Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Activity: Zoom



Activity Type:
Initiative

Time:
20-30 minutes.

Age Group & Size:
20 to 30.

Materials:
This activity requires a set of 15 to 30 sequential pictures that can tell a story. Use less pictures for smaller group and more pictures for larger group. This activity is taken from the book Zoom by Istvan Banyai. You can purchase a copy of Zoom and/or Re-Zoom which include pictures. You can also create your own sequence of pictures or use some from a Bible storybook with pictures. An old book with pictures works best because you will need to cut the binding apart. It works well to put each picture into a clear sleeve.

Goal:
A group tries to create a unified story from a set of sequential pictures. The pictures are randomly ordered and handed out. Each person has a picture but cannot show it to others. Requires patience, communication, and perspective taking in order to recreate the story's sequence.

Instructions:
Hand out one picture per person (make sure there is a sequence to the pictures, see 'Materials'). Explain that participants may only look at their own pictures and must keep their pictures hidden from others. Encourage participants to study their picture, since it contains important information to help solve a problem. The challenge is for the group to sequence the pictures in the correct order without looking at one another's pictures. But they can talk and communicate in any way so long as they do not look at each others pictures.

Participants will generally mill around talking to others to see whether their pictures have anything in common. Sometimes leadership efforts will emerge to try to understand the overall story. When the group believes they have all the pictures in order (usually after ~15 minutes), the pictures can be turned over for everyone to see.

Possible lessons:

1. Teamwork: There was no competition or anything to win. But the group worked together as a team to solve a problem instead.
2. Communication: Did everyone communicate about the task and pitch in?
3. Patients: The task required patients and determination to complete. On a scale of 1-10 how hard was it?

Sources
Banyai, I. (1995).Zoom New York: Viking / Penguin.
Banyai, I. (1998). Re-Zoom New York: Viking / Penguin.
Neill, James. "Zoom & Re-Zoom." Wilderdom. 12 July 2009. Web. 17 June 2016. .


Compiled by David F. Garner