Have you got lots of new faces joining your unit? Or perhaps you’re taking over a new group of Scouts, Cubs, Brownies, Cadets, Guides, or any others! It can be a little nerve-wracking for the kids in your group to meet so many new people, which is why we love doing a little icebreaker — which you can also do at your HQ!
Youth group icebreakers
What are some good icebreakers for youth groups? Here are 5 that you can use to help your youth group get to know each other!
Three things in common
This is a great way for your group to find out if there are others in the group who share the same interests as them. For this icebreaker, split up your group into smaller groups of 3-5. What they must do is talk amongst themselves and find three things that they all have in common. This could be their favourite sport, their favourite colour, or even if they all have a pet. After a few minutes, invite each group to share what three things they have in common.
This activity is also great for helping other members of each group see if anybody else in the group shares the same interests in sports, movies or anything else.
Two truths and a lie
A fun investigative icebreaker for your group is two truths and a lie! Now this is a tricky one because if your group haven’t met each other before then they haven’t got any clues to go off. Take it in turns to go around the group, and each person should come up with three facts about themselves, however, there’s a twist! One of these facts must be completely false, and it is up to the rest of the group to identify which two facts are true and which is a lie!
It’s a fun way for the group to find out more about each other while having fun trying to suss out which fact is false!
Sensory trail
What’s better than a trust exercise for your youth group icebreakers? A sensory trail involves lining your group up behind one another with hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. Everyone must wear a blindfold for this activity which is where the trust element comes into play! The group must follow a path/line and make their way through the trail while all remaining in a line together.
This is a great adventure activity that we have available at our group residential camps at PGL! Members of the group rely on the person in front of them to guide them through the trail and communicate effectively to let them know what obstacles they are about to come across.
Spot the difference
It’s spot the difference but in real life! Pair up your adventurers and give time to the group to closely observe everybody’s appearance. Then give them a little bit of time to turn their backs and in pairs alter 3 things about themselves. It could be changing hairstyle, swapping a shoe, or rolling up a sleeve. Then invite everyone to turn around and take turns for pairs to spot the difference about others.
Guess who
This icebreaker requires pen and paper. Split your group into two and get everybody on both teams to write 3-5 facts about themselves on a piece of paper. When both teams have completed, swap the papers with the other team where they must guess which facts relate to which person. It encourages communication between groups to discuss their thoughts on who it could be.
Book your group residential with PGL!
We hope these youth group icebreakers come in handy! If you’re not already heading on a Youth Club & Trust residential with PGL, then take a look at what we have to offer. We have a range of group residential trips to choose from, including Girlguiding residentials, Scout residentials, Other Uniform residentials and many more!
If you have any questions, get in touch with our friendly and experienced team today. They’ll be more than happy to help!
