Evacuation

Overview: There is an office emergency! The building has flooded, and your team needs to move quickly to evacuate the building. After dividing your group into teams, you will give each participant one “floating device”. Teams will then race to see who can evacuate the building first as they strategically use their floating devices to escape. This exercise will test your team’s ability to work together while providing many laughs and photo opportunities.

Equipment Required:

• Cardstock paper (preferably various colors) – 1 sheet per participant.
• Two ropes or a set of cones to mark the start and end points.

Space Required: Medium to large open space.

Group Size: 6 to 200 people.

Total Time: 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

• 5 minutes to brief the activity.
• 10-15 minutes for teams to complete the challenge.
• 5-10 minutes to debrief the activity.

Instructions:

1. Preset start and end points using the ropes or cones. Start and end points should be 20-30 feet apart depending on how many people are on each team. If you have larger teams, more space should be provided.
2. Divide your participants into even teams. Preferably 6-10 people each depending on the group size.
3. Brief the group and distribute a “floating device” (piece of cardstock paper to each participant). Explain that the office has flooded, and teams will be racing against one another to evacuate the building. Participants will place their floating device on the floor (the flood waters) and they can step on it to move them from one place to the next. The catch is that each person will only have one floating device. If an appendage (arm, leg, hand, foot, head, elbow, finger, toe) loses contact with the floating device, it will float away and be lost forever. The team will then no longer be able to use that device in their strategic evacuation. Team members can share floating devices, but if anyone falls off a floating device and into the water, the whole team will need to start over from the start.
4. Give the teams 2 minutes to strategize their evacuation and get into position behind the starting line.
5. Have all teams start at the same time. Time them to see who finishes the fastest. Allow each team to finish.
6. Acknowledge the winning team and debrief the activity.

Learning Outcomes

• Problem Solving
• Communication
• Team Work
• Strategic Planning
• Cooperation
• Leadership

Suggested Review Questions

• What was your team’s plan going into the activity?
• Did your strategy change at all? If so, how so?
• How well did your team communicate?
• What did you enjoy most about this activity?
• What was challenging about this activity?
• How did your team react to the challenge?
• How well did your team work together?
• What were your team’s strengths?
• What were your team’s opportunities?
• What is one thing that you can take away from this activity?