Compass Walk
Time Allowance: 30 Minutes
Equipment Needed: Orange cone, one poly spot, blindfolds. Place spot, with cone on top of it, approximately 30 yards from where the group will start their journey.
Steps
1. Everyone needs to line up along the starting line so that they can see the cone across the field. You will be trying to find the spot that is under the cone. A facilitator will remove the cone from the spot after everyone is blindfolded, but the spot will not be moved.
2. On your individual journey you must go blindly, silently, alone, and with your hands in front of you so that you won’t bump into anyone or anything. The facilitators will be spotting for you so you don’t walk off a cliff or anything, but there are so many of you compared to us, we may yell “Stop”! Stop means you just freeze where you are and wait until you hear “Go!” or get informed of some hazard that may lie ahead of you.
3. As soon as you feel as if you are as close to the spot as you think you will get (without necessarily touching it), take off your blindfold, and remain silent until everyone has stopped. THIS IS NOT A RACE.
4. Once everyone has traveled and stopped, take a look around...see where you are and where everyone else is in relation to the goal. Let’s gather around the spot to talk about your strategies.
5. After the debrief, give the team four minutes to come up with a plan for doing the activity again. This time blindness will be your only restriction. The starting point will remain where it was before.
6. Facilitator Note: The team searches for the goal the second time and usually finds the spot after a few minutes. Most solutions involve the whole team lining up and holding hands to “sweep” the ground for the spot. If the team does not find the goal on the second round, you can ask them to try again after another planning session or stop to discuss what is keeping them from reaching their goal.
Processing Issues
Trust
Group Problem-Solving