Engineering teams often have to deal with unique challenges, from building software that works well to keeping up with the rapid pace of technological change.
Having an engaging and creative team is one of the best ways to tackle these obstacles.
But how can you help your team to always be at the top of their assignments?
Not only will games and interesting activities give them some fantastic bonding time, but they can also teach them valuable lessons about how to work together better as a team.
The following are 15 awesome team-building activities that will help you build a sense of trust and camaraderie in your engineering team.
Engineer days are an excellent way for engineers to come together and present something they’ve been working on recently or something relevant to their work.
Presentations can be formal talks or open discussions, but regardless of format, they’re an opportunity for engineers to share what they’ve been doing with others.
For example, Cimpress, a software and development company, organizes engineer days with one goal in mind: to bring engineers together, enable them to learn from one another, and exchange ideas.
As Maarten Wensveen, a former CTO at Cimpress, points out, that not only builds engineers’ strengths, confidence, and abilities but also helps them contribute to the success of their teams in new ways.
Cross-training days are a perfect opportunity to get engineers out of their comfort zones and teach them new skills.
They enable everyone to step outside their standard roles and gain knowledge from experts in other engineering disciplines or even entirely different departments.
And as you can see in the picture below, the benefits of cross-training your employees can be numerous.
To start, conduct an informal survey beforehand to find out what topics interest your engineers the most.
This can be anything from different programming languages and machine learning to even cryptography or theoretical physics.
Then, when it comes time to schedule the training sessions, invite someone knowledgeable to come to address the group.
Bill Higgs, one of the co-founders of Mustang Engineering, recommends combining cross-training days with lunch and learns because this keeps people engaged and gives them lunch at the same time.
Either way, cross-training will help your engineers learn new skills they can use in their day-to-day work and give them a broader view of how things work.
Working in engineering often involves solving complex problems and managing high-stress projects. With such demanding responsibilities it’s important for engineering teams to bond and have opportunities to decompress. Team building activities provide the perfect outlet to bring groups together.
In this article, we’ll explore 14 fun team building activities specifically tailored for engineers From trivia and gaming to design challenges, these activities offer engaging ways for engineering teams to get to know each other and strengthen relationships
Why Team Building Matters for Engineers
Before jumping into the activities let’s look at some of the key reasons team building is so valuable for engineering groups
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Promotes collaboration – Engineers have to work together to complete projects. Team building facilitates this.
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Encourages innovation – Social activities spark creative thinking that engineers can apply on the job.
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Reduces stress – Fun activities help engineers decompress and relieve workplace anxiety.
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Develops trust – Completing challenges together builds mutual reliance among engineers.
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Enhances communication – Interacting socially helps engineers communicate better professionally.
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Improves problem solving – Working as a team strengthens engineers’ problem solving capabilities.
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Boosts morale – Uplifting team experiences increase job satisfaction and morale.
With the benefits clear, let’s explore some lively team building activities for your engineering group!
1. Engineering Trivia
A trivia game is a simple way to get engineers engaged in a lighthearted, social activity. To organize one:
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Find an engineering trivia list online or create your own questions.
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Split into small teams of 4-6 people.
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Take turns asking trivia questions and have teams write down answers.
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Tally up scores and reward the winning team.
Engineering trivia helps teams bond while learning new facts about their field.
2. Minefield Game
This communication game takes some setup but is lots of fun. To play:
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Use tape to create a “minefield” on the floor with obstacles like chairs.
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Split into pairs with one person blindfolded.
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Non-blindfolded partners verbally guide their partners through the minefield without touching “mines.”
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Have each pair take a turn then switch roles.
The Minefield Game encourages clear communication and trust between partners.
3. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower Challenge
Engineers will love this hands-on design challenge. Provide teams with:
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Spaghetti, marshmallows, tape, string.
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Task is to build the tallest freestanding tower.
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Set a time limit and constraints like using certain amounts of each material.
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Judge which team’s tower is the tallest while still standing on its own.
This activity emphasizes creativity in building a unique structure quickly as a team.
