1. Learn a Cool Craft
Hone creative skills at Urban Glass, a glassmaking center in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. Melting colored rods of glass with a torch, attendees can create glass beads—manipulating the color, shape, and size of each individual piece—and string them together into a bracelet. Urban Glass can host groups of as many as 10 and charges $125 per person.
2. Make Some Music
Let everyone bang on a drum during rhythm lessons from Drum Cafe New York. Participants gather in groups to develop a rhythm with instruction from a lead drummer. A session usually lasts 45 to 80 minutes and can be done in any type of venue—office, banquet facility, even a large stadium—you just need seats (and, probably, tolerant neighbors). The cost starts at $1,500.
3. Take Aim
Give your group a rush of energy with rifle lessons at Westside Rifle and Pistol Range. The 40-year-old company provides instruction and target practice for groups as large as 20. A two-hour session costs $54.32 per person and includes a classroom lecture, instructions on how to handle the firearm, and then it’s off to the firing line for target practice.
4. Record the Memories
Document teambuilding fun having Photo Trek Tours follow your group with cameras. The company, which regularly leads tours around the city, can also accompany employees as they scour the city for a scavenger hunt or head to different locations for activities. The cost varies from $500 to $700 for a four to eight-hour period and includes a CD of photos.
5. Seek Out the Clues
City Hunt creates special scavenger hunts that send people on adventures around town. The company customizes special themes, often around neighborhoods, locations, or historical subjects (from Irish pub hunts to investigative museum-oriented outings). Armed with digital cameras, teams photograph answers for as many clues as possible and then come together to present their work for points. Fees range from $50 to $150 per person.
6. Go Back to Reality
Surprise your employees with a Survivor-type getaway. EventCo Productions puts together an event inspired by the reality TV show, whisking guests to a beachfront destination and re-creating the program’s tasks. EventCo can divide a group as large as 400 into teams to perform challenges, and the company incorporates tribal music and rustic food that reflect the setting.
7. Sweeten Up
Everybody loves chocolate, right? Help attendees overcome their differences by getting them to play with the sweet stuff. Teambonding.com’s Recipe for Success mixes chocolate-oriented tasks, including trivia and taste-test competitions, or projects like constructing a bridge out of chocolate. The two- to three-hour sessions range from $2,500 to $4,500, depending on the size of your group, which can be as large as 300.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 05.16.05
This story originally appeared in the February/March 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
Hone creative skills at Urban Glass, a glassmaking center in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. Melting colored rods of glass with a torch, attendees can create glass beads—manipulating the color, shape, and size of each individual piece—and string them together into a bracelet. Urban Glass can host groups of as many as 10 and charges $125 per person.
2. Make Some Music
Let everyone bang on a drum during rhythm lessons from Drum Cafe New York. Participants gather in groups to develop a rhythm with instruction from a lead drummer. A session usually lasts 45 to 80 minutes and can be done in any type of venue—office, banquet facility, even a large stadium—you just need seats (and, probably, tolerant neighbors). The cost starts at $1,500.
3. Take Aim
Give your group a rush of energy with rifle lessons at Westside Rifle and Pistol Range. The 40-year-old company provides instruction and target practice for groups as large as 20. A two-hour session costs $54.32 per person and includes a classroom lecture, instructions on how to handle the firearm, and then it’s off to the firing line for target practice.
4. Record the Memories
Document teambuilding fun having Photo Trek Tours follow your group with cameras. The company, which regularly leads tours around the city, can also accompany employees as they scour the city for a scavenger hunt or head to different locations for activities. The cost varies from $500 to $700 for a four to eight-hour period and includes a CD of photos.
5. Seek Out the Clues
City Hunt creates special scavenger hunts that send people on adventures around town. The company customizes special themes, often around neighborhoods, locations, or historical subjects (from Irish pub hunts to investigative museum-oriented outings). Armed with digital cameras, teams photograph answers for as many clues as possible and then come together to present their work for points. Fees range from $50 to $150 per person.
6. Go Back to Reality
Surprise your employees with a Survivor-type getaway. EventCo Productions puts together an event inspired by the reality TV show, whisking guests to a beachfront destination and re-creating the program’s tasks. EventCo can divide a group as large as 400 into teams to perform challenges, and the company incorporates tribal music and rustic food that reflect the setting.
7. Sweeten Up
Everybody loves chocolate, right? Help attendees overcome their differences by getting them to play with the sweet stuff. Teambonding.com’s Recipe for Success mixes chocolate-oriented tasks, including trivia and taste-test competitions, or projects like constructing a bridge out of chocolate. The two- to three-hour sessions range from $2,500 to $4,500, depending on the size of your group, which can be as large as 300.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 05.16.05
This story originally appeared in the February/March 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
Urban Glass
Drum Cafe
EventCo Productions
Teambonding.com
