Koosh Ball Activties
A Koosh ball is a soft, tactile toy made of rubber filaments that are attached to a rubber core. The Koosh ball was designed to be used in games and activities for both children and adults. The Koosh ball was invented by Scott Stillinger in 1986 and was originally created as a stress relief toy but quickly gained popularity as a fun and versatile plaything. The workplace may seem like an unusual place to find Koosh balls, but they are often used in training activities due to their soft nature (throwing this at someone is unlikely to hurt them) and low cost.
One of the most popular ways to use Koosh balls is to ask trainees to stand in a circle and then take turns tossing it to one another. Often, the activity involves the person with the ball having something to do, such as answering a question or stating a fact. For example, at the end of a training class on fire safety, trainees could take turns tossing the ball to one another, and each time someone catches the ball, they must tell the group something they learned in the class. This continues until everyone has had a turn.
Koosh balls are also often found in icebreaking activities. In this scenario, someone has the ball and briefly introduces themself, then tosses the ball to someone else who does the same. This continues until everyone has had the ball and introduced themselves.
Koosh balls come in all colors and sizes. In fact, many are not the original trademarked Koosh ball but copycat products. In any event, they can be used the same way. If many small Koosh balls in different colors are available, they can be used to help assign trainees to teams. Trainers can ask trainees to select a Koosh ball when they first enter a training room, and when ready to introduce an activity that involves teams, ask them to form a team based on the color of the ball they selected. For example, everyone who selected a blue ball would form one tea, and all those selecting a red ball would form another team, and so forth. Assigning teams can often work better than self-selected teams since trainees will likely work with each other in different ways.
Using Koosh ball activities in workplace safety training helps participants actively engage with safety concepts and encourages discussion and problem-solving. These activities can be adapted to suit the specific safety needs of your workplace and industry.
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