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Hammeroids: Suspend the hammer

Hammeroids:

Props: Rubber-handled carpenter’s hammer, one 12″ ruler, 14″ section of nylon cord A.L.: 1

D.L.: 5

Focus: Communication

Credit: Quicksilver (page 160)

First of all, I would like to deny anything to do with the naming of this activity. The guy who created it, a man from Project Adventure New Zealand, created the name, created the game. For all of the overly-sensitive youth and adults that you work with, feel free to change it. Names such as: “Hammer, Ruler. Rope” are more aesthetically pleasing, but lack the flair of the original. (Do with it what you will, you are going to anyhow…)

Using only the materials that have been provided, suspend all the objects in mid-air. Only the last inch of the ruler is allowed to touch the top of the desk, table, etc.. That means the ruler must be on the top of the desk, not jammed into a drawer or other sneaky Initiative stuff like that.

If this is to be done with “At-Risk” youth, offer them a pizza party if they can solve the puzzle. It provides added incentive to accomplish the task and helps to unify the group toward a common goal. (Note: these are ALWAYS good things…) Also, if this is to be done over a long time, say in a classroom, feel free to allow the group to use any resources at their disposal. This can include asking teachers (other than you), looking up the answer in a Physics books (like this will happen), or any other idea they can use to accomplish the task.

Focus:

This is a Communication activity. If you were to tell the team that a volunteer had to lay, down beneath the table, (under the hammer) while you worked, then. I suppose, it would be a “Trust” activity. If you do something like that, however, I’m sure you will be banned from ever working team-building again. This is a nice activity for groups that have a lot of time on their hands. Schools, “At-Risk”, etc.. are great for these because they can, work on them consistently throughout a school year. This activity should be used in conjunction with weekly team-building exercises for maximum benefit.

Processing:

By the time most groups solve this puzzle, there will be little left to process. :) Talk about what they can do if they use the resources available and work together.

Spotting Concerns:

The hammer. If the group is frustrated, the hammer can become a weapon. Also, make sure you don’t let people lay beneath the hammer while it is being suspended. Just seems like common sense but if I don’t tell you that, someone will do it and I’ll get sued for failing to mention it…

-- Brandon Wirtz

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Filed in: Mini Lesson Plans