Page 257 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

lucas chap 07 11/20/02 12:29 PM Page 246
246 The Creative Training Idea Book
Toy Story
Collect a variety of small toys (kitchen items, tools, or similar groupings also work well)
and put them in a large box or bag that you pass around the room. Have participants
reach in and select something. Give them a few minutes to examine their toys and then
have them introduce themselves telling why they selected the toy they have and how its
characteristics are similar to their own. For example, someone might get a small GI Joe
or other military figure. They might disclose that they or someone in their family is or
was in military service.

Let’s Get Together

This is a great activity for providing some interaction when pairing participants or form-
ing small groups.
Start by randomly selecting half as many playing cards from a deck as you have
participants. For example if you have 24 participants, choose 12 cards. Cut the selected
cards in half and mix them up. Randomly distribute one half of a card to each partici-
pant. Tell everyone to get up and move around the room looking for their other half.
Once all participants are paired, have them participate in an activity.
An alternative to pairing participants is to have each person find the person holding
the other half to his or her card, then those two participants would continue jointly to
locate four other cards (eight other people who are holding cards) that will help their
team end up with the highest poker hand in the room. Set a time limit of 5 minutes to
do this and at the end of time, people who still do not have a group of 10 participants
will randomly be grouped with others. The team having the best poker hand should be
rewarded with small prizes.
Variations of this activity can be done by writing famous quotes (e.g., “Time is money,”
or “Waste not; want not”), capital cities and states (e.g., Tallahassee, Florida), or any
other recognized statement, thing, or title that can be divided in two. Cut these in half
and distribute instead of cards.

What a Zoo
As participants arrive for a session, attach a stick-on nametag, or safety pin a piece of
paper, with the name of a wild zoo animal on it to their backs. Tell them that they
have the names of zoo animals on their backs; however, they cannot look at what is
written on the tag or paper, or have anyone read it to them. Once everyone has arrived,
have all participants walk around the room meeting others and ask one closed-end
question (e.g., yes/no or short answer) of each person they meet. The goal is to try to
determine what kind of animal one is. They cannot ask open-ended questions. Instruct
participants to shout out the name of their animal once it is known. If correct, reward
them; if not, have the introductions continue. This activity integrates well into inter-