TEAM BUILDING

Whether you’re in the mood for full body activities that get students up and out of their seats, or in search of more seated (but no less strategic) challenges that will push your classrooms to the limits of collaborative thinking, we’ve got you covered. Help students get to know a new batch of teammates or kick off a new unit of study with a themed challenge that will force your learners to think outside of the box. The activities contained in the blue section offer multiple variations of a few of our favorite marshmallow-infused team builders, while each of the activities listed in the white section provides your students with all new ways to connect with their classmates and your course content.

TEAM BUILDING COLLECTIONS:

Emc2 Resources

Collab Collect

Take an ordinary STEM challenge. Add a sprinkle of gamification. And punch up the fun factor to really supercharge the strategy that’s required to win. In this collection, your students will construct all sorts of contraptions while earning building supplies as they get to know their teammates. The more you learn, the more you earn!

Dilemma Depot

Talk about a classroom conundrum! From luxury hotels to sinking ships and zombie-proof bunkers, these high-stakes simulations challenge students to collaborate, debate, and decide who makes the cut. Full of intrigue and hidden agendas, this collection builds community, sharpens thinking, and sparks unforgettable classroom conversations.

Marshmallow Challenge

Widely considered to be the pinnacle of team building activities, The Marshmallow Challenge pits competing squads of students in a race against the clock to construct the tallest tower they can using only a limited number of supplies. But the challenge is harder than it looks! As they say, what goes up…

Marshmallow Madness

Looking to add some collaborative chaos to your team building repertoire? This action-packed STEM activity challenges student engineers to design their very own working catapults using only a handful of common office supplies. And once the build is complete, it’s time to send marshmallows flying!

EVEN MORE RESOURCES:

Go way beyond those awkward icebreakers with a dynamic team building activity that will elicit all sorts of collaboration and critical thinking.

Tandem Touchdown

Two planetary rovers. One epic mission. In Tandem Touchdown, teams must guide both rovers to land at the same time using only string, rings, and teamwork. It’s high-stakes collaboration that builds trust, patience, and precision under pressure. Can you stick the landing?

Unique & United

Two towers. Two strategies. One unforgettable challenge! In EMC² Learning’s Unique & United, students build both a UNITY Tower (shared traits) and a DIVERSITY Tower (unique traits) with nothing but index cards, quick thinking, and teamwork. Tallest towers take the win!

Group Roles For Projects

Group work provides our students with a powerful opportunity to learn from one another and discover all sorts of strengths that they might not have known that they had! But without proper structure, working with teammates can get a bit messy. This resource helps fix that!

Super Silent

Looking for a fun, engaging way to build teamwork, sharpen focus, and inject a little mystery into your classroom? Super Silent is the ultimate no-talking, all-strategy team challenge! Silence is golden, and the perfect foundation for an outstanding team-building activity.

Mini Maze of Lasers

This high energy team builder will self-destruct in 3…2…1 — so get ready to unleash maximum collaborative problem solving in your classroom with the Mini Maze of Lasers. All you’ll need is a big old ball of yarn and this fully editable slideshow. Game on!

Save Our Smarties

This sweet STEM challenge will test your student’s smarts and their ability to work together with their classmates to conquer a watery obstacle that can only be solved through iterative design. Will they make a splash or see their creative efforts sunk for good?

Apple Scaffold Spectacular

Just because it’s Autumn doesn’t mean your structures will have to “Fall!” Harvest some serious collaborative problem solving and all kinds of creative thinking from your students with the Apple Scaffold Spectacular — a juicy twist on a classic STEM challenge.

Pumped Up Pillar Piles

Do you have what it takes to be the Kings and Queens of classroom Pop?!? The sky’s the limit in this silly structure creation showdown. Pump up your students’ creativity and collaborative problem solving with a hands-on STEM team builder that’s a total gas.

Towering Teamwork

The sky’s the limit in this clever twist on a classic team builder. Working in teams, your students build the tallest freestanding tower that they possibly can. But the construction supplies are only earned as they find common connections with their teammates!

