Toolbox — For Training and Youth Work
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Exercise, Ice-breaker, Group Building Activity
to become acquainted with the seminar place, to have some fun and break the ice in a new place, find clues to a topic
Hide pieces of a puzzle (e.g. cut up postcard) in different places which participant will need to know during the seminar (e.g. toilet, public phone, working rooms). Make sure to hide (not too difficult though) enough pieces of puzzle for the number of competing teams (see below)
Divide the bigger group in different smaller teams of 3-5 people (it is definitely more fun to do this activity in little groups than individually). These teams are competing and the team which first completes the puzzle, could get a prize (a bar of chocolate, a free drink?). In order to find the different places where the pieces of the puzzle are hidden, you can give a list of clues (e.g. on which floor they can find the pieces of puzzle, a cryptic description of the hiding places in question, a picture of the places where the pieces are hidden etc). Mention clearly how many pieces they should find, and that they should not take the pieces of a competing group or hide their pieces.
In order to make it a real cooperation activity, you could tie the teams together (loosely!) with a piece of string (or ask them to hold onto a piece of string) - beware of stairs and consider less mobile people in the group.
Alternatively you could also hide a clue in the first hiding place, which describes the hiding place of a second clue and so on, till at the end you will arrive at a real treasure (or the restaurant where you will have dinner that evening). Make sure you have a backup plan in case half of your teams get lost ;-)
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http://toolbox.salto-youth.net/321
This tool is for
a big(ish) group divided in smaller subgroups
and addresses
Group Dynamics
Materials needed:
A seminar place where the intendants don't mind people running around and where other guests don't take away your treasure (alternatively, you can do it in the town)
Duration:
approximately 20 minutes if in or around a seminar centre - longer if done throughout town
The tool was created by
Unknown.
(If you can claim authorship of this tool, please contact !)
The tool was published to the Toolbox by
Tony Geudens (on 16 March 2004)
and last modified
17 December 2008
Comments
The same tool I used in the SALTO TC "Faith and Dialogue" (and also in some in the past). I like to have in every room, that the groups of participants are to visit, member of the team (trainers/organizers) who are giving the task to the visiting groups (different task for different group). The task is i.e. a riddle, which answer is a name of room that the group is to visit later. Tasks are connected to the theme of the TC, or they are to remind the names of the trainers, or to get to know local milieu (i.e. to learn some sentences in national language of hosting country).
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