Tuesday, October 9, 2012

"Amazing Race"~ Combined Mutual Activity


This is one of the BEST activities I have done as a combined mutual activity.
A lot of work... but one of the BEST!
I first did this activity with my Beehives back in 2007.  I moved away for 3 years, moved back and was called as YW President in the ward.  My once Beehives were now Laurels.  I was approached by some of the Priesthood brethren who were there when we first had this activity in 2007.  They asked me if we could do it again, since it was mostly new youth now in mutual.  So, by popular demand.... we did it again!  Then, I moved to another ward and am now the 1st Counselor in YW. So, I did this activity with my Mia Maids in charge.  It was a success!  
Since so many ask me to e-mail this activity to them, I figured I'd post it here. :)

P.S. I'm sooo bummed I don't have pictures of the youth doing this activity!!  I'm usually busy running around checking on things and setting up the finale at the temple that I'm unable to take pictures. :(

So.... what is this GREAT activity?
It's like the TV show "The Amazing Race".  It's an analogy that we are in this "Amazing Race" called life.  We will have "roadblocks", "detours", etc... on the way.  What do we do to handles these challenges in this life?  What are our goals in life that help us reach our ultimate goal which is to return to live with our Father in heaven and have Eternal Life?  I'm thinking... how cool would it be to use this activity to kick off the new mutual theme: "Stand Ye In Holy Places" by using the temple as the final destination!

Like in the TV show "The Amazing Race", we divide the youth into teams.  They will have clues taking them to several stops around the neighborhood.  Some of these stops have been: a local school {goal: get good grades}, a local bank's parking lot {goal: be a full tithe payer}, a nearby park {goal: stay physically fit}, church parking lot {goal: read scriptures daily}, local Jamba Juice {goal: eat healthy}. The final stop is our local temple {I understand this isn't possible for everyone.  We are fortunate to have our temple about 10 minutes away}.  I reserved the Christus about a month ahead for about an hour after the "race" starts.  We listen to the Christus and Sisters missionaries' testimonies.  Then, our Bishop says a few words.  We have refreshments then go home!

What do they have to do at these "stops"?
  • School {goal: get good grades}~  the team has to complete a multiplication test to get their next clue
  • Bank {goal: be a full tithe payer}~ the team has to figure out the correct amount of tithing owed, complete a tithing slip, and turn it in to get their next clue.
  • Park {goal: be physically fit}~ this is the "detour" of the game. What is a "detour"? Click here to find out.  The teams have to choose between 2 challenges.  Ones we've done in the past: Scooter Relay vs Parachute Launch & Obstacle Course vs Basketball Challenge.  Scooter relay was using the razor/scooters to go around a cone, then pass off to the next member.  Parachute Launch was where they had to use a parachute to launch a beach ball to hit the cultural hall's ceiling (we were in the cultural hall instead of a park that year).  If at the park, you could make it where they have to launch a beach ball over a volleyball net a certain number of times.  The Obstacle Course was just a good ol' fashioned obstacle course.  Basketball Challenge was where one team member needed to make a lay up.  Another team member had to make a free throw.  Another team member had to make a 3 pointer.  Another member had to make a half court shot. 
  • Church Parking Lot {goal: read your scriptures}~ We called it... did you do your 14/7 this week?  14 stood for praying 2x a day for a week.  7 stood for reading your scriptures for a least 5 minutes a day for a week.  At this challenge, they had to find all the names of the books in the Book of Mormon that were on word strips scattered around the OUTSIDE of the church building and parking lot.  Then, they had to put them in order as they appear in the Book of Mormon. *TIP~ @ this challenge make sure the teams know they are only to take ONE strip of paper with the book's name on it.  Not all 6 of them... then the other teams won't have any to find. :)
  • Jamba Juice {goal: eat healthy}~ the first two times I did this activity, we actually had them go to Jamba Juice (the owners of the location were in our ward).  The third time I've done this, going to an actual Jamba Juice location would be too far.  So, we had a "Jamba" set up at a ward member's house.  I had purchased shots of Jamba's wheat-grass drink {it's like drinking grass...literally}.  One shot for each team.  This stop is called a "Roadblock".  What is a "roadblock"?  Click here to find out.  On the clue sheet we said "Who is really thirsty?"  They had to pick ONE member on their team to do the challenge without knowing what it was.  Upon arrival at this stop, they had to say who was doing the challenge.  Then, they were given the shot of wheat-grass to drink in order to get their next clue.  This stop is hilarious to watch.  Image the deacons trying to drink this down... classic!!
So... now that I've explained the whole activity.  You are probably wondering about printables!
Here is what I can give ya.  By the way, when making the puzzles or clues that the teams had to decode to get to their next destination, I used this site.  It's awesome.

