This Activity is a great way to establish some rapport between a newly formed group of people, either adult or adolescent. There is also a great deal of flexibility in the depth and direction the exercise takes.
Instructions
Ask someone to give you the name of a country anywhere in the world. Use some kind of object to make that space on the floor of the room. Explain to the group that they are going to build a map of the world within the boundaries of the room. Identify north, south, east and west and the edges of the map. Don't give any more clarification about where the countries are.
Now start with a series of questions asking participants to physically place themselves on the map of the world accordingly. Some sample questions might be:
- Ask people to share their place of birth and go to that spot on the map.
- Go to where your childhood home was.
- Go to where your secondary education was located.
- Go to where your parents came from.
- The list is endless.
The next step is to present the group with the idea that they are to pretend that they have a magic carpet at their disposal and each of them can go anywhere in the world that they would like to, to recharge, relax or energize. Each person is to go to that spot on the map.
Ask people to share where they area and what they are doing. The exercise can range from light and fun to deeply personal. You need to know your group and know how to read the cues regarding the group's comfort level with each other. Ensure that everyone understands that they have the option of choosing whether to move as the question suggests, and whether to speak about their moves.
This team-building activity is from the Project Adventure Magazine called Ziplines.
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