Amy Climer's Top 10 Activities

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I had the opportunity to chat with Amy Climer at the AEE Conference in Minneapolis and she was willing to share her Top 10 teambuilding activities with me (even though it was difficult for her to choose only 10!)

Let me start with a little background. Dr. Amy Climer owns Climer Consulting. She specializes in "building cultures of creativity and success." Amy is the creator (artist behind) the Climer Cards (My FUNdoing Blog Post about the Climer Cards is HERE). She is also the host of "The Deliberate Creative" podcast. 

Here's Amy's Top 10 (for now) - not in any particular order (I like how humble Amy is - she didn't mention her Climer Cards until the fourth share!)

• Key Punch - The original write up (as far as I know) is in Quicksilver by Rohnke & Butler. Just last week I posted a variation of Key Punch - see it HERE.  
• Insanity - This is an activity from Sam Sikes in his book Executive Marbles (p. 94). Using several hula-hoops and a bunch of tennis balls, a group can (might) discover how collaborating can lead to an "all-win" solution. (This one's a good cardio workout as well - at least in the beginning.)
• Pipeline - Another awesome classic from Karl Rohnke. HERE"S a variation I posted a while back to give you the basics. 
• Climer Cards - Amy loves all the activities with her cards - so we made this just one of her Top 10. Get your FREE EBOOK at the Climer Cards website to find out what you can do with these versatile image cards (all artwork by Amy!) 
• 3 Lines of Communication - We need some help with this one gamers!! We don't know what this one's called. If you know please let me (Chris) know so I can reference it properly. Small groups (let's say groups of 6) work together to form or build something. The first two players, who are not allowed to talk, know what the structure is - they might have a picture or the structure is laid out somewhere nearby. Two more players from the group are standing about 50 feet away. These players can talk. The last two players in the group are another 50 feet away. They have all the materials to make the structure but they cannot see. The objective is for these three sets of pairs to "communicate" within their limitations in order to duplicate the structure the first pair can see. WHO KNOWS THE NAME OF THIS ONE and, where we can find it? [I might be slightly off on the roles and responsibilities of this one, but I hope it enough to go on.]
• High 5 Buddies - If you know and love those crazy handshakes, this is what Buddies is all about. I've shared this link before, but it can't hurt to share again. Here's a YouTube video of Nate Folan leading 5 Handshakes in 5 minutes - this will give you the idea. Make up your own handshakes to add to the fun. 
• City Perspectives - [UPDATE SHORTLY] Amy shared with me that there are a couple of books out there that can be de-spined and the pages used for a "Zoom-esque" type of activity. I will follow up with her and get more specific details about the books and update you (maybe this will be a separate blog post - I'll see what I find out).
• ​Mouse Traps - Sam Sikes introduced mouse traps (in his book Raptor) to the adventure education field a number of years back. Lots of interesting challenges with the traps. Here's a VIDEO of a trust building activity (a sighted partner is guiding a blindfolded partner to un-set a mousetrap). Here's a VIDEO of a group activity where loaded mousetraps are placed on top of each other forming a circle. 
• Blind Maze - There is a hidden pattern in a grid of squares that only you have the answer to. The group must find the path through the maze by taking turns stepping into the grid. Step on a correct square and you get another turn. Step on a wrong square and you must leave the maze the way you got in. Here's a pic: 

• Water Color Reflection - Amy loves this one as a closing reflection for her groups. She provides everyone with some watercolors, a brush and watercolor paper. In general, participants paint an image that represents something they found important about the time they spent together and then everyone gets to share and talk about their picture. Depending on the group more specific questions can be asked in relation to what the painting will include. This artwork makes a wonderful take-away for everyone.

THANKS TONS Dr. Climer - You're the best!

Folks, be sure to sign up for Amy's newsletter on all things Climer. Find the form at her website. 

Have fun out there!

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.