Diversity Bingo

Objectives

Icebreakers/Warmups | Communication | Breaking Down Stereotypes

Group Size

• Medium
• Large

Materials

• Pre-printed "Bingo" Cards (see set up)
• A pencil or pen for each participant

Set Up

• Create a master "bingo" card and make enough copies for each participant.
• The bingo card should contain a grid of squares each containing a statement or question that will apply to some members of your group and is in line with the objectives of your class, workshop, or event.
• For a few examples see:
  • http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/discoveryhunt.php
  • http://vcc.ca/deptUploads/diversity/DiversityBingo.pdf
  • http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/bingo.htm

Directions

Hand out the bingo cards and instruct participants to mingle around introducing themselves and finding other participants who can sign their cards indicating that a statement applies to him/her e.g. if one of the squares says "speaks more than one language" and you asked me if that applied, I would sign that square on your card. Typically it is best to limit the number of squares any one person can sign on each card, e.g. no one can sign more than 1 or 2 per card, to encourage people to mingle with more people in order to fill their card.

Alternatives

• Alternative Goals: You can set the goal that everyone should try to fill their card in the time alloted (recommended since this encourages the most discussion and collaboration), or you can choose to offer a prize to the person/people who finish first (encourages more competition and less discussion) or in typical bingo fashion, you can have the person who finishes a row first yell out "Bingo!" and win a prize (allows for least amount of dicussion, but also requires the least amount of time).
• Alternative Content: This can be adapted for almost any content so be creative e.g. squares can contain math problems, trivia questions, or personal statements such as "has lived in 2 or more countries," "doesn't have a profile on myspace or facebook," or "has stood up for someone else's rights."

Debrief

This activity is also known as: Discovery Hunt, or Discovery Bingo