UFO Ball--Teaching the Value of Connection

This UFO Ball may look like a simple ping-pong ball with two pieces of metal, but when both pieces of metal are touched simultaneously, the ball lights up and makes noise.

Directions:

• Invite your group to stand or sit in a circle.
• Conduct a brief discussion on the value of connection. Why is it important? What are the benefits of being connection to a group or an individual?
• As the facilitator, hold the UFO ball in your left hand and touch one of the metal plates with your left index finger. Ask ‘Bob’, the person on your left, if he will demonstrate the activity with you. Invite him to touch the other metal plate on the UFO ball with his right index finger without physically touching you (meaning, no skin to skin contact between the two of you).
• Now describe to the group that you may not know very much about ‘Bob’, your partner, but you both work at the same organization (which is represented by the UFO ball). Explain that when you make a connection with ‘Bob’ exciting things can happen. At this moment reach up with your right hand and touch Bob’s left hand. The moment you make physical contact with Bob’s left hand the UFO ball will light up and make noise.
• Notice the Ooooh’s and Ahhhh’s that erupt from the group.
• This is a wonderful tool used to teach the value of connection in your team.
• Next, disconnect hands with Bob and invite the entire group to hold hands with the person standing next to them in the circle.
• Once everyone is connected hand to hand, reconnect hands with Bob. The ball will immediately light up and start making noise again. If one person disconnects from the team the ball will stop making noise. That's a powerful metaphor to debrief the effects on a team when someone is not giving 100%.
• The largest group we have experiemented with was 225 people. It took about 45 seconds for the current to travel through everyone before the ball lit up.


For all of the school teachers out there, it can teach the science of closed circuits with amusement.

If you use several of them in one circle, you can teach polarities. Have groups try to figure out how to make 4 UFO balls light up by figuring out the polarity sequence.