Youth Work Activities
A selection of activity ideas for young people. These ideas can be adapted and delivered online.
Balloon Vollyball (physical activity)
Equipment – Balloon, string/yarn, two chairs
Players – 2+
Skills – Co-ordination, teamwork, gross motor skills
Using a long piece string or yarn, create a net by tying each end to chairs either side of the room. Blow up a balloon to act as a volleyball.
One player should go either side of the ‘net’ and pass the hit the balloon back and forward.
Don’t let the balloon touch the floor! If it does, your opponent gets a point!
You could also work as a team to see how long you can keep the balloon in the air!
DIY Golf (Physical Activity)
Equipment – a cardboard box, scissors, a small ball, something to use as a golf club like an umbrella or wrapping paper tube, pens or pencils for decoration.
Skills – gross motor, cognitive, fine motor skills
On an empty cardboard box, cut off the opening flaps so there are only 5 solid sides.
On one side, draw a series of different sized rectangles. These will be the holes you will aim your ball at, so make sure they are big enough for it to fit through!
Decorate your box if you wish and you could even assign a points value to each hole!
Use your ‘golf club’ to aim the ball at the target.
Move the box further away to make it even more of a challenge!
Make your own paint brushes (Arts and Crafts)
Equipment – clothes pegs, various items from nature or your recycling bin
Gather bits and bobs from nature or around your house and turn them into a paintbrush by using clothes pegs to hold the items in place!
You could use:
Leaves, plants, sticks, pinecones gathered from nature.
Paper tissue, tin foil, cling film, cotton wool from home.
These are just a few ideas so use your imagination! What kinds of patterns and shapes can you make.
Jam Jar Lanterns (Arts and Crafts)
Equipment – a clean jar, tissue paper, glue, a battery-operated tea light candle.
Tear up your tissue paper into pieces and use glue to stick the pieces onto your jar.
Try tearing your paper into different shapes and sizes to create different patterns onto your jar. Even overlapping different colours will create an interesting effect!
Once your jar is dry, pop your tea light inside and enjoy your lantern!
magic milk (STEM Activity)
Equipment – Milk, a wide dish or tray, food colouring, washing up liquid, cocktail sticks, a sheet or newspaper to cover your work surface (this can be messy!)
Pour a thin layer of milk into your tray.
Add some blobs of food colouring to the milk.
Dip your cocktail stick into some washing up liquid and use it to touch the blobs of food colouring.
Watch how the colours explode into the milk and the substances react together.
Trying swirling your cocktail stick to make different shapes and patterns.
Lemon Volcanoes (STEM Activity)
Equipment – 2 x lemons, bicarbonate of soda, a spoon, dish soap, plate/tray, food colouring (optional)
Carefully slice the bottom skin from one lemon so it can sit flat (be careful not to cut through the flesh of the lemon!)
Then flip over your lemon and scoop out the core.
Use your spoon to mash the flesh of the lemon.
If you have food colouring, add it to the inside of your lemon now along with a good squeeze of dish soap.
Then add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda and watch your volcano erupt!
To keep your volcano going longer, add some juice from your extra lemon and give it a stir.
CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS -MAN THE BOATS (PHYSICAL ACTIVITY)
Equipment – Cones
Players – 5+
Skills – Co-ordination, teamwork, motor skills, listening skills
Young people move around the space. When the command is shouted, they will respond with an action
Heat waves coming - walk
Storm incoming - run
Extreme weather - lie on the ground and cover your head
Crops have failed - stand still-tap your head and rub your belly
Drought - Grab a cone
Oceans rising - man the life boats- get a partner, sit down one behind the other and row the boat
OCEAN ACIDIFICATION IN A CUP (STEM/ CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVITY)
Equipment – full set of straw cups, disinfectant tablets for after practical, extra cups for control, pH paper, example shells, Bicarb of soda if you want to cheat!
Participants – 2+
Method - In teams of two
Fill a spare cup of water -leave it to the side (sneakily add bi-carb to cheat)
Fill (ONLY A LITTLE BIT OTHERWISE THERES TOO MUCH WATER AND IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO TURN IT TOO ACID)
One person breaths through the straw cup and another one counts – stopping when they take a breath
Blow more bubbles
And even more bubbles
Take 2 strips of pH paper and test the bubbled water and the control separately (the cup from step 2) compare the 2 strips
Congratulate each group on making acid
Explanation - The acid produced is carbonic acid. Though an acid it is not a very strong one so don’t worry if it gets on your hands. It is the same acid found in fizzy drinks -that’s why your parents or guardians might tell you that too much fizzy drinks can rot your teeth.
Carbonic acid can form in the atmosphere and cause acid rain which can dissolve plant life and destroy limestone buildings
Carbonic acid also forms in the oceans and makes the ocean inhospitable to animals that produce shells from a material called calcium carbonate - PASS AROUND SHELLS AND CRAB EXTOSKELETON – the same material found in limestone and marble (limestone made for fossil shells and marble is just metamorphosed limestone)