While speakers take the stage for the official TED Conference in Long Beach this week, another spirited crowd filled the Palm Springs area's La Quinta Resort & Club for the official simulcast, known as TEDActive. The desert gathering of 700, whose makeup includes a significant group of planners for the TED-style TEDx conferences around the world, were in attendance to engage in an environment built for interaction, collaboration, and sincere network building—not to mention fun.
Here are 20 of the smart ways the event makes it happen.
TEDActive Projects
The TEDActive projects engaged attendees in brainstorming various ideas—and moving them forward through the course of the event.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Eco-Friendly Water Stations
TEDActive guests scooped up logo water bottles upon their arrival (or any time throughout the conference) that served as giveaways, as well as a way to stay hydrated without the use of disposable plastic bottles. Hydration stations let guests fill up easily and as often as they liked.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Beanbag Seating
Multiple venues around the property for simulcast viewing included an array of seating groups, including more traditional chairs and desks and armchairs—and even beanbags.
Photo: Kris KrĂĽg
TED Beds
Don't find beanbags quite comfy enough? The main simulcast venue, the theater, also had several bed-style lounging groups complete with TVs overhead for cozy viewing of the TED Talks.
Photo: Kris KrĂĽg
Interactive Picnic
A picnic lunch Wednesday offered picnic baskets for groups of seven—so each person had to meet six new folks with whom to chat and chow.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Flag-Making Station
The Sovereign Nation of You station encouraged attendees to make representational flags for creative expression during meeting breaks.
Photo: Kris KrĂĽg
TED's Dogs
Adding to the easygoing vibe were dogs, which were allowed on the property and at the event; attendees with furry friends could bring them along.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Visually Interesting—Yet Spare—Staging
The main stage backdrop got an appealing but spare look from wooden pallets—visually interesting, but not enough to distract from the high-level conference content.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Paper Punk Art Wall
Meant to offer attendees a low barrier to entry for creative expression, Paper Punk offered a station where attendees could use prefab templates to create small art pieces—think origami meets Lego—and affix them to an evolving wall.
Photo: Kris KrĂĽg
Inspiring Environments
In a thoughtful use of the environment surrounding the sprawling host hotel, individual seating groups invited attendees to gather and collaborate in cleverly arranged settings that themselves served to inspire.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Casual Dress Code (Really Casual)
To encourage folks to really engage with the content while being themselves, the TEDActive dress code was casual. Anything goes. So there were jeans, yes, but also plenty of flip-flops, shorts, and hoodies.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Large-Scale Name Badges
TEDActive means to connect attendees whenever possible—and oversize name badges made it easy to identify new folks.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Branded Floor Tiles
Talk about a fully immersive experience: The conference took over some of the venue's Spanish tiles for its own brand messaging. The special tiles also served to guide attendees' path along the walkways to the various event venues on the sprawling property.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Hit & Run Screen Printing
Guests were encouraged to bring their own T-shirts, totes—whatever—and Hit & Run customized them live according to guests' own personal TEDActive experience with a range of designs.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Bike and Scooter Rental
Meant to keep attendees fit and moving, one station offered scooter and bike rental available any time.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Coffee and Snacks
Coffee and snacks are pretty typical at conferences, but TEDActive's offerings included coffee brewed in small batches by skilled baristas and snacks like roasted seaweed and organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups, available any time of day.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Lincoln House of Design
Sponsor Lincoln decked out one of the property's casitas with a space that was subtly branded and also offered guests a chance to walk through a series of functional art pieces on exhibit.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
TEDx Wall
TEDx planners from around the world expressed themselves on an interactive chalkboard wall.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Game Stations
For a little collaboration in the get-to-know-you spirit, game stations dotted the event space.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Unusual Activities
Ever heard of flying a kite as a meeting-break option? TEDActive made one available for the taking, offering it adjacent to a casual seating cluster in the event's main outdoor space, known as the quad.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
