Stealthy Spy Mission

Skill: Balance
Time Required: 15
Activity Type: Physical, Transition
Group Size: Individual, Large Group, Medium Group, Small Group
Age Group: 6 - 9yrs, 9 - 12yrs, 13+ yrs
Play area: Classroom (small indoor space), Gymnasium (large indoor space)
Safety Considerations: Only one participant should go at a time.
Participants should not try to jump over "lasers" that are too high for them or maneuver in any way that would be dangerous for them.
Equipment: Painter's Tape
A narrow hallway
A beanbag (optional)
Stopwatch (optional)
Objective:
Participants are spies on a mission, who try to stealthily make their way across the "laser field" (tape) without touching the lasers.
Other Skills:
Coordination
Flexibility
Set up:
Place painter's tape from one wall to the other to create the "laser field" (just like you see in spy movies). Make some lasers high, some low, some diagonal, some straight and some overlapping. Depending on the age of the participants put fewer or more "lasers" across and make them easier or harder to maneuver around.
Step by Step:
1. The goal for participants is to maneuver under and over the "lasers" (tape) from one end to the other without touching them, like they are stealthy spies on a mission.
2. Participants may have to crawl on the ground, then stand up and step over a laser and then shuffle to a side in order to avoid the lasers and so on.
3. Allow each participant to go through the laser field at least once.
4. Add a competition element.
5. Each participant starts with 5 points. Participants will go through the laser field, and each time they touch a laser, they lose a point. When they get to 0 points, they are out.
6. Each participant has a time limit to get from one end to the other. They get one point for every second left in the time when they get to the end. However, they lose 3 points for every laser they touched.
7. Divide participants into groups. Participants go individually, however every time a participant touches a laser, their team gets a point. The team with the least amount of points after everyone has gone wins the laser field stealthy spy mission competition.
8. Each participant has a beanbag (their treasure) and they can hold it in either hand. If the beanbag touches a laser at any point, they are out. Every time a participant touches the laser they get 1 deduction. The participant that has the least amount of deductions at the end wins. Could also add in a time limit, or take into account the amount of time it took each participant.
Variations:
Use string and tape for the lasers.
Add in string that hangs down to make it even more difficult.
Place a beanbag or an object part way in the laser field, and the participants have to pick it up and bring it to the end.
Sources: Developed for the Leisure Information Network.