Icebreakers are a great way to help residents get to know each other and for residence hall staff to develop their team. The following are 46 icebreaker/teambuilder starter ideas you can use to develop your own activities for your residents or fellow staff members. When choosing an activity, it is important to remember that participants may bring a diverse array of experiences and abilities to the table. Make sure you choose your icebreakers that are inclusive and affirming for all.
Getting to Know Each Other:
1. Two Truths and a Lie: Each student shares two true statements and one false statement about themselves, while others guess the lie.
2. Human Bingo: Create a bingo card with different characteristics or experiences, and students find someone who matches each description to fill their card.
3. Speed Friending: Set a timer and have students rotate partners, sharing quick facts about themselves with each person they meet.
4. Common Ground: Students find a partner and discover three things they have in common before sharing with the group.
5. This or That: Present students with two options (e.g., coffee or tea, beach or mountains) and have them choose and discuss their preferences.
6. Fun Fact Exchange: Each student shares an interesting or unexpected fact about themselves.
7. Interview Exchange: Pair up students and have them interview each other, then introduce their partner to the group.
8. Personal Symbol: Ask students to draw or find a symbol that represents them and explain its significance.
9. Name and Gesture: Students introduce themselves with a unique gesture that represents something about their personality or interests.
10. Alphabet Adjectives: Each student shares an adjective that describes themselves, starting with the next letter of the alphabet.
11. 5 Favorites: Students share their top five favorite things (e.g., movies, books, foods) and discuss their choices with a partner.
12. Time Machine: If students could travel back in time or into the future, when and where would they go, and why?
13. Dream Collaboration: Students form groups and discuss what famous person, living or dead, they would love to collaborate with and why.
14. Positive Trait Share: Each student shares a positive trait they admire in someone else and explains why it resonates with them.
15. Secret Talents: Students reveal a hidden talent or unique skill they possess.
16. Career Aspirations: Have students discuss their dream careers and what motivated them to pursue their chosen fields.
17. Travel Tales: Students share their most memorable travel experience and what they learned from it.
18. What’s in Your Bag?: Students take turns sharing items from their bags and explaining their significance or usefulness.
Team Building and Collaboration:
19. Problem Solving Puzzles: Provide teams with brain teasers, riddles, or puzzles and encourage them to solve them collaboratively.
20. Team Trivia Challenge: Divide students into teams and organize a trivia contest, covering various topics of interest.
21. Group Art Project: Provide art supplies and ask teams to create a collaborative art piece that represents their collective identity.
22. Lego Creations: Provide teams with Lego bricks and ask them to create something that represents a shared goal or vision.
23. Group Jigsaw Puzzle: Divide a jigsaw puzzle among different teams and challenge them to complete it as quickly as possible.
24. Tower Challenge: Provide teams with newspapers and masking tape to construct the tallest tower possible within a given time frame.
25. Puzzle Pieces: Give each student a puzzle piece, and they must find others with matching pieces to form a complete picture.
26. Countdown: In teams, students race against the clock to arrange a set of numbers in order from smallest to largest.
Physical and Active Icebreakers:
27. Human Rock-Paper-Scissors: Students pair up and play Rock-Paper-Scissors. The loser becomes the cheerleader for the winner.
28. Human Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of characteristics or experiences, and students find others who fit each description.
29. Beach Ball Questions: Write different icebreaker questions on a beach ball, and students toss it to each other, answering the question under their right thumb.
30. Paper Airplane Contest: Students create paper airplanes and compete to see whose plane flies the farthest.
31. Pictionary Relay: Divide students into teams and have them compete in a Pictionary-style relay race.
32. Back-to-Back Drawing: In pairs, students sit back-to-back and try to recreate an image by describing it to their partner.
33. Giant Jenga: Set up a giant Jenga game and have students take turns removing blocks without toppling the tower.
Creative and Expressive Icebreakers:
34. Draw Your Name: Each student writes their name in a visually creative way and shares the story behind their design.
35. Emoji Self-Portrait: Students create a self-portrait using only emojis to represent their personality and interests.
36. Collage of Dreams: Provide magazines and art supplies for students to create collages representing their dreams and aspirations.
37. Haiku Introductions: Students introduce themselves using a haiku (a three-line poem with five, seven, and five syllables).
38. Doodle Challenge: Set a timer and have students doodle based on given prompts, sharing their creations afterward.
39. Quote of Inspiration: Each student selects a meaningful quote and explains why it resonates with them.
40. Memory Wall: Students bring photos or objects that represent significant memories in their lives and create a collective memory wall.
41. Vision Board: Provide magazines, images, and art supplies for students to create vision boards that reflect their goals and aspirations.
42. Story Starters: Provide sentence starters, and students take turns building upon the story, creating a collective narrative.
43. Group Poem: Students collaborate to create a poem, with each person contributing a line or phrase.
44. Silent Expressions: Without speaking, students use facial expressions and body language to convey different emotions or scenarios.
45. Word Association: Begin with a random word, and students take turns saying the first word that comes to mind, creating a chain of associations.
46. Collaborative Storytelling: In a circle, each student adds a sentence to create a collective story, building upon each other’s ideas.
