TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES Trip 1 The Human Knot The entire group makes a large circle and take

each others hands, they are then told to move over and under each other across the circle without letting go of their handsto make a human knot. They are then to untangle themselves without letting go of their original handholding partners. Human Knot Challenge As above, only this time there are two teams, each is tied in knots and each team must untie their knot. The first to untie the knot wins the challenge. Mine Field Challenge Objects are scattered in a given place. In pairs, one person verbally guides his/her partner, a blindfolded person, through the minefield. One partner cannot touch the other. Neither partner may touch a mine. If either partner steps on a mine, both must start again. Can be run twice, in practice and then as a group partner race. Campers will be led in taking self-measurements, including: heart rate, approximate number of calories burned, distance travelled. Additionally, they will be asked to write a sentence or two in their journal regarding experiences thus far, specifically in terms of learning about group work, teambuilding skills, personal strengths and/or weaknesses. Trust Falls One partner stands behind the other, who is blindfolded. The blindfolded individual falls back into his partners arms. First, the sighted partner stands 6 inches behind the partner, then one foot, two feet and finally three feet away. Variable: group trust fall: group stands with arms intertwined, facing each other. A blindfolded person will fall first straight back into the arms of the group--first from the ground, and then from a structure (tree) some distance off the ground. Both group and blindfolded individual must be fully willing and able to take part. Welded Ankle A group attempts to cross a specified distance with each person's feet 'welded' to another person's feet. Hop, Skip, Jump There are seven stepping-stones and six people. On the three left-hand stones, facing the center, stand three of the people. The other three people stand on the three right-hand stones, also facing the center. The center stone is not occupied. The Challenge: y Exchanging places: everyone must move so that the people originally standing on the right-hand stepping-stones are on the left-hand stones, and those originally standing on the left-hand stepping-stones are on the right-hand stones, with the center stone again unoccupied. The Rules: y After each move, each person must be standing on a stepping-stone. y If you start on the left, you may only move to the right. If you start on the right, you may only move to the left.

y y

You may "jump" another person if there is an empty stone on the other side. You may not "jump" more than one person. Only one person can move at a time.

Again, campers will be led in taking self-measurements, including: heart rate, approximate number of calories burned, distance travelled. Additionally, they will be asked to write a sentence or two in their journal regarding experiences thus far, specifically in terms of learning about group work, teambuilding skills, personal strengths and/or weaknesses. Group Survival Exercise y Campers are split into small groups of three or four. y Groups are given a time limit (15-30 mins) for final decision-making. Scenario Type 1: Choose Survival Equipment (What do we NEED?) Your plane crashed...your group needs to choose the 12 most useful items in existence to survive...  Rank equipment/items in terms of their relative survival value: o Teams brainstorm possibilities to choose from as a group o Team members then choose/rank items individually o Discuss choices/rankings as a group and come to a consensus o Score answers against other groups and, finally, against expert/group leader opinion Possible crash-sites: y At sea y On an island y In the desert y In space y On the moon y In the jungle y Ancient Egypt y Etc. Scenario Type 2: People Survival Scenario (Who will be saved?) A nuclear bomb has been dropped...a radiation-free shelter is available, but it can only hold six people; the group must choose who will survive...  Choose / rank equipment people in terms of their relative survival value: o Participants choose/rank the items individually o Discuss choices/rankings in small group and come to a group consensus o Score answers against expert/group leader opinion Groups of people to choose survivors from might include: y Humans in general y US presidents and/or politicians y World famous individuals y Authors (dead and alive) y Famous people, including music, fashion and/or movie stars. y Species of animal, insect or plant Create Your Own Team Building Activity y Campers are split into small groups of three or four.