Gummy Worm in the Water

There’s no time to waste! Wiggly Wally is a helpless gummy worm who has somehow managed to capsize his tiny boat, and now he’s floating aimlessly out at sea. Can your students flip his fortunes before time runs out?! Team up, grab your rescue gear, and dive in!

Game of [Paper] Thrones

Legend says that in the Game of [Paper] Thrones, artisans from across the land will compete as rival guilds and vie for the ultimate prize — a hand-made royal throne worthy of holding up the famed ruler of the realm. Alas, this is no ordinary throne, you see…

Four on the Floor

Let’s get connected! Four on the Floor is a team-against-team battle of focus, memory, strategy, and speed that transforms a classic childhood board game into an all out competition where only one team can reign supreme. Get your game on!

Shifting Shape Secrets

Shifting Shape Secrets is a challenge of close attention to detail that will push you to become an expert in all sorts of critical listening and communication skills. Keep your students “drawn” together with this clever game of teamwork!

Bouncing Balloon Bash

Transform one of the most beloved games from childhood into a full blown opportunity to connect with classmates while practicing all sorts of creative, communicative skills along the way. Blow away sleepy team builders and pop till you drop!

Dragon Drop

On this side of the classroom, you’ve got a bunch of students and only a small amount of sticks and string. On that side of the classroom, there’s a golden set of keys dangling *juuuust* out of reach – and guarded by a sleeping dragon. Work together to save the kingdom!

The Spectacular Spider Web

If you’re looking to take your team building activities to new heights, then The Spectacular Spider Web is sure to find a happy home in your classroom. This challenge forces an entire class to work together to help a “spider’s egg” make its way through a twisting maze.

Lords of the Ring

To become the Lords of the Ring, your students will need to take a cue from Bilbo Baggins and successfully carry their precious ring “there and back again.” This magical twist on a timeless carnival game will require steady hands and a veritable Fellowship of teamwork.

Beach Blanket Backflip

The summer sand is scorching the floor of your classroom, and it’s up to your students to work together to find a way to turn their beach blanket upside down *while still standing on it* without setting a foot on this fiery floor. Critical thinking is about to get hot!

Loaded Dice in the Dungeon

This tricky little challenge was first inspired by a TED Education Talk entitled “Can You Cheat Death by Solving This Riddle?” We’ve made it a bit more school friendly and spun it into a collaborative brain teaser for teams. Fair warning though: it’s still wickedly hard!

Paper Chain Races

Paper Chain Races is a collaborative game of resource management and team-based problem solving. In this game, student teams will compete to fashion the longest possible paper chain that they can assemble before the timer – and their supplies – run out. Tick tick tick!

Cup Stack Collapse

Ready to see how your students stack up when it comes to teamwork and quick thinking? Cup Stack Collapse is an action-packed race against the clock (and a few rival teams). All you’ll need to play is a bunch of plastic cups and a handful of 3×5″ index cards. Think fast!

Rascally Rope Wranglers

Sinatra might have been sitting on a rainbow once he’d gotten “the world on a string.” But Old Blue Eyes never tried his hand at Rascally Rope Wranglers — a tricky string puzzle that can only be solved by working together as a team. Now that’s something to sing about!

Paddler’s Paradox

A farmer. A boat. A chicken. A bag of feed. And… a very hungry fox. The Paddler’s Paradox is a timeless brain teaser, presented here as a chance to give your students the chance to work through a multi-step riddle while practicing critical thinking and communication.

Traffic Jammers

In Traffic Jammers, student teams must work strategically and compete to navigate a living human gridlock slide puzzle – moving just one piece at a time and working together with their teammates to lock in the solution before time expires. No extra materials required!

Icebreaker Upgrades

Let’s be honest: how many times can our students actually play “two truths and a lie” or one of those awkward “what did you do this summer?” games before the novelty wears off? Not to worry, because Icebreaker Upgrade is here to give your classes a better way to play.

