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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Toy Story Models
Collaborative Story Building ยท Relationship Mapping

Toy Story Models

Toy Story Models is a collaborative story building exercise for relationship mapping: it helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
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. Using provided objects or Legos, Tinker Toys, clay, craft store supplies, log cabins, etc., have each People Science team build a model of the ideal future state for the objectives of the gathering
  2. After each team has created a model give them at least a 15 minutes allow each team to share their creation or at least put it on display
  3. See the example assignment below to print out and give to participants
  4. Engage that learning style as you build a model of the future/current state.
  5. Process Using provided objects or Legos, Tinker Toys, clay, craft store supplies, log cabins, etc., have each People Science team build a model of the ideal future state for the objectives of the gathering.
  6. See the example assignment below to print out and give to participants Logistics A set of Legos/tinker toys/Play-Doh etc for each group or craft store supplies .
  7. Ideally a large piece of cardboard/foamboard to build on.
  8. Stickers/labels to mark important parts of the model.
  9. Cool Possibilities/Options Create the current state model as if you were in the future state looking back at what you had to start.
  10. have players identify what the major problems with the current state was and how they resolved them People Science Data Capture Capture the models and the teams that built them 427 Tags 15 30 minutes, creativity, current state, exercise, future state, ideas, modeling, Models, small groups, teamwork, toy story, visualization Source 8QNQRZQ Ex...
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

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Prompts to use +

Using provided objects or Legos, Tinker Toys, clay, craft store supplies, log cabins, etc., have each People Science team build a model of the ideal future state for the objectives of the gathering

After each team has created a model give them at least a 15 minutes allow each team to share their creation or at least put it on display

See the example assignment below to print out and give to participants

Engage that learning style as you build a model of the future/current state.

Process Using provided objects or Legos, Tinker Toys, clay, craft store supplies, log cabins, etc., have each People Science team build a model of the ideal future state for the objectives of the gathering.

See the example assignment below to print out and give to participants Logistics A set of Legos/tinker toys/Play-Doh etc for each group or craft store supplies .

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: Toy Story Models. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Using provided objects or Legos, Tinker Toys, clay, craft store supplies, log cabins, etc., have each People Science team build a model of the ideal future state for the objectives of the gathering; After each team has created a model give them at least a 15 minutes allow each team to share their creation or at least put it on display; See the example assignment below to print out and give to participants; Engage that learning style as you build a model of the future/current state.. 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; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
  • 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