The Aardvark Race
Can you channel your inner aardvark?
Overview:
- # of Participants: Any
- Where to Play: Indoors
- Age of Participants: Elementary / Middle School / High School
- Approximate Time to Play: 5 to 15 minutes
- Materials: 1 bag of M&Ms per team, 1 straw per person, 2 bowls per team
How to Play:
Divide your group into teams of around 3 to 6 people and have each team line up, single file. Set up two folding tables end-to-end in front of each team, and place a bowl on either end. Fill the bowl closest to the team with M&Ms and leave the far bowl empty. We liked using the tables for this game, but you could just place the bowls on the floor, about 20 feet apart. Give each player a straw.
The goal for each team is to transport all of the M&Ms, one at a time, from the first bowl to the second (empty) one. The tricky part is that they must use a straw to do so. One at a time, each player will put the end of their straw flush against the face of the M&M and suck in. The vacuum they’ve created will hold the candy in place as they run to move their M&M from one bowl to another.
Once a player successfully transports their M&M, they will run back to their team, and tag the next person in line so that they can begin their candy journey; the players have to wait until their teammate returns before they can take their turn, and whichever team moves all their M&Ms first, wins!
Players aren’t allowed to touch any of the M&Ms with their bodies at any point, but they are allowed to hold on to their straw. As the leader you may want to establish what happens if a player is unsuccessful and drops their candy during their journey. You could be kind and allow them to return to the start to try again, but we enjoyed having the players grab it directly off of the ground. The added risk of potentially sucking up some dust makes the idea of dropping one a lot scarier, and always leads to some extra laughs!
Lesson Handout: