Christian Youth Camp - Helium Stick

Christian Youth Camp -
Helium Stick
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com
www.CreativeScavengerHunts.com

Group Size: 10 to 30
Time: 20-60 minutes
Applications: Trust, Communication, Frustration, Blame,
Focus, Shared Vision, Problem-solving,
Commitment/Effort, Compensating for Differences
Materials
The filled stick (Really, just an ordinary 8 foot long light
tent pole.)

Summary
The stick is very common team building game but one which proves
difficult even if one or more participants have done it before. The
stick seems to defy the laws of gravity and takes an incredible
amount of well-coordinated teamwork to be successful. The basic
idea is incredibly simple – lower a slim, wooden dowel to the ground
all together as a team, but just as incredibly difficult to achieve. The
stick rises into the air instead of getting lowered to the ground. How
can that be? The team must work it out and find the solution.

Objective
Lower a thin stick to the ground as a group
while everyone mains contact with their
index fingers

Instructions
1. “Form two lines facing each other and standing shoulder to
shoulder.” (The lines must be close to each other –
approximately 12 – 18 inches apart). 2. “Put your hands into a
representation of a gun and down at your side.”
3. “On the count of 3– Quick draw like a gunslinger from the
American West!”
4. “1, 2, 3, DRAW”

5. “Good thing this isn’t the real west… I think you would have all killed
each other!”
6. “Put both index fingers out zipper style (interlacing with your
neighbor).”
7. Place the Stick – on top of the outstretched fingers. THIS PART IS
IMPORTANT – when you place the tent pole on their fingers, do so from
behind and in the middle of one of the lines ALWAYS KEEPING YOUR HAND
ON TOP OF THE POLE to prevent the group from raising the pole in the air.
Apply enough pressure on top of the pole to prevent the group from rising
up.

8. While still holding it and putting a slight unnoticeable downward
pressure, ask participants to “Please adjust your index fingers to
roughly chest height so that all are touching the stick.”
9. “Your challenge is to lower the Stick to the ground. While doing so,
each persons fingers must be in contact with the stick at all times.”
10. “No one may lose contact with the pole. If anyone loses contact
with the stick the entire group must start again.”
11. “The starting position is with the pole at waist level.”

12. “You may not drop the pole”
13. “You must keep the sides of your index fingers touching at all
times. Not the back, not your palms, and not hooking the pole
with your finger. You cannot put your fingers on top of the stick.
If one person’s finger comes off at any time, you start over.”
14. Release your pressure on the stick. Typically, the Stick will
immediately start floating off!
15. Act surprised and ask them why they are raising the Stick
instead of lowering it!

Facilitator Notes
1. When you place the stick on the group’s fingers, be sure to apply a
slight downward pressure before letting them begin. This helps
create the initial upward pressure that creates the ” stick.”
2. The Stick will continue to mysteriously have a habit of floating
upwards rather than coming down. Often the more a group tries, the
more it floats (as people get nervous their fingers jitter the Stick
upwards). Participants may be confused initially about the
paradoxical behavior of the Stick.

3. Its likely to take several attempts to just keep the
tent pole steady (not lowering or raising).
4. Some groups or individuals (most often larger size
groups) after 5 to 10 minutes of trying may be
inclined to give up, believing it to be impossible.
Suggest the group stop and discuss their strategy.

5. Eventually the group needs to calm down and very
slowly, patiently lower the Stick.
6. If they get really frustrated, you can suggest they might
want to stop and discuss what’s happening. You can either
allow them to keep trying until they get it, or stop them
when they’ve had enough. It’s a judgement call.

Safety Warning
The ends of the tent pole can be dangerous if the pole
starts moving quickly
and hits someone in the face. Take precautions to
prevent injury.

Variations
1. Add a washer to each end of the pole. Don’t drop the washer.
2. Have people pair up and supply each pair with a very short tent
pole (18 inches). Have each pair lower their own pole to the ground
so they can experience success. Then have people form groups of 4
and then provide them with a tent pole just long enough for 4
people. Have the groups of 4 work together to lower the pole.
Continue making bigger groups until you have everyone working
together on one tent pole.

Debrief
General Debrief
• “What happened?”
• “Why?”
• “What changed?”
• “So What?”
• “Now What?”
“What happened?”
1. What happened?
The results were initially the opposite of what was desired.

“Why?”
2. What factors limited your success?
(frustration, blame, gave up, lack of focus, lack of understanding
the real problem, need for instant results, Failure to adjust to
differences, Too many leaders,)
3. Did everyone understood the objective and the rules?
4. Was anyone intentionally trying to sabotage the group’s
objective by lifting the stick?
5. Did everyone believe the task was achievable?
6. Did everyone sincerely want to accomplish the objective?

