Welcome to Earth – the aliens’ guide to humanity

In this activity, participants imagine that a group of aliens is going to visit the Earth. To help the tourist understand the rules governing the Planet, participants have to come up with 10 basic rules that societies usually stick to. This way, the activity enables participants to explore the issue of establishing and following rules that govern group behaviours. Depending on the size of your group, you can divide your participants into smaller groups (up to 5-6 people in each).

Tell them:
A group of aliens is going to visit Earth. They are very curious about our species and its habits. In your group brainstorm 10 basic rules that humans have to follow when they are together (e.g. in a family, classroom or at the community meeting). Now give them detailed descriptions of their task (see: Printables) and set a time limit (e.g. 10-15 minutes) for the participants to come up with the 10 rules.

After they are finished, invite everybody to sit down in a big circle and ask each group leader to read out their rules. Facilitate a group discussion about the lists to see how similar they are and what are the reasons behind setting them. If you wish, you may expand the activity by asking participants which of the rules they have identified apply to the current moment.