TTC Labs - Introduce creative problem solving
Introduce creative problem solving

Introduce creative problem solving

Increase creativity, build empathy and break down barriers amongst participants with the Lego duck exercise.

Discover: Introduce
Preparation
10 mins
Delivery
10 mins

Introduce creative problem solving

Increase creativity, build empathy and break down barriers amongst participants with the Lego duck exercise.

Preparation
10 mins
Delivery
10 mins

What is it

This is an energising activity, where participants have 60 seconds to think with their hands and build the best duck they can with Lego pieces. After the exercise, participants will reflect on how and why the results differed across the group. This will lead to the realisation that there are many ways to reach a common goal with the same building blocks.

How to do it

1 Prepare the materials and work space

Prepare a Lego duck kit for each participant. This should consist of seven Lego pieces with different shapes. Get a timer. Identify a prominent display area for the finished ducks.

2 Brief the participants

Give the participants their Lego pieces and explain what the exercise is. Tell them that they have 60 seconds to make a Lego duck then shout "Go!"

3 Show and tell

Instruct the participants to put their ducks on the display area. Ask them to reflect how many different ducks there are and to share their thoughts on this outcome - how it happened, what it means. Remind them that, while not all problems and tasks are as easy as building a duck out of Lego, this group exercise does demonstrate that there can be many approaches and end results when designing for trust, transparency and control.

What you will need

  • Lego pieces

  • Timer

This tool and any associated downloadable assets are provided under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike CC BY-SA 4.0 International License.

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