Recommended Group Size
4+ persons
2+ per team
Estimated Time
60 minutes
Purpose
To work as a team to complete assigned tasks
Objective
To complete as many stations as possible within the designated time period
Materials
Large open area
Station hints (facilitator traits, descriptions, etc.)
List of questions with answers for facilitators (Bible trivia, review questions based on class/theme, etc.)
List of various penalties
Preparations
Designate facilitators to run stations and penalty centers. Each facilitator runs one station or penalty center. There must be two more stations than there are teams to prevent traffic. If there are 5 teams, there must be 7 stations. There must be multiple penalty centers. If there are 5 teams, there should be 3 penalty centers. 1
Provide each station facilitator with a different set of questions to ask. Each set should have at least 5 questions.
Provide the penalty center facilitators with a list of various penalties and a set of each station’s questions and answers.
Spread out all facilitators in different areas.
Procedure
Divide the participants into as teams. There must be two fewer teams than there are stations to prevent traffic. If there are 7 stations, there must be 5 teams.
Remind team members to encourage and support one another during the activity.
Provide each team with a different initial hint to direct them to their first station. Each team must start at a different station.
When they arrive at the station, each team must line up in alphabetical order. The first person in line reads the hint. The facilitator confirms or denies that the team is at the correct station.
If the team is at the correct station, the facilitator asks the team which team they are (Team A, Team 1, etc.) and reads a question. The facilitator must make note of which questions they have asked which teams.
If the team is at the wrong station, the facilitator sends them off to find the correct station and they repeat step 3.
After hearing the question, the first person in line answers.
If the team answers correctly, they find an open station and go to it.
If the team answers incorrectly, the facilitator sends them to an open penalty center to serve a penalty. The team states the station facilitator and number of the question they answered incorrectly. “Brian, question 4.” The penalty center facilitator gives them the answer, and the team recites the answer as they are serving the penalty. After a team has served the penalty, the team must then return to their previous station, line up again, and the person who answered incorrectly must correctly answer the question.
If a team still answers incorrectly upon returning to the station, they must repeat step 4b until they answer correctly.
Teams decide which open station to move to next.
As teams arrive at their next station, they line up in the order of their previous station, but the person who answered at the last station now moves to the back.
Continue as time allows.
Notes
1 If there are not enough facilitators, the penalty centers can combine with the standard stations, so those facilitators manage both.
Penalties must be done at a different station.
If a team answers incorrectly at one of these dual stations, that team cannot use that same station for the penalty.