Rope Shapes Activity

This Activity is meant for Scouts BSA, Webelos scouts.

20 to 40 foot rope

Tie ends of rope together to create a loop.

Every scout has both hands on the rope at all times.
Every scout shuts his eyes.
The game leader tells the scouts to create a square.

When the team feels they have created the shape, they can all open their eyes and see how it looks.

Ask if there are any questions about the rules. They can talk if they want.

After trying a triangle, reflect on how it is going. Is there a leader? Are people cooperating? Is there 2-way or 1-way or 0-way communication?

Try a square again.

Then, allow the patrol leader to have eyes open while giving directions and see how much better the group does making an hourglass.

Reflection questions could include:

• How important is it to have a leader?
• How important is it to give clear instructions?
• How important is it that everyone listen and follow instructions?
• Was it hard to keep your eyes shut?

(It is easy to create any flat sided shape. Tell everyone to just hold onto the rope but do not put pressure on moving it in any direction. Then, to make a triangle, call out 3 names and have them pull the rope slowly out from the center as far as they can. If everyone else just goes where the rope pulls them, it works.)