Groups are given a time limit (15-30 mins) for final decision-making. Group members are to contribute as equally as possible in the creation of a team building activity of the groups invention. y The Catch: The activity should be one that the group believes it can do better than any other group. y After the expressed time limit, all groups come together and take turns to present their activity. Groups earn points if: y No other group can beat them at their activity (+2) y The group can do another group's activity (+1) y y *This is a challenging culminating activity that requires all the elements of teamwork communication, goal setting, planning, cooperation, creativity, task orientation, etc. More Activities to Choose From Relay Lock Race- Each person selects a partner. Partners stand back to back and lock arms by elbows while holding their own stomach with their hands. The coach gives the order for each team to travel from one location to another, some distance away. Shoe Game Have everyone take off their shoes and put them in a pile in the middle of the room. Mix the shoes up. Divide the campers into 2 groups. See which group can find their shoes and put them on first. When they have their shoes on, the entire team must sit to win. Truths and a Lie - Each team member writes 2 true facts and one lie on a card. The coach collects the cards and reads them aloud. The rest of the campers tries to guess who authored the card and which item is a lie. Sculpting Using sticks, stones, and any other sources they can find in nature, campers (in small groups of 2 or 3) are instructed to create a sculpture that represents Nogales, athletics, an active lifestyle, nature, etc. Have them explain the significance of their creation. Trust Fall- Campers sit in a close circle with their legs straight and arms out. One camper stands in the center of the circle. He/She should have everyone's feet around his/her ankles. The camper in the center squeezes all his/her muscles and is very tight. He/She falls to the side and the other campers catch him/her and push him/her back and forth in the circle. Let all members be the one in the center. The Human Knot Must have an even number of campers, ideally no more than twelve. Form a circle facing each other (the difficulty of the activity increases the greater the number of campers in the group). Campers close their eyes and reach across the circle with their right hand to grasp the right hand of another camper. They should pretend that they are shaking hands - but hold on! With eyes open, have each camper reach across the circle with their left hand and grasp the left hand of a different camper. No camper should be holding both hands of the same person. Now, without letting go, have the campers untangle themselves. The result should be a circle of intertwined circles, or one large circle. Camper Tic-Tac-Toe- Set up nine chairs in three rows. Divide the campers into X's and O's. Just like in regular tic-tac-toe, the X's and O's alternate, except they sit in the chairs instead of drawing it out on paper. Ask questions about nutrition, health, sun safety. The campers must raise hands to answer. If correct, then the camper sits in one of the chairs. The first team to get three in a row,

diagonally, vertically or horizontally, wins. Ball of String - While standing in a circle; pass a ball of string from one member to another. Only the person with the string can talk. After everyone has had their turn to speak and share their feelings, there will be a web of string. This web illustrates the interconnected nature of group process. Everything they do and say affects the team. Now toss a balloon in the middle and have them try to keep it. They are not allowed to touch it. This symbolizes teamwork. Back to Back- Divide whole group into partners with one person left over in the middle. One person is the caller who will yell directions, telling partners to line up first back to back, then foot to foot, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder and so on. When the caller yells people to people, everyone must find a new partner. The one left over is now in the middle. This is a form of people musical chairs. Line Up - Divide the group into 2. Each team will compete against the other to see who can get the challenge done faster. Challenges could be: Line up according to birthdays, alphabetically by first name or last name, age, etc. Try the same challenges without talking. Machinery - Divide the group into teams (3 or more teams). Assign each group to build a certain machine with their own bodies such as a toaster, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, television, etc. Give them time to work it out. Then they build the machine and the other teams guess what it is. Self-Disclosure Introductions (this is great for new teams) - Ask each team member to state his or her name and attach an adjective that not only describes a dominant characteristic but also starts with the persons first name. Examples: Serious Susie, Rockin Ricardo, Nice Natalie, and Loving Lulu. Amnesia Game - A participant is identified as suffering from amnesia. That person pretends not to know anything about the past. The rest of the group shares some things that help the amnesia victim remember and return to being the way he/she was. The amnesiac can ask questions to gain more insight. Some questions could be What would I do in a certain case? or What is my favorite saying? Human Scavenger Hunt Divide your campers into teams. Give each team a list of questions to answer. The first team to finish, wins. Examples of questions are: Name 2 people who have the same first and last initial. Name a group of people whose ages add up to 46. Who lives closest to the high school? Name a group of three people who all have different colored eyes. Name 2 people who have a birthday in the same month. When is the camp leaders birthday? When is Mr. Sedgwicks birthday?