7. If everyone understood the Objective, and was committed to
succeeding, why did the group get so far off track right away?
(didn’t plan well, over compensated, thought we were doing our
part, etc)
8. What factors contributed to your eventual success?
(concentration, focus, patience, gentleness, adjusting to
differences in height, strength, etc, unity – not trying to outdo
others, communication, encouragement, perseverance, being
able to deal with frustration, effective leadership)

“What Changed?”
9. What did you do to make your objective a reality?
(someone must take charge, discussion of strategy, more attentive
to our position and differences and similarities related to those
around us, clear communication, patience, keeping focused on the
task, following the leader, manage frustration, play to group
member strengths and compensate for weaknesses, share insights,
cooperation, etc.)

“So What?”
10. Share some examples of groups that they have
participated in “the real world” that seemed to be comprised
of committed people, but were not achieving the results that
everyone wanted? What insights might this game shed on
those situations?
11. What are the possible applications of the lessons learned
from this activity to business, personal development, spiritual
life, and relationships?

KEY APPLICATION: When the best plans go awry.
Business
This activity mirrors the business dynamic of projects starting out well, but
quickly going awry. Why is that? Sometimes the best laid plans just don’t
work out. Having a clear vision is one thing but making it a reality is often
another. The fact that everyone understood and was committed to the
vision isn’t enough. It immediately went in the OPPOSITE direction from
where you were trying to go – UP! Have you experienced any parallels to
real life while doing this activity. What you do as a team when plans go
awry has everything to do with team work, trust and communication

Personal
Did you establish a plan early or simply react? Reacting without a plan can
make the situation worse. What are some character attributes you would like
to develop in your life? What are some bad traits that you would like to put
down and suppress? Sometimes in trying to suppress things in our life we
achieve the opposite effect. The key is to find balance and calm to deal with
those things that lead us away from our goals. What are some frustrations
that you have in life? How do you put aside the frustrations so that you can
have the perseverance and calm to achieve your goals?

Spiritual
Sometimes when we spiritually strive to achieve spiritual fruit in our
lives, we seem to get further away from where we want to be. The key
is to rest and relax in the strength of God rather than trying to do
things in our own strength. What are some areas of your life that you
need to simply turn over to God and let him work them out? What are
some areas where you are struggling and dealing with frustration and
about to give up? How can you put them into God’s hands? Scripture is
filled with paradoxes: The poor in Spirit shall be Rich. The weak are
strong. What are some spiritual paradoxes in your life?

Relationships
Do the results in your relationships sometimes seem to be opposite of
what you desire? Do you have a tendency to take responsibility to work
together to reduce the tension and work things back to a level of calm,
or do you blame and do things that create more tension in
relationships? What is your typical response when you feel others are
to blame for the relationship not going the way you desire? Does this
response help or hinder the relationship? If you are blamed, have
fingers pointing at you, how do you feel?

What is your typical response? (In the game, any tiny movement
or even nervousness by one person causes jitters that eases the
pole up, achieving the opposite result of what was wanted.)
How can you bring calm and focus to your relationships? What
feelings and emotions tend to rise up, even when you are trying
to put them down? Are there times you feel like giving up? What
is it that keeps you focused and committed in the relationship to
see it through?

For success in the game you had to compensate for individual
differences (suck as height, strength, etc). How important is
compensating for differences to success in relationships? How
important is awareness of others? Are there times that you over
compensate? If we know that everyone is committed to the
objective, does it make it easier to handle things that seem to act
contrary to our desire?

Now What?
12. What will you do differently
as a result of this activity?

Bible Studies based on the book of Jonah
Only. This youth camp curriculum was
designed to teach the basic truths
of obedience in addition to evangelism in the
context of a Biblical character. The advantage
of going through a book and looking at one
man's story is that we see not only the
teaching but the example. It becomes much
more real!
Camp Curriculum - Whale of a Tale
-> Tell me about “Whale of a Tale”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/resources/order5.html

Creative Youth Ideas
Camp Bible Study Series
“Who Do You Say that I AM?”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/resources/whodoyousay.html
-> Tell me about “Who Do You Say that I AM?”
Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do others
say that I am?" It was easy to answer
because it required no conviction, no
commitment, and no risk. But then he
follows that question with another, "Who
do YOU say that I am?"

Live the Fruitful, Abundant Life
Jesus Promised. Great for youth camps or
weekly Youth Bible Study. There are 7
Primary Bible study Sessions in the series.
www.creativeyouthideas.com/resources/fruitofthespirit.html
-> Tell me about “Fruit Of the Spirit”
Creative Youth Ideas
Youth Camp Bible Study Series
“Fruit Of the Spirit”

"The Great Adventure" is western
themed Bible study series loosely based
around the song of the same name by
Steven Curtis Chapman. It was initially
written for a large Texas Church to use for
their Summer Youth Camp but has since
then proven popular around the world.
Camp Curriculum - The Great Adventure
www.creativeyouthideas.com/resources/order12.html
-> Tell me about “The Great Adventure”

Christian Youth Camp - Helium Stick

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