Helium Stick
The Helium Stick activity promotes teamwork and communication among participants. In this engaging exercise, participants must work together to lower a lightweight stick using only their fingertips, which often leads to surprising challenges and laughter.
How to run it
- 1
Arrange participants in two facing rows.
- 2
Introduce the Helium Stick and have everyone extend their index fingers.
- 3
Place the Helium Stick on their fingers and adjust until it is horizontal.
- 4
Challenge the group to lower the stick to the ground while maintaining contact with it using only their fingertips.
- 5
Start the activity, reminding them that any finger not in contact requires a restart.
- 6
Monitor the group's progress, providing suggestions if needed to keep the task moving forward.
- 7
Encourage discussion if they seem stuck and then allow another attempt for improvement.
- 8
Emphasize patience and focus to achieve success.
Tips
Use humor as the stick often seems to float, which can confuse participants.
If the group succeeds quickly, ensure they are truly keeping fingers in contact.
Consider adding weights for added difficulty if the group is consistently successful.
Variations
You can use a hula hoop instead of a stick for a different experience.
Where it fits
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Teampedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.