes

Procedure:

The group is divided into two teams and each team is sent to opposite ends of the playing field.  Cones are placed around the playing field for boundaries, and about five or six soft balls for throwing are placed in the center of the playing field, between each team.  The teams then secretly selects one person to be the “medic”.  Once play starts, players from each team can run over and try to grab as many soft balls as they can before the other team does.  The object of the game is for each team to figure out who the medic on the other team is, and hit them with a ball.  If anyone other than the medic is hit, they are out and must sit down.  The only way they can come back into the game is if the medic runs over and tags them, or does whatever action has been decided upon for the medic to do (run around the person, for example).  Only the medic can bring players back into the game, and if the medic is hit with a ball, the game is over.

Ideal Group Size: 10-40

Materials: Open Space (Outside is preferable)

Time: 10-20 Minutes

Procedure:   Toilet tag is simply regular tag, but with a twist.  One student can be chosen to be “The plumber,” or “it.” If having only one student be “The Plumber,” is causing the game to go slowly then the instructor or leader can add more “Plumbers” as the game progresses.  The rest of the students run around, similar to regular tag.  But when tagged they are to kneel down on one knee, with one hand up (for the flushing handle,) and wait for another student to come use them as a “toilet.”  The other student is to sit on their knee, flush them, and run around them three times.   This continues until time runs out which should be decided by the instructor who is facilitating the game.

Diablo

Ideal Group Size: 6 to 10

Materials: Soft ball that rolls and is larger than a softball (foam dodgeball is good)

Time: 10-25 minutes

Procedure:
Arrange the students in a circle with legs about shoulder width apart and touching the adjacent student’s ankle.  The object of the game is to get other players out by hitting the ball through their legs.  One player is given the ball to serve.  Serving consists of hitting the ball to another player (using the hands).  Players cannot be eliminated off the serve, and  the serve cannot go to an adjacent player.  Players hit the ball with their hands within the circle.  They cannot grab it or hold it at all. 

Play continues until the ball goes through a player’s legs.  This player then must put one hand behind her/his back and continue playing with the other arm.  If they are scored upon again, they must put their second arm behind their back and continue playing without arms (likely a short lived experience).  If they are scored upon once again, they need to step out of the circle and can participate by helping to retrieve wayward balls.  The circle should be closed to remove the space that was left by the player that exited.  Play continues until there are three champions still left in the game.

Ideal Group Size: 4 or more

Materials: none

Time: 10-45 minutes

Procedure:

Instruct the group to stand in a straight line side by side (this can be combined with other challenges).  Have the group put their feet together so that the sides of their feet touch the sides of the feet of the person next to them.  Their ankles are now “welded” together.  The group must now make it some distance, or perform some task given to them by the group leader.  If at any time any of the feet come disconnected, the whole group must go back to the start and begin again.  * A distance of about 8-10 feet is usually sufficient to be challenging without being frustrating and repetitive. 

Zookeeper

Ideal Group Size: 1+

Materials: newspaper, tape, text books

Procedure:

Seperate the participants into pairs or groups of 3. Give them severeral newspapers and 2 pieces of tape (in the length of 3 inches).  Instruct them to build a tower or bridge that will be able to withstand the weight of a text book. They must only use the materials given. The object of this activity is to create methods of building toweres that are sturdy enough to withstand the weight of a text book.

Ideal Group Size: 1+

Materials: clay, toothpicks

Procedure:

Seperate the participants into pairs or groups of 3. Give each group a piece of clay and a multitude of toothpicks (every group must have the same amount of each material). Instruct them to build a sturdy tower that is able to stand alone without any  assistance. The object of this activity is to have the participatants create or think of new methods of  building sturdy towers (using only the materials given).

Ideal Group Size: 8+

Materials: Lego Creation, Legos

Time: 30-45 Minutes

Procedure: Line the students up side by side.  Give one of the end students the lego creation, which should be somewhat complex but not terribly so.  This student is the student who should begin the message which will be passed down the line.  They will have to describe the lego structure and pass this message on to the person next to them, this continues down the line to the last person.  The last person will have to construct the same lego structure as the first student has to describe.  Once the students believe that they are done, then they should tell the instructors they believe they’re done.  The structures will then be compared to each other to see how well the messages were passed on.

Ideal Group Size: 5 or more

Materials: index cards, pens or pencils for each participant

Time: 20-30 minutes depending on group size

Procedure:

Each person is given an index card and a pen or pencil.  They are instructed to sit somewhere by themselves.  Without using words, letters or numbers they should create something on that index card that represents who they are.  They can draw favorite hobbies, places to go, dreams, goals, or anything they feel is part of them.  The cards are collected and put together.  When everyone is finished, one by one each person comes to the front and takes one of the cards at random (any but their own).  They then look at the card, and describe what they think that person is like.  They can then guess who made the card and that person will then take the next card to describe.