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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Paper Airplanes
Ideation Warm-Up ยท Relationship Mapping

Paper Airplanes

Instruct participants to write something on the paper Have participants make the plane People then collect the planes and read what is on it Share amongst each other or encourage a few people to yell out really good airplane answers!

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25)GROUP SIZE
QuietENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Instruct participants to write something on the paper
  2. Have participants make the plane
  3. People then collect the planes and read what is on it
  4. Share amongst each other or encourage a few people to yell out really good airplane answers!
  5. Explain that participants will design and launch paper airplanes to achieve specific goals, such as flying the farthest distance or staying in the air the longest.
  6. Relate the activity to strategic decision-making, highlighting how simple choices can have a significant impact.
  7. Divide participants into teams of 3 to 6 people.
  8. Provide necessary materials or facilitate digital resources in the case of virtual activities.
  9. Each team designs its paper airplane, making decisions about shape, weight, decoration, and customization.
  10. Set a time limit (e.g., 20-30 minutes) to encourage planning and efficient work.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Instruct participants to write something on the paper

Have participants make the plane

People then collect the planes and read what is on it

Share amongst each other or encourage a few people to yell out really good airplane answers!

Explain that participants will design and launch paper airplanes to achieve specific goals, such as flying the farthest distance or staying in the air the longest.

Relate the activity to strategic decision-making, highlighting how simple choices can have a significant impact.

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Paper Airplanes. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Instruct participants to write something on the paper; Have participants make the plane; People then collect the planes and read what is on it; Share amongst each other or encourage a few people to yell out really good airplane answers!. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Relationship Makers Handbook, Participatory Methods; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (2 sources observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook, Participatory Methods.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with