Below is the chart I used to keep track of the routes of the teams.  I didn't want all the teams going to the same place at the same time.  Because (a) they couldn't cheat by following other teams (b) eliminated having too many people show up to one place at the same time.  You can download this spreadsheet and edit it for your own needs.
Once you have the number of teams figured out and the routes all set.  You will need to print off the clues and get the envelopes ready.  We just used standard white envelopes (to save on money).  We printed off labels to put on the outside of the envelopes to save on time.  So, an envelope would say "Team 1" "Clue 2" etc....
You can download the sticker labels here:

I had my class presidency get together to help stuff the envelopes with the clues. So, when stuffing the envelopes, if Team #2's clue #3 was to go to Jamba Juice we would put in the Jamba clue, Roadblock pic, and Roadblock rules in that envelope.  Make sense? {use your route paper you made above}  So.... this is what you put in the place's envelope:

"Jamba Juice" Envelope:
{When we had our "Jamba" be at a member in the ward's house, I put their address below the clue.  Except for the street name.  Where the street name would be I had a scripture that had the name of the street in it.  For example, it was 1122 N. DIAMOND Ave.  Instead of "Diamond" I had a scripture reference to a scripture that had the word "Diamond" in it.}

Park Envelope:
{this clue is the one teams had the hardest time with. You will need to edit it to your park's name.  If you try to solve our clue the solution was: Go to Harmony Park.  Use the link I mentioned above to make your new word search puzzle}
{on p. 2 of the document}

School Envelope:
{you will need to change the colored letters to spell out your school's name.  If you try to solve our clue the solution says: Irving}

Church Envelope:
{We used scripture references that are all found in Chapter 14 verse 7 to really emphasize the "Did you 14/7?".  If you try to solve our clue it will say: "Our Church Building Parking Lot".  You can keep it this way and just print it off if that works for you!}

Temple Envelope:
{when you solve this, the clue will read "Temple Visitor's Center"}

By the way... I found this cool link to printables where you can type the clue on these cool looking clue cards that look the the real ones on "The Amazing Race" television show.  Eh... maybe next time I do this I will have enough energy to transfer the clues onto these.
The Amazing Race ideas and printables

OK.... so now that you have labeled and stuffed all the clue envelopes it's time to sort them in the team and destination large envelopes.  I would get the large envelopes~ one for each team and one for each of the above destinations (except the temple).  

Here is a pic of a couple of our team large envelopes.  We would glue the team number and team members names on the front of the envelope.  This is the envelope that will be given to the teams at the starting line after opening exercises.  *NOTE: we would have 2 adults in the cars, if possible.  One driver and another leader so we would be "two deep".  Sometimes a team, because of constraints on number of seats in wards member's cars, would be in two separate cars following each other.  But, if possible, it's best to use ONE car with TWO leaders inside.*   

Inside the team envelope we would include:
Clue #1 for each team
A "Lost or Confused" sheet that had my name and cell number on it... just in case
A Pencil

*Scriptures are to be in the driver's car.  When we called to arrange drivers we made sure they knew to have either a hard-copy or electronic device that had access to the scriptures.  You have to have these in order to decode the clues to figure out your next destination*


What goes inside the Destination Envelopes?
Mostly they have just the clues to give to the teams that tell them their next destination.  So, if Jamba is Team #2's third stop.  The clue they get from the "Jamba" station will be Clue #4.  {use your route sheet you made when stuffing these envelopes.  That way you make sure the right clue goes in the the right envelope!!}

Jamba Envelope: Just the clues
School Envelope: Clues, pencils, multiplication test {one for each team}, and answer key
Church Envelope: Clues, word strips with books from the Book of Mormon, and tape
Park Envelope: Just the clues


I had my YW divided up to run each of the destinations/stations.  Of course there was an adult there too.  Mostly a parent of one of one of the YW.  After all the teams had come by their station, they would pack up and head to the temple for the grand finale at the Christus.  

