Can you please suggest pranks, stunts, and tricks that fall under the category of "physical challenges"?

April 14, 2008 9:56 AM

Can you please suggest simple pranks, stunts, and tricks that fall under the category of "physical challenges"? For example: Offer 2 kids a piece of newspaper, and challenge them to find a way for both to stand on the paper at the same time, without ripping it, such that neither kid is able to touch the other.

Answer: Slide the paper under a door; they stand on either side of the door. I know there must be whole books/websites/etc. of these out there, but I'm not finding them.

These are for use at a birthday party of 7-9 year olds.

posted by chr1sb0y to sports, hobbies, & recreation (12 comments total)

Some in here. One of them:

Along the lines of the stand-in-doorway, push-arms-up-against-frame, arms-levitate-on-their-own trick mentioned above, there's "fall into the floor":

1. have kid lie flat on the floor, face down, arms up over head (on floor).
2. you take their hands and lift up their arms so they're at something like a 45 degree angle. hold for a minute or so, long enough that it's starting to be uncomfortable.
3. slowly lower them back down the to floor, let go of the hands.
4. kid will get eerie feeling that their arms are continuing to slowly lower into the floor.
posted by LobsterMitten
posted by cashman at 10:06 AM on April 14, 2008

I guess that's not technically a "challenge", apologies.
posted by cashman at 10:07 AM on April 14, 2008

Another paper one. Give them an 8.5x11 sheet and a pair of scissors and ask them to make a hole in it big enough for them to step through. Solution: (I'm having difficulty describing this to you or finding an appropriate picture) Fold the paper in half and cut out a sort of square spiral. When you get to the middle, the you wind up with a complete circle of right angles to step through.
posted by poppo at 10:30 AM on April 14, 2008

poppo

This??
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 10:36 AM on April 14, 2008

Yes! See B's link there for exactly what I was talking about
posted by poppo at 10:53 AM on April 14, 2008

If you go up from B's link, the PBS Kids Zoom site has a whole section of physical challenges.
posted by fings at 11:11 AM on April 14, 2008

Take a 5-6 foot length of clear tubing. Put a piece of jello in the the middle of the tube. Have two kids blow on their respective end of the tube. Whoever eats the jello loses.

We tried this at a family gathering. We've all been trying to get my uncle to quit smoking. It was satisfying as heck when a 12 year old beat him.
posted by JimmyJames at 11:13 AM on April 14, 2008

The loser also gets pressurized with the hot breath of the winner. Yucko. Neat game, though.

In a more competitive spirit, push hands is fun.
posted by ctmf at 11:43 AM on April 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Probably the best books are the ones marketed to youth ministers. They do this stuff all the time. Something like this would probably help you, or any of these.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:19 PM on April 14, 2008

I remember buying a book a long time ago called Bet you can't. It features lovely science tricks and somewhat tricky stunts. You might want to check them out on Amazon.
posted by mrbloo at 12:24 AM on April 15, 2008

We went through Bet You Can't in young stacher's house.
I also seem to recall series of games and team challenges in the Cub Scout handbook. You could probably obtain one for very cheap.
Coffee can stilt races, walking a team across a room with only two planks to balance on, variations on push hands, and the like.

Here's a google hit for Cub Scout Games, some are better suited for indoors than others.
posted by stachemaster at 1:43 AM on April 15, 2008

A google search for "bar bets" might turn up some interesting results. I'll check at home through my "games and stunts" books...
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:32 AM on April 15, 2008