Come up with lots of unusual ideas about how to use an everyday object. This activity pushes children to move beyond the very first ideas they think of to come up with more original ideas.
Materials Required
- Paper
- Something to write with
Instructions
1. This activity can be done individually, with a partner, or with a small team. Adjust the rules as needed depending on how many people are playing.
2. Make a list of things people use or see every day, or pick one item from the list below:
- Broom
- Carrot
- Yardstick
- Gallon of milk
- Beach ball
3. Make a list of as many possible uses for this object. Try to imagine uses that do work but that are also unusual or unique, rather than commonplace.
4. Spend approximately five minutes writing down ideas.
5. After five minutes have passed, circle the ideas that really do work and are especially unique. If any ideas don’t work very well, try to improve the idea to make it work better.
6. Share your list of unusual ideas with others. If playing with a group, see how many ideas were similar. Then count how many total different ideas were created between all the players.
Additional Tips
Try these add-on activities:
- Pick another item from the list and create a new list of possible uses.
- Pick an item from the room and create a new list of uses.
- Choose one of the unusual uses and write and record a commercial to sell the object for this new use.