Like I said before... this activity takes time to prepare.  But, it is sooo worth it!  I've been told by other leaders that this is one of the BEST mutual activities they have ever been to.

Feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment with any questions!!



Pin It!

14 comments:

  1. I don't comment on blogs much but I am truly amazed. Wow! I am going to use this activity almost exactly for my ward youth conference next summer. Thank you for being willing to share all your hard work. What a blessing you are and to your ward! Can you tell me how long this activity took and how much driving was involved (distance, time, etc.) so that I can appropriately estimate the time for myself? Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) I'm glad my hard work is useful! This would be great at a youth ward conference! It is really a great activity and I think it will go perfect with the new mutual theme for next year with the final destination being the temple. We started mutual that night at 6:30 so that we had enough time for opening exercises and dividing up the teams, going over the rules etc... I wanted them to start the race no later than 7. I had reserved the Christus at the temple for 8. All teams had made the destination by that time. First team to arrive arrived about 15 mins earlier than the last team to arrive. The stop that took the longest was the church/scripture stop {where they have to find all the Book of Mormon names and put them in order}. I guess some teams accidentally took more than one name of a book and there was some confusion with that. You'll have to let me know how it goes! Don't hesitate to let me know if you have more questions!

      Delete
    2. Ashley
      Thanks for sharing this great activity. We are going to try and put it together for next week. I can't see anything when I click on the road block or detour link. Can you tell me how I can get that info. asap.
      Thanks

      Delete
  2. Incredible! I'm in charge of an Amazing Race activity for our youth this spring and you are an answer to a prayer!! So much work went into this. I hope you know how much those of us who aren't as organized as you are appreciate the hard work that went into planning something like this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!! I'm glad my hard work can be put to good use! This really is a fun activity. Good luck in Spring!

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am wondering how many teams you had and how many people were on each team? I am soo excited to plan this for our stake Young Women!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Shelby! This will be a great stake activity! The number of teams & people on each team entirely depends on the vehicle access. In one ward we had a lot of vans, suburbans, etc... that could hold 5 youth + 2 adults in the front seats. So, we had 5 youth and then 2 deep on the adults. Some members had the big 18 passenger vans, so we would make that team bigger. We would really have it in case friends showed up so we could move kids around and make enough room for everyone. But, because of the challenges and wanting to make sure everyone is involved. 5/6 youth to a team is good. Don't want to make the teams too big. But, one of the tough things about this activity is getting the vehicles and teams put together. THEN having to make changes at the last minute when you have extras show or no shows. Good luck! You'll have to let me know how it goes! :)

      Delete
  5. Ashley
    Thanks for sharing this great activity. We are going to try and put it together for next week. I can't see anything when I click on the road block or detour link. Can you tell me how I can get that info. asap.
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Mary Ann! I just saw that! Weird! Well, it was just a link to a site that explained the rules of the roadblock and detour. A roadblock is the red one where only ONE team member can do the challenge and they must decide who is going to do it before they know what the challenge is. A detour is the yellow card. It's where the team has to pick between two challenges. They do it all together but have to pick btwn the two tasks. They can start one and then realize they want to switch to the other task if they want. Does that answer your question? Good luck!

      Delete
  6. what happened to the "Bank" pit stop? I would like to include it in the activity

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Regina! I don't have the clue I used or sheets I created for the bank stop since it was back in 2007. I used a clue about how it was the bank of choice in town. {it was the only bank nearby so everyone knew}. I had the same # of envelopes as teams (example: 5 teams, 5 envelopes). When the team would arrive, they pick an envelope. Inside had some play money with a senario. For example, "You mowed 3 lawns last Saturday and earned $30. Fill out the tithing slip for the correct amount of tithing owed." They would fill out the tithing slip stick it in the tithing envelope with $3 and give it the to Bishopric member we had at the station. We just had to make sure that the $30 play money in the envelope had play "$1" so they could stick the $3 in the envelope. Does that make sense?

      Delete
  7. I can't seem to get the files to download without having to pay a fee. Would you be willing to send the files via email? I am so excited to do this as a combined activity next week, THANK YOU for sharing your talent and hard work!

    A question, on the scripture stop, was the intent to have them put the books in order with or without looking inside the scriptures?

    Thank you again, I LOVE your site!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure! I will send them your way.... it might be later this afternoon tho!

      Scripture stop- you could do either way. We let them use it. :)

      Delete