All Aboard -Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have all the campers stand on the sheet together. Once they have done this, fold the sheet to make it smaller. Again, have all the campers get on the sheet. Continue this process. Eventually, the sheet will be so small that the campers will need to use a great deal of cooperation, teamwork, and ingenuity to get the whole group on the sheet without anyone falling out/off the sheet.

Team Talk - Communication is another key to team unity. Part of communicating is getting to know your teammates, their opinions, concerns and aspirations for the team. Here is a great list of topics to use for learning about each other. Sit in a circle and have a leader ask a question. Allow each team member to answer the question until everyone has participated. Then continue with the next question. When did you first know that you wanted to try and be healthy? What do your parents say about you being healthy? What do you think youll remember about this trip 10 years from now? What one piece of advice would you give to others if they want to be healthy? What help or encouragement do you need to be healthy? What one thing can you do consistently to show your dedication to being healthy? Minefield - Have group discuss things that are detrimental to functioning as a group. For each characteristic/action, throw an object into the playing space, the "minefield." Have group choose partners. One partner is blindfolded at one end of field. The non-blindfolded partners stand at the opposite end of the field and try to talk their partners through the minefield without running into any of the obstacles. Human Dragon - Divide your group into 4 teams of 6-8 individuals. You can have odd numbers or vary the length of the "dragon" depending on the skill, size and ability of your athletes. Each team designates the "head" person and the "tail " section of the Human Dragon. All other team members fill in behind the head of the dragon by holding on to the person in front of them at the waist. The goal of the activity is to have the head of each dragon attempt to tag the tail of any other dragon team. Only heads of the dragon can do the tagging because all other team members must remain connected (with two hands) to their teammates. Players attempt to avoid having their team's tail be tagged and skillfully attempt to shield their tail from other dragons on the prowl. Create A Monster- Make a monster that walks with both hands and feet on the ground. The monster must have one less arm than the number on the campers and one more foot. Once the monster is created, it has to move five feet and make a sound. Encouragement- Have a piece of paper for every camper with one name on each page. The group sits in a circle. Everyone has 30 seconds to write one positive thing on each other campers sheet (30 seconds per sheet, then pass them). At the end, each camper goes home with a sheet with many encouraging statements. A variation of this game is to have each team member have her own paper taped to her back. Toxic River- Everyone is on one side. You measure a space about 5 feet and call it a toxic river. The whole group should try to cross as fast as they can. They aren't allowed to cross the toxic river without a special pair of boots and there is only one pair of boots. Each person can use the boots only once. The boots cannot be tossed over the river. Each person has to personally give the boots to the next person, and if they touch the toxic waste without the boots, the team must start over. Hint: Carrying people over is the key. Human Letters The whole group is divided into groups of 4 or 5 campers. The leader then calls out a letter of the alphabet, a well-known symbol, etc. Each group has to spell out the letter, etc on the ground with their bodies. The group that forms the appropriate shape the fastest, or the most accurately, wins. Rock-Paper-Scissors Tag The whole group is divided into two teams. During a given turn,

each team must decide whether it is rock, paper, or scissors. The teams then face each other, and on the count of three, make the shape of a rock, paper, or scissors with their hands or bodies (as a team). The team members displaying the winning instrument (rock beats scissor, scissor beats paper, paper beats rock) must (as a team) chase the members of other team. If the chasing team is able to tag a member (or more) of the other team, the tagged members become a part of the tagging team. Pass the Body Every camper, but one, lies on the ground in a straight line, all heads facing the same direction. Arms are extended up and the one camper not lying down will lie on top of the hands. The group will pass the body down the line and then discuss strategy, etc.

You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you do. The best inspiration is not to outdo others, but to outdo ourselves. Think big, believe big, act big, and the results will be big"