It’s the beginning of the school year.  Some students are excited.  Some are dreading it.  Some are going to a new school.  It can be a nerve-wracking and scary time of year for many.  For most, they are going to be stepping out of their comfort zone in the next few weeks at a new school or grade.  And that’s okay! Many people with whom we work say they spend about 90% of the day in their comfort zone.  They also describe their comfort zone ..

Challenge Discovery has a rich 30-year history. Over time, the organization has grown, changed and evolved. However, our methodologies and traditions have stayed the same. One of those traditions is the Challenge Discovery Pin. Throughout the team building program, our participants experience, learn, grow and change. They are pushed out of their comfort zone and into their learning zone. And at the end of the day, we hope they’ll walk away with more than just a memory. So, when they leave, they are given a ..

One of the most important things on a team, whether it’s a sports team, a student government organization, or a church youth group, is leadership. Leaders can be quiet or they can be loud. They can have years of experience, or they can be new to the group. They can be labeled with a title, or they can be natural. But no matter what they are like, leaders are important. Leadership always comes up at the ropes course. We see leadership show up in a ..

Want your group to get to know one another better? You’re not alone—this is one of the most common requests we get when people schedule teambuilding programs. At Challenge Discovery, we work with just as many well-established groups as we do those that have just formed. But it really doesn’t matter what group you’re in, who you are or how long the group has been around—building and strengthening relationships is always important. In our mission statement, you’ll find that we promote the building of deep, ..

Last month, we introduced our three core values on the blog. We wrote about the importance of coming together as a team and how it all starts with our facilitator team at Challenge Discovery. This time, we’re highlighting our second core value, enhancing self-esteem. When our groups come out to the ropes course, they come for a variety of reasons. Some groups want to focus on leadership. Some groups want to collaborate more. Some groups simply want to build relationships. But I think all of ..

One of the important things we do at Challenge Discovery is incorporate our three core values in each of our programs:        Building relationships        Enhancing self-esteem        Creating a mutually supportive environment These are the very foundation of what we do, and it’s critical that all our participants are seeing and experiencing each of these core values when they do our programs. Our hope is that participants will gain takeaways from their participation in the Challenge Discovery program that they’ll carry with them off the course into ..

Good character is what will get you farther in your future career, often more so than your academics. Therefore, teachers and schools should model and teach good character to their students. It is crucial that students are learning the value of character and why being honest and caring for your classmates is just as important as how to solve complex math problems or the difference between their, they’re and there. Having good character is all about…. Trustworthiness Compassion Selflessness Respect Integrity Learn how Challenge Discovery ..

At Challenge Discovery, we work with a variety of groups, from middle school students, to high school sports teams, to church youth groups. In addition, we oftentimes work with leadership programs or leadership teams in the community, hoping to give the students an opportunity to be a leader in a new and different setting. Last summer, we worked with the Hanover County Emerging Leaders program, which is a group of high school seniors from all four high schools in Hanover County. Challenge Discovery’s TeamOdyssey program ..

The Dangers of “Pay for Play”: Challenge Discovery vs. Go Ape and other adventure parks   In August 2016, a woman tragically fell 35 feet to her death from a zip line platform at the Go Ape Tree Top Adventure Park in Delaware. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/25/woman-plunges-to-her-death-off-zip-line-in-delaware.html   The popularity of adventure parks in this country continues to soar, fueled by adrenaline junkies who seek to check things off their bucket list. This new adventure recreation industry was born out of what began as adventure education. It’s not ..

On a recent road trip, I listened to an American Radioworks podcast called Beyond the Blackboard: Building Character in Public Schools. The podcast starts off with a scene of a group of students from a school in New York on an outdoor trip in upstate New York. The students spend a day at a ropes course. The story follows the students throughout this week-long trip, and we hear that the students are pushed to try new things, rely on their friends, and work as a group. Through ..