4. Paper Airplane Contest
Keep it simple with a paper airplane making and flying contest.
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Provide teams with paper and other basic supplies.
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Give time to design and construct planes.
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Mark a distance for teams to fly their planes.
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Award the team whose plane flies the farthest or flies best overall.
The paper airplane contest encourages engineers to problem solve aerodynamic design in a fun, low-pressure environment.
5. Rube Goldberg Machine Challenge
This activity tests engineers’ innovation and collaboration skills.
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Give teams basic materials like cardboard, cups, balls.
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Challenge is to build a “Rube Goldberg machine” together – a contraption that completes a simple task in an elaborate, indirect way.
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Machines should include chain reactions, ramps, levers, pulleys.
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See which team can create the most creative, complex machine.
Coming together to construct an intricate machine brings out engineers’ inventiveness and teamwork abilities.
6. Software Programming Competition
For a team building activity catered to their skills, host a software programming competition.
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Present an engineering programming challenge or puzzle.
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Break into teams and allow time to work together to come up with solutions.
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Have teams present their code and determine a winner.
Through collaboration, engineers can flex their programming skills in a motivating team environment.
7. Engineering Movie Scene Reenactment
Here’s a fun, creative team challenge:
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Pick an iconic movie scene involving engineering or technology, like rocket launching or robot building.
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Give teams simple props and set a time limit.
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Have teams reenact the scene as accurately as possible.
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Award points for creativity, plot accuracy, costumes, and acting.
Reenacting an engineering scene from pop culture lets teams bond through playful skits and performances.
8. Digital Escape Room
For an immersive digital activity, try a virtual escape room.
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Select an escape room scenario with engineering themes or puzzles.
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Break into teams to tackle the digital challenges like cracking codes.
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See which team can successfully “escape” first by solving all the puzzles.
Digital escape rooms enable teams to put heads together to overcome engaging challenges.
9. Local Facility Tour
Take your engineering team on a field trip to a local facility for an inside look at operations:
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Tour an aerospace plant, tech manufacturer, laboratory, or similar relevant facility.
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Let engineers witness behind-the-scenes processes applicable to their work.
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Discuss as a group afterward.
Tours provide perspective into how engineering principles apply in practice at real world companies.
10. Board Game Tournament
Host a board game tournament as a laidback team activity.
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Choose games involving strategy, problem solving, teamwork.
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Hold qualifier rounds leading to finals.
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Award fun prizes to the winning team.
Playing together in a low-pressure board game event allows casual relationship building.
11. Engineering Movie Night
Pick an engineering-focused movie or documentary and watch together. Ideas include:
- Apollo 13
- The Martian
- Modern Marvels
- MythBusters
Provide popcorn and snacks to create a fun movie night vibe. Discuss the movie’s themes afterward.
12. Group Volunteering
Organize a volunteer activity so your engineering team can give back together:
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Volunteer at a children’s science museum to guide experiments.
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Help build housing for those in need through Habitat for Humanity.
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Clean up local parks or natural trails.
Volunteering as a team offers a meaningful way to bond while doing good.
13. Outdoor Adventure
Get active together through outdoor recreational activities:
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Go on a hike and pack a picnic meal.
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Organize a group bike ride.
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Plan a kayaking or canoe trip.
Shared outdoor adventures let engineers enjoy nature and get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
14. Cook-off Competition
A final fun option is a cooking competition between groups:
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Form teams and have them select recipes.
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Provide ingredients and cookware.
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Give a time limit to prep dishes.
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Have dishes judged by a few impartial taste testers.
Cooking encourages friendly rivalry and conversations between engineers outside of work.
Putting the Team in Engineering Teamwork
There are endless options when it comes to creative, engaging team building activities for engineering groups. The key is selecting events aligned with your team’s needs and interests. But most importantly, the activities should simply enable engineers to forge bonds as human beings, not just coworkers.
Team building requires commitment and ongoing effort, not just a one-time event. Weave activities into your engineering group’s regular interactions. Strengthen trust between team members and boost camaraderie over time.
