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Bomb Shelter

40 min | Team | Game Cooperation & Networking

6hats

The Challenge

BOMB SHELTER activity is  designed to put a group of people into a simulated scenario in order to help the individuals grow closer together and identify as a team. The scenario involves a nuclear bomb is inbound and people are evacuating to a bomb shelter with a limited capacity. The team must decide who gets to stay in the bomb shelter and who gets to face certain death.

The scenarios include stressors (i.e. complicated problems, time limits, resource constraints, etc.) which are used to help make the scenario challenging, fun, and educational. The activity is designed in such a way that allows for flexibility and creativity in its execution.

List of required equipment

A copy of the Bomb Shelter information sheet to each team member.

What can students learn from this?

  1. Help individuals look at their values and beliefs
  2. To discuss how values and beliefs are developed

How can I do this in class?

Tell a story, either elaborate or simple, about several nuclear bombs accidentally set off, one of which heading somewhere between two cities near your city. We are not sure where. We need to take shelter immediately.

Fifteen people have come to the shelter to be let in. But the bomb shelter has the capacity to hold only 8 people. (see info sheet)

You must choose only 8 people to enter the bomb shelter.

  • First individually choose the 8 people you want to stay. (Take 3 minutes to do this).
  • Then divide the class into groups of 4 and ask them to come to a consensus as to who gets to stay.
  • Each person in the group should present his or her decision to the rest of the group.

Consensus means not just seeing who has the highest number of votes but to collectively agree on the person. The task is to reach consensus among the group as to who should stay and who should go. Each group will have to come to an agreement.

You only have 10-15 minutes to come to a consensus as to who stays.

Reflection tips

Suggested questions to ask:

  • How did your individual choices differ from your group’s choices?
  • Were there any people that you felt strongly about that didn’t get on the list and how did that feel?
  • Where do our values come from?
  • How does understanding our own values help us with understanding how we want our life to be lived?
  • How does understanding others’ values impact relationships both individually and in groups?

Relevant useful material

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