Attack of the Laughter Zombies

They’re after your laughter! And there’s just one rule to survive the Attack of the Laughter Zombies: You laugh, you lose. Easy right? But once even a single student gets the giggles, this simple test of willpower quickly gives way to a room full of infectious laughter.

Virtual Paintball

Are you ready to make other team building activities green with envy? Virtual paintball is a fast-paced point-and-click coloring competition where students will need to be quick on the trigger in order to claim victory for their squad. Give a click to paint the town red!

Pipeline Panic

Speed, balance, and lightning quick communication are the name of the game when it comes to Pipeline Panic – a pulse-pounding team builder that will keep your students on their toes to help a runaway ping pong ball reach its destination without ever hitting the ground.

Paper Scrapers

Things are looking up with this resource – a collaborative STEM design challenge that will test your students’ abilities to think in three dimensions while overcoming the limitations of a ridiculously scarce supply of resources. How high will your Paper Scrapers climb?

Galactic Disaster

Watch your step! Because one false move could send any one of your students swirling into the massive black hole that’s somehow found its way to a star system just outside of your classroom door. This tricky team builder requires concentration and all kinds of teamwork.

Tricky Team Transplant

Gauze? Check. Scalpel? Check. Racketball? Um… what?! The Tricky Team Transplant will test your students’ ability to talk things out as they attempt to perform a life-saving organ transplant by carrying a ball across your classroom using only the most basic of objects.

Radioactive Bucket Brigade

Warning! Warning! A giant bucket of radioactive waste has spilled all over the floor of your classroom, and it’s up to your students to get this mess cleaned up before the radiation becomes too much to bear. This activity requires a bit of setup, but it’s a ton of fun.

Magic Marker Marionette

Don’t let the silly little marker fool you: this challenge is a lot harder than it looks! In this activity, students work together to try and puppeteer a flying magic marker. To succeed, teams will need to communicate, cooperate, and employ critical thinking strategies.

Helium Stick

We promise your students will get carried away with excitement as they try their hands at the Helium Stick team builder. The challenge is almost embarrassingly simple: just let gravity do the work of letting a giant stick fall to the ground. Oh if only it were that easy!

Roshambo Conga

Crank up the voltage on your favorite game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Roshambo Conga. For this game, your class will have the chance to compete in a spirited tournament to while creating electric chains of high energy supporters each time a new player claims victory.

Quicksand Quagmire

This classic team builder mixes the power of student imagination with some good old fashioned teamwork. The game is simple: Don’t get caught in the quicksand! And this resource includes suggested tips and talking points to help turn this activity into a teachable moment.

Electric Fence Limbo

The Electric Fence Limbo puts a shocking (and safe!) twist on an age-old team builder, which makes it an awesome addition to any classroom looking to add a jolt of life and excitement. In this activity, student teams must form a human chain and navigate a winding maze.

Lock Screen Story Swap

We almost feel bad sharing this single slide activity as a full blown “resource” here inside of our membership community. But this might just be the single most effective warm-up activity that we have ever run in our own classrooms and training events. Zero prep needed!

Solo Cup Spider Stack

Remember how hard it was when we were kids to get those coin-operated claw machines to take hold of those cute little stuffed animal prizes? Now imagine how much harder the challenge would be if you replaced the claw with a bunch of rubber bands. Oh yeah. And teamwork!

Lily Pad Labyrinth

If you’re looking for a collaborative team builder where students get the chance to work together while making use of their critical listening skills, then hop to it with Lilly Pad Labyrinth. Blindfolds and team-against-team mischief add even more layers of difficulty.

Holy Potatoes! PDSA Design Challenge

Holy Potatoes! This hands-on team building exercise will give students of any age plenty of practice with iterative design and a looping four step “Plan, Do, Study, Assess” cycle. All you’ll need is a few Mr. Potato Heads for tons of conversation and critical thinking.

Character Select Group Role Assignment Cards

If we’re not careful, group work can often devolve into just one unlucky student carrying the bulk of the load for the team. But these fully editable Character Select Cards ensure that everyone has a role to play. Pick from any one of the ten themes to get your game on!
Emc2 Resources