By cultivating closer relationships among your engineers, team building creates the connectivity critical for collaborative success in pursuing innovation. Bring fun into the mix, and your engineers will look forward to building up their workplace team spirit!
New projects on Fridays
To foster creativity and innovative thinking among your engineers, you can implement the New projects on Fridays activity.
This way, they’ll be encouraged to spend part of their weekly time working on something different from what they usually do.
This concept has been a huge success for companies such as 14islands, a creative design and development studio.
At their studio, Fridays are reserved for Hack days, when they engage in their passion projects, learn new things, and experiment with new technologies.
This allowed them to be more creative and become more confident in other fields of their work.
Also, that has even landed them a job creating a game, The Mindful Mountain of Google Interland, which they wouldn’t have the chance to do otherwise.
As you can see, the goal of the New projects on Friday activity is to empower engineers to spend time pursuing something that isn’t necessarily their day-to-day work and what they might not have time for otherwise.
The success of initiatives like Google’s 20% time and 3M’s 15% time demonstrates how important it can be for engineers to explore projects beyond their core competencies.
If you want your engineers to stay on top of industry trends, consider implementing virtual conferences into their workflow.
First, find out if a conference relevant to your industry has a live stream available.
This way, you can watch the event online and then come together as a team afterward to share what you learned and discuss what you’ll do next in relation to the new information.
For example, DeveloperWeek is a conference where experts share their knowledge and experience with the dev community through talks, workshops, and hackathons.
The program covers a broad range of topics, including front-end, back-end, machine learning, mobile development, game development, design, and more.
Virtually attending conferences such as this one will allow your engineers to have access to the best speakers in the industry and learn from experts in their field.
And that will help them stay updated on the latest developments in all areas of software engineering.
An icebreaker session is a great way to start a team event or a team meeting.
Icebreakers establish rapport and get people who may not know each other well to talk to each other.
For example, one of the classics when it comes to icebreakers is definitely the game “Who am I?”
To play, everyone writes down a name on a sticky note and places it on the forehead of the person next to them.
Players ask each other questions about themselves to figure out who or what they are before the round is over. The player who correctly guesses his identity first wins!
Of course, there are also other fun and engaging icebreakers, such as Number games, shown in the video below, or games such as Whose story is it?, Show and tell, and Passions Tic Tac Toe, to name just a few. Source:
Whatever you choose, it’ll help you break the ice with your team members and set the tone for a positive working relationship going forward.
Undoubtedly, one of the most popular pastimes for engineers is gaming.
Why not then make use of that fact and set up LAN games on your office’s internal network to encourage some fun, friendly competition?
Your team members will get the thrill of competing against one another, and you can even add an extra incentive to the mix by giving out prizes for a winning team.
Back in the day, LAN games were the primary source of multiplayer gaming.
Since the dawn of online gaming, LAN gaming has become something of a lost art.
However, they’re still perfect for office settings considering that you can add as many computers as you like to an internal network.
With this kind of setup, you’ll also keep your office computers safer from malware and other perils that lurk on the internet.
And if you’re wondering what kind of games would be perfect for your LAN competitions, the YouTube channel Gemeaux Games has you covered. Source:
They recommend games such as Mario Party Superstars, Halo Infinite, Unreal Tournament, and League of Legends, among others, as ideal games for different events or gaming skills of the players.
You must admit, nothing is better for boosting team spirit than kicking back and beating your teammates in a good old LAN game.
Especially if you have a lot of avid gamers on your team.
A meme contest can be a great way to bring some fun and creativity into the office.
Some of the most successful companies already use memes to communicate internally and get their teams laughing and chatting in a low-key way.
By starting this type of contest in your office, you can create a space for team members to voice their opinions, share quirky ideas, and practice their sense of humor.
There are many variations on what a meme contest might look like, but in its most basic form, it can be as easy as creating a series of s or text prompts and asking your team members to submit their memes.
