Cleopatra's Gold!™ | Teamwork Training Activity

On a certain day and time in the calendar, the shadow of Cleopatra's Needle pointed to buried treasure. Can teams solve the secrets of Alexandria?

Participants work in teams. Each team must fulfill a set of tasks for the Egyptian Government, culminating in locating the burial place of Cleopatra's gold. They must first reconstruct the Needle on the original site, using ancient methods.

The tasks:

• decide how long it will take to quarry and sculpt the marble blocks for the Needle and transport them to Alexandria for assembly
• estimate the likely cost - there are two possible options
• in the face-to-face version, build a scale model of Cleopatra’s Needle, and in the virtual version, solve the mystery of Cleopatra's necklace
• calculate the length and direction of the Needle's shadow at a particular time to - not as difficult as it might sound when you have access to The Chief Astronomer's figures!
• make a presentation of your findings and your recommendation to the government, being mindful of their needs (for quality, efficiency and accuracy)

Part way through the activity, when teams are well into the task, notice of a third option is revealed. How will teams manage this change in circumstances?

All aspects of the tasks are scored (700 points are up for grabs). Effective, efficient teamwork will win the day - and the gold!

• Assess teamwork in action
• Highlights the need for clear objectives
• Need to adapt to changing circumstances
• Choose between competing options
• Identify and manage risk
• Practise problem-solving and presentation skills

1. Briefly introduce the activity and then arrange the group into teams.
2. Issue each team with copies of the Team Brief and shortly afterwards with a set of Resources. Observe teams in action. There's a lot to do but avoid any temptation to get involved. It’s always fascinating to see how a team gets to grips with the task and how they decide to proceed. They have the opportunity to behave as a super-efficient unit, but will they grasp it?
3. After 25 minutes issue Handout 1 (Haber Quarry). This introduces a change element (and is optional). Will teams may ignore it or adapt and change focus?
4. Shortly after, issue Handout 2 (the Calculation Form) for teams to record their costs, schedules and details of the exact location of Cleopatra's Gold.
5. Issue Handout 3 (Team Review) for teams to reflect (honestly) on how well they dealt with the task and what they could have done better.
6.  (Optional) Ask teams to make short presentations, to 'sell' their proposals.
7. Conduct a debrief by asking teams to share their responses to the Team Review questions. Bring out the key learning points on teamwork skills, communication and organisational skills.
8. Finally review the Calculation Forms and announce the winning team.

Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

Hard & Digital Copy

• ☑️ Hard copy pack supplied
• ☑️ PDFs supplied

Digital Copy

• ☑️ PDFs supplied
• ❌ You will need to source (for face-to-face sessions only): A4 Card, Scissors, Sticky Tape, Rulers, one Dice

Full contents

• Trainer’s Notes
• Team Briefs (for face-to-face sessions)
• Team Briefs (for virtual sessions)
• Handout 1: Haber Quarry
• Handout 2: Calculation Form
• Handout 3: Team Review
• Resources (for face-to-face sessions): A4 Card, Scissors, Sticky Tape, Rulers, one Dice

This activity is for face-to-face and virtual classroom use. The digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.

This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site.

All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.

For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.