WaterWorx is a cerebral, high-energy program for teams of 5-6 people, each working around a long table. During the challenge, the teams are asked to engineer a system for transporting brightly colored liquids from a central starting point to any of 12 depository locations. The teams will be given adequate resources for completing the task including pens and sketch pads, clear tubing, speed-fit valves, union T’s, male and female connectors, electric pumps and gaskets. Successful teams will use a thoughtful mix of the items to transport the liquids to their final destination during this timed event.
To make WaterWorx even more of a learning experience, we’ve built additional challenges into the program. For instance, one team may not share resources or people with another. Also, there can be no contamination of colors at any time so the tubing must be cleared after each color transport task by pumping clear water through the system.
Any leak in the system receives a 10-second penalty per leak that will be added to a team’s average time. The team to successfully complete the challenge will be the first one to relay the correct colors into the correct depositories under time pressure.
WaterWorx challenges participants to actively and skillfully create a concept for a fluid delivery system and then apply that concept to a real-world situation. It’s much like the critical thinking that goes on in businesses and organizations every day.
WaterWorx is more of an engineering challenge than most of our other programs. It incorporates problem- solving skills as teams figure out one design solution among many possibilities. It also integrates the concept of being responsible to one another in learning how to operate the system.
During WaterWorx, team members communicate intensely and collaboratively. As with all of our programs, we’ve purposefully made communication a challenge because it’s nearly always the biggest challenge in any organization. During our debriefing session after WaterWorx, we’ll break down how the teams communicated, point out what types of interplay worked best and identify challenges that can be worked on back in the office.
Change is a constant in WaterWorx. Just when a team has gained momentum in mastering the task – ding! – we change up the game to push participants out of their comfort zones and into new ways of thinking and interacting with one another.
Number of Participants
15 to 60, divided into groups of 5 or 6 per team.
WaterWorx generally takes about 3 hours.
$100 Per Person (Minimum charge $1,500)
Program Price (Government & Non-Profit)
$80 Per Person (Minimum charge $1,500)
WaterWorx can take place in nearly any indoor space.