Jello Sculpting and Candy Crush | UMC YoungPeople
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4
June 2019

Jello Sculpting and Candy Crush

By Jeremy Steele

Jello Carving

This game requires a little more prep time. The day before (or earlier if it makes sense) make jello (you’re going to want to buy the tub rather than the box) in three gallon buckets trying to get the mixture as close to the top as possible. Follow the directions for letting it cool and congeal. Before starting, you want to grab several trays from the dining hall, and tip the buckets upside down on the trays until you end up with one Jello tower on the tray. (Pro tip: add 1.5-2x as much jello powder to you mixture so that it is more firm. It hold up better in this large quantity.)

While you’re in the dining hall, stash a couple of extra knives, forks, and spoons in your pocket.

Set your table cup on the stage and ask for a couple of artistic volunteers. Once they are there, let them know they will be creating a sculpture for the rest of the group and then reveal their jello medium. Give them one minute to create a simple shame (like a pyramid) and judge them based on the accuracy.

Once that is complete, have them recruit a friend to help. The second challenge is another shape and they will work as a team. This time though, only one person can use the utensils, the other must use their mouth.

Live Candy Crush

Beforehand, get a couple of bags of bulk candy. Separate them by type. Next, print out small (3×3) logos of each kind of candy (keep it to 3-4 types). You’ll need a large pile of logos about sixteen per type with a small roll of wall-safe tape on the back of them.

In the room you will play create two boards the wall using tapes: a 4×4 or 5×5 grid. Fill each square on the grid with a random logo. Set up a table on the other side of the room with the piles of specific types of candy.

When it’s time to play recruit two students per board and one adult volunteer per board. One student will play candy crush trying to get (2 or 3) candies touching each other. They do this by swapping neighboring logos one pair at a time.

Once they accomplish that, their partner will have to eat that number of the type of candy that was touching, and when they have swallowed it (verified by the adult volunteer) the adult will replace the empty holes with random other logos.

This is a timed game. The student team with the most candy eaten by the end wins.

When he's not playing with his four children with his wonderful wife, Jeremy is the associate pastor at Los Altos UMC in Los Altos, CA. Jeremy has spent over twenty years working in youth and children's ministry and continues to train children and youth workers as well as writing and speaking extensively in that field. His most recent book is the "All the Best Questions." You can find a list of all his books, articles, and resources for churches at JeremyWords.com.