10 Group Activities and Teambuilding Ideas in Chicago

Mixologist Revae Schneider, who has previously worked at Gilt Bar and Union Sushi & Barbeque Bar, launched her own company in October 2011. Dubbed Femme du Coupe, Schneider's new endeavor focuses on teaching groups how to make classic cocktails. Classes begin with a spirits tasting, then Schneider guides participants through the process of creating three drinks. The classes typically accommodate around 30 guests, though Schneider can work with as many as 50. The cost is $50 per head, plus the cost of materials. Classes can take place at offices, event spaces, or homes.

Windy City Fieldhouse, billed as the largest teambuilding company in the Midwest, now offers its Mosaic Mural Challenge, which can take place at the company's 55,000-square-foot facility 10 minutes north of the Loop, or at off-premise sites in the city and suburbs. The activity divides participants into teams that work together to to create an oversize mosaic piece. At the end, all teams combine their panels to create a mural that communicates a corporate strategy, a charitable goal, or another theme of the host's choosing. Groups are encouraged to bring the completed murals back to their office. The activity can accommodate as many as 1,500 guests, and costs range from $50 to $125 per head.

Parties That Cook is a mobile cooking company that stages culinary teambuilding activities and private group cooking classes in offices, private homes, and event spaces in the city and suburbs. The company's newest activity is Cupcake Wars, which begins with drinks and snacks. Guests then watch an interactive cooking demo with instructors offering tips in baking techniques such as piping or zesting citrus. Participants then divide into teams; each is given a cupcake recipe, and can select toppings and ingredients from a pantry. After baking their confections, all teams sample one another's cupcakes. A "Best Dessert" is selected, and the winning team takes home prizes. The activity lasts two and a half hours, accommodates eight to 300 guests, and costs $75 per head.

Chicago-based Waxwing Puzzle Company specializes in what their reps refer to as "adventure tourism." The newly launched company designs games and scavenger hunts for groups, including the rain-friendly Labyrinth. Geared toward groups of 10 to 50 people, the three-hour game costs $20 per head. Teams compete to solve a chain of puzzles, finding clues in the Pedway, a network of underground commuter tunnels in the Loop. The first team to solve four clues wins the game.

Chicago Detours is a new interactive tour company that launched its Good Times Historic Pub Crawl for corporate groups earlier this year. The tour explores historic ballrooms, jazz clubs, former speakeasies, and dance halls by foot, as guides share information about prohibition in Chicago, the heyday of the Playboy Club, and popular theaters, restaurants, and social clubs of eras past. Supplied iPads show historical photos and provide more information, and the tour includes stops at three historic bars along Michigan Avenue. Tours with eight participants start from $58 per guest; the cost per head decreases to $40 for larger groups. Basic fees include shared use of iPads, tour guides, beer, wine, and light appetizers; upgraded packages include top-shelf liquor and heavy appetizers.

In spring 2011, Chicago Chocolate Tours launched its Cupcake Tours. The two-hour bakery crawl, available for private groups with as many as 60 guests, stops at spots in the Gold Coast or Downtown, including More and Sarah's Pastries and Candies. Along the way, guests sample treats while tour guides dispense fun facts like what gives red velvet cupcakes their hue. The tour typically costs $50 per head, and discounts are available for groups.

Inspired by the upcoming NATO and G8 summits being held at McCormick Place, a new limited-edition tour from Bobby's Bike Hike is themed "Peace, Politics, and Interest." The four-hour, 14-mile bike tour takes groups through the city as guides point out locations that played a role in historical events such as the riots surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention. Other lessons touch on Chicago mayors, immigrants, labor movements, business leaders, and social workers. Costs start at $45 per head, with additional fees for tax and gratuity. The maximum group size is 150.

Watson Adventures' new Mad Science Scavenger Hunt takes place at the Museum of Science and Industry. Able to accommodate private groups of as many as 60, the activity tasks participants with cracking secret codes planted in certain museum exhibitions, including a German World War II submarine, a vintage 1930s train, and a chick hatchery. The hunt can last between 90 minutes and two hours, and costs typically range from $3,100 to $3,400.

Available only to private corporate groups with 10 to 15 guests, Flip Crepes' new class divides participants into teams to create three-course meals of sweet and savory crepes. The four-hour long, B.Y.O.B. program takes place at the crepe company's Fulton Street venue, and ends with a communal dinner. Menus are seasonal; recent winter offerings included a mixed green salad with champagne vinaigrette, savory crepes filled with crab, asparagus, and lemon aioli, and dessert crepes stuffed with poached pears, vanilla-bean ice cream, and milk chocolate sauce. Pricing starts at $90 per person.

Team Builders Plus, a company based in New Jersey, hosts Zooquest at the Brookfield Zoo. Billed as a high-tech scavenger hunt, the activity caters to groups with six to 200 guests, though the typical group size is 25 to 50. During the three-hour activity, teams of four to five coworkers use handheld GPS devices to find clues that help answer questions. The team that answers the most questions correctly wins. Pricing varies depending on group size, but usually starts at around $2,500.