TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE

Gumdrop Tower: Team Building

Items Needed:

• colored gumdrops
• toothpicks
• gummy bears
• raisins
• colored mini marshmallows

Before You Begin
Before your students arrive, you will need to make a tower out of items mentioned above. The tower is most easily built when using four toothpicks in a square, with gumdrops at each corner; stack each set of toothpicks and gumdrops on top of one another until you have four levels high. (Feel free to get creative; add a few extra things on a level or attached from the square set.)

Once the tower is built, you'll want to hide it from the students' sight until you are ready to play. Keep it on a table behind a wall or divider of some sort.

When the students arrive and you are ready to play, break them up into teams of 5 - 6 people.

The Object
The object of this activity is for your team to build the exact replica of what you see built. It needs to be exactly the same as what you see ...color and placement. The first team to do this successfully will be the winner.

The Guidelines

• Only two people from your team can look at the built tower at any given time. Everyone will have a chance to look, but you cannot have more than two people from your team looking at the same time.
• Only take the items you need to complete what you have just looked at. There shall be no hoarding of supplies.
• Scream when you think you are finished and a leader will come check your work. If in fact you are missing something, the game will continue until a winner is declared.

After the Activity
Below is a list of questions you can use to debrief the game (you can discuss as a big group or in their smaller groups).

• What was difficult about this activity?
• What was your job in the group?
• How did you work together as a group?
• Did your group work together well?

Talking Points
This activity can be used as a way to discuss the roles of a team, how everyone plays a unique and important part in finishing a task. It is also a good way for students to get to know each other. As a youth pastor, you may want to watch the students as they interact with one another. It's incredible how personalities come out in an activity like this.

HAVE FUN!!!