PAPER TOWERS

Description of the tool

Step-by-step description:
1.Divide the young people into group of no more than six.
2.Explain that you want them to plan and then construct paper towers. The object is to build the highest tower without it collapsing.
3.Explain that each member of the group should contribute to the planning stage and that no building can take place without the whole group’s approval.
4.Hand out newspaper and sticky tape.
5.Give the groups 15 minutes to build their towers.
6.Stand well back!

Reflection and evaluation:
At the end of the 15 minutes, invite the groups one at a time to consider how well they co-operated, whether anybody was excluded from the exercise (and why and how they felt about it) and how they achieved consensus.
When all the groups have fed back, encourage the whole group to examine all the towers. Ask the group with the highest tower to explain how they achieved this.
If time allows, get the whole group to reflect on what they might have achieved single-handedly.