Objective: The Desert Island icebreaker encourages creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking while providing participants with a fun and imaginative scenario.
Time Required: Approximately 15-20 minutes
Instructions:
- Set the Scene: Begin by explaining the scenario to the participants. Tell them they are stranded on a deserted island in the ocean after surviving a shipwreck. They are the only survivors, with no signs of immediate rescue. However, they do have some items that washed ashore from the wreckage. These items can be anything you choose, from practical tools to quirky and random objects.
- The Essential Five: Explain that they can only keep five items from the wreckage to help them survive on the island. The rest will be taken away by the “ocean” (you or someone acting as the ocean).
- Item Selection: Divide the participants into small groups or pairs, depending on the number of participants. In their groups, ask them to discuss and agree on the five items they would choose to keep from the wreckage. Encourage them to debate and justify their choices.
- Creative Solutions: After they have chosen their five items, challenge the groups to come up with three innovative ways to use each of them to aid in their survival on the deserted island. For example, if they choose a tarp, they could use it as shelter, a fishing net, or a rainwater collector.
- Group Presentations: Invite each group to present their selected items and creative survival strategies to the rest of the participants. Emphasize the importance of teamwork, communication, and brainstorming during their presentations.
- Bonus Round: To add an extra element of excitement, introduce unexpected challenges that the survivors must overcome. For instance, they might encounter a wild animal, a sudden storm, or a medical emergency. Encourage the groups to adapt their survival plans and think on their feet.
- Reflection: After all the presentations are complete, facilitate a brief discussion about the icebreaker activity. Ask participants what they learned about collaboration, problem-solving, and thinking creatively under pressure. Encourage them to relate these lessons to real-life situations.
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This icebreaker not only encourages participants to work together and think outside the box but also provides an opportunity for everyone to showcase their creative thinking and problem-solving abilities. We hear this from customers that regularly use of our training courses.
It fosters a sense of camaraderie and makes for a memorable and engaging team-building experience.
With 30+ years of training experience, I founded Oak Innovation (oakinnovation.com) in 1995. I help busy training professionals and business managers deliver better training courses in less time by giving them instant access to editable training course material. I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from University College Cork. I hold qualifications in Professional Development And Training from University College Galway. Clients include Apple, Time Warner, and Harvard University.
