Objective:
- To understand team dynamics and how teams come together to achieve a goal
- Listening to other members of the team
- Idea generation and creativity
- Understanding the importance of careful research, discussion and planning
Overview:
This exercise is a fantastic way to get people working together to complete a simple challenge. The idea is that they are given a pack of spaghetti, a pen, scissors, a reel of cotton, two chairs and a bar of chocolate for each member of the team. They are asked to build a bridge using the equipment provided that will hold the bars of chocolate. The first team to do this wins.
Activity:
This activity could take from 30 minutes to complete, reflection and analysis takes place at the end of the session
An example of the tools they will be given is laid out on the facilitators desk where the spaghetti packet is opened and the cotton is cut into a few lengths, providing visual example of what is possible (if potentially misleading!).
The chairs are spread two feet apart and cannot be moved (ideally these will be away from other groups to stop cheating) items are given to the group and they are advised that they are to have a 5 minute team talk to prepare before they start, however the first one to build the bridge wins (and invariably they race ahead and start to build the bridge, but you can reflect upon this approach with the whole group at the end).
Typically the further they race ahead (without planning and discussion) and open the items, the more problems they will face. For example, once the spaghetti is opened it becomes a lot harder but the more creative constructions emerge. The best solution is to leave the packet closed, pierce the ends and use the cotton to secure the packet to the chair and rest the chocolate on the packet of spaghetti. However it is still possible to complete the task once the spaghetti is opened, but they will do well not only to hold the chocolate, but complete the task in 30 minutes.
At the end of the 30 minutes, the groups get a chance to see what the other teams have done and see how creative they have been in creating a bridge.
This could be done with any size group as long as there are sufficient facilitators to split into smaller groups. The optimum numbers in each group would be 4, however multiple groups will be working at the same time. They would have to work at the same time so as not to hear the discussion of other groups.
Skill Development:
This activity can develop a wide range of skills including the following:
- Imagination and creativity
- Communication and Strategy
- Problem solving
- Teamwork and organisation
- Leadership/Persuasion
- Individual and team decision making
- Logistics/Systems
- Speed/Precision/Efficiency
- Reflection/Review/Analysis
- Feedback to other team members and at the end of the task
It is useful to spend additional time reviewing the group process and explore how the task was tackled as a group. Ask the groups to reflect on the following within their team process:
How the initial discussions went, did someone take the lead, was it a bit of a shouting match, was it chaos, was there a lack of ideas/too many ideas
- Whose ideas were listened to the most and why
- Who was ignored and why
- Whose ideas were taken on board and why, was a consensus achieved
- Who allocated roles
- Who put themselves forward for roles
- How did the actual production go, smooth, chaotic, who took the lead, who organised, how did it progress, how was the mood of the team?
- Was everyone involved? Did everyone need to be involved?
- How did the dynamics between the members of the group change as they went through the different stages
Resources:
In advance you need to purchase resources.
Each team will need a pack of spaghetti, scissors, reel of cotton, two chairs and a chocolate bar for each team member. Someone will need to watch the time or you can add time keeping to their responsibilities.