Impact

In this team building game, to accomplish the task the team learns to use the values of team communication, coordination and teamwork.

Groupings

The ideal number of participants in each group would be eight to twelve but can also work in number of team members between six and fourteen.

Materials Needed

• A long and thin lightweight stick, preferably aluminum tube
• Facilitation guide

Activity

In this team building game, the each team has to lower their lightweight stick towards the ground in the least possible time. Detailed instructions about the game are as follows:

1. The participants are first grouped into team with 6-8 members.
2. Each group is lined up into 2 rows with members in the rows to facing each other.
3. Facilitator will then ask the member of each group to point out the index fingers as the lightweight stick, fondly called a “Helium Stick”, and is placed into their index fingers. This will be starting position of each group.
4. The teams have to lower the helium stick to the ground together. As soon as the groups are settled in the setup, the facilitator then gives the signal to start.
5. Each team has to make sure that every member’s fingers must make contact with the lightweight stick otherwise they have to start from the starting position again.
6. The first group to successfully lower their helium stick to the ground will win the game.

Notes

• The stick is actually not a real helium stick and will never go up to the air as what teams will see at first.
• The stick will appear to go “up” because of the collective force placed by the members on the stick.
• This can be a difficult task for some groups and the facilitator has to offer suggestions or ask each group to brainstorm what to do to accomplish the task.

Processing Questions

These are the questions asked by facilitator as a way of processing the game. The facilitator has the option to select which questions to ask depending on the time he has to spare and the number of participants:

1. What was their reaction on their first attempt?
2. What are the challenges that the group encountered during the game?
3. Where there any suggestions to address the challenges?
4.  Where these suggestions taken into consideration?
5. How did you do the challenge and how were you able to come up with the solution?
6. What are the roles that each member does?
7. What do you think is the strength and weakness of each group?
8. What values did the participant learn individually from the activity?
9. Can you identify situations in real life where it is similar to the helium stick game?

In this team building game, not only will they be challenged in solving the team building activity, this is a creative way of promoting critical and important values that a team must have – communication, teamwork and coordination.

Resources

Team Building Activities
Helium Stick – Development of a Team Building Exercise

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