You can encourage using tools such as Meme Generator to make participation in the contest easier for everyone involved.
You could choose to run the contest with one person submitting per week or have everyone submit their own at once—the choice is yours!
The only rule is that there has to be some kind of judging involved, although this can vary depending on what you want out of this contest.
The key thing to remember here is that memes shouldn’t be offensive: they’re not meant to alienate anyone but rather to keep everyone talking and engaged with one another.
Board games at a bar
It’s always fun to get some time away from the office and do something different from our daily routine, especially if it leads to a greater sense of team bonding and camaraderie.
And taking an engineering team out to a local bar to play board games can be one of the best ways to connect outside the office.
Most bars have board games, making organizing such activities even easier.
Board games can provide an outlet for positive energy, especially when team members work together towards a common goal.
However, when planning these activities, it’s important to choose games that are conducive to everyone involved.
You want everyone to be engaged in the game so that they’ll all enjoy the experience.
If you want to add even more fun into the equation, an escape room activity could be just what you’re looking for.
For those unfamiliar with the escape room concept, it’s pretty straightforward.
Participants are locked in a room and have to solve clues, puzzles, and riddles to find keys, codes, and other items to unlock the door within an hour.
However, you don’t necessarily have to play escape rooms on site, as there are plenty of virtual escape rooms available, such as Oscar’s stolen Oscar, The Minotaur’s labyrinth, and The Midnight Express, to name just a few.
One of the most popular, however, is Prison Break, in which team members have to escape from a jail cell under the warden’s nose while he’s away at a wardens’ meeting.
In the picture below, you can see SIWOM’s team having fun while trying to escape from the prison.
All in all, escape rooms are great for team building because they require one another’s knowledge in order to succeed.
Each member brings something different to the table, whether it’s knowledge about a specific topic or how they approach solving problems.
This encourages people to work together and learn from each other while having fun at the same time.
A change of scenery during a weekend getaway with the rest of the team, especially if it’s in a place with beautiful nature, can create a strong bond between team members and recharge their batteries.
You may find that spending time away from the office will allow your engineers to see their colleagues in a new light—and perhaps even help you all come up with new ideas for the company.
For example, before the pandemic, Buffer regularly organized retreats for employees in destinations such as Iceland, Hawaii, Australia, and Thailand.
It was an opportunity for everyone to have some fun and relax outside the typical work environment, and it also helped build closer relationships within the company.
Of course, you don’t have to go to such faraway destinations.
A hiking, seaside retreat, or wine-tasting trip to someplace closer to your company’s headquarters can be just as rewarding, relaxing, and reenergizing.
Building Bridges Collaborative Team Building Activity
FAQ
What are the fun activities for team building?
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Team building activity
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Length in minutes
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Difficulty
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Snowball
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20 – 40
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Low
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Celebrity Party
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30 – 60
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Low
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Non-Verbal Improv
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10 – 20
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Low
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Rock, Paper, Scissors (Tournament)
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5 – 10
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Low
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What are team building ideas for technical teams?
Team building ideas for technical teams are activities organized to foster bonding and collaboration between software developers, graphic designers, scientists, and similar technical teams. These activities aim to make sure team members are motivated, engaged, and interact with each other. What are some good team-building ideas for technical teams?
How do you build a team in engineering?
Consider the following team-building activities for your engineering team: 1. Egg drop Make small teams that compete with one another to make a container to protect an egg. Usually, your teams are given the same fundamental tools and supplies to build their containers within a set amount of time.
Why do engineering teams need team-building exercises?
Many aspects of engineering involve experimentation and risk-taking. Some team-building exercises can help teams understand how to analyze when a risk is worth taking, what risks the team can responsibly handle and which members make the best decisions involving risk. Many engineering teams work to meet deadlines.
What are some examples of team building activities?
Examples include two truths and a lie, mystery dinner, and flip it over. These activities aim to enhance the team members’ productivity, encourage team cooperation and improve work relationships and team dynamics. These ideas are subsets of team building exercises, team building games, and problem solving activities. This list includes:
