ADVENTURE LEARNING PROGRAMS

The mission of the Adventure Learning Programs (ALPs) is to challenge people through adventure-based learning to discover themselves and understand those around them.  We are a leadership organization that operates under the philosophy of Experiential Education where learners are purposefully engaged in direct experience and focused reflection in order to learn new skills.  We offer adventure-based team building workshops that incorporate initiatives, problem solving activities, and high and low ropes course experiences.

Workshops are free for all UW students. However, you don’t have to be a  student to request as workshop. If you’re looking for your next office outing, team bonding day, or even just a fun time with some good friends email us as alps@studentaffairs.wisc.edu to set up a workshop and receive a price quote.

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Grow Your Leadership Skills

We offer adventure-based team building workshops that incorporate initiatives, problem solving, and activities.

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HIGH ROPES COURSE

The high ropes course is constructed of cable, rope, and wood and suspended from 40’ telephone poles.  The high ropes course provides the extraordinary opportunity for participants to navigate challenges 40’ in the air.  All climbers will wear a helmet and harness and will be clipped into a safety rope which will be belayed by a trained ALPs staff member.

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Length of Workshop

The typical length of a high ropes course workshop is from 9:00 am-4:00 pm because we incorporate all the elements of our programming in this day, including teambuilding initiatives, some low ropes, and, of course, high ropes course elements.  We can do shorter high ropes course workshops that will eliminate some of the teambuilding initiatives and low ropes course elements, depending on the time you have to spend with us, and focus solely on the high elements.  The length of the workshop depends on your goals, the size of your group, and what you want to get out of the experience.  The longer you spend with us, the more your group will get out of the workshop!

Availability & Group Size

Our high ropes course is open April 1st-November 1st

Group size:  12 people

The high ropes course can be a challenging experience for participants and is a great opportunity for participants to face their fears and work through challenging situations with the support of their group.  Many of the elements do involve one person climbing at a time with only a few involving the entire group, but there are plenty of ways for the rest of the group to support a climber and be involved in the activity.  We follow the tenets of choose your challenge which encourages and supports participants in choosing how they will engage in the activities based on how much they want to challenge themselves that day.

What You'll Gain

High ropes course workshops are excellent for focusing on the following goals:

  • Personal growth
  • Skill development in handling stressful situations
  • Trust
  • Communication
  • Support
  • Community Building
  • Asking for what you need
  • Bonding
  • Leadership
  • Challenge
  • Taking risks and being vulnerable
  • Resilience
  • Self-efficacy
  • Confidence
  • Problem solving
  • Having fun

High Ropes Course Elements

We have the following elements on our high ropes course:

LOW ROPES COURSE

Students participate in a low ropes activity outside.

The low ropes course consists of elements constructed of wood, cable, and rope that range in height from one foot to 12 feet off the ground.  The elements, because of their height off the ground, and the level of difficulty, increases the perceived level of challenge and requires groups to really work together to accomplish a task. It is imperative that people rely on one another to work through the challenges.

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Length of Workshop

Low ropes course workshops can last for any length over 2 hours.  The longer you can spend with us, the more your group will get out of the workshop!  The focus of the workshop will be on the low ropes course elements, but we may complement those activities with group games and initiatives as appropriate to meet your goals.

Availability & Group Size

Our low ropes course is open April 1st-November 1st

Group size:  12 people

What You'll Gain

Low ropes courses are excellent for focusing on the following goals:

  • Trust
  • Communication
  • Support
  • Building community
  • Being vulnerable
  • Challenge
  • Bonding as a group
  • Teambuilding
  • Leadership
  • Problem solving
  • Resilience
  • Self-efficacy
  • Confidence
  • Having fun

Low Ropes Course Elements

We utilize two low ropes courses, one located at the high ropes course (Kennedy Elementary School) and one located at our own course near the UW Physical Sciences Lab.  The elements at both locations are listed below:

TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOPS

Participants hold a series of trays together in order to move a marble without dropping it. This is a task involved in the Teambuilding, ground workshops.

Teambuilding workshops, aka ground workshops, are very versatile and can be tailored to meet the unique goals of your group.  These workshops are unique in that they do not require special equipment like a high or low ropes course and 95% of the thousands of activities we have to offer will not involve getting off of the ground.

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Length of the Workshop

Workshops can vary in length from 30 minutes (for a quick get to know you workshop) to all day (with more in depth problem solving and leadership development activities) and anywhere in between.  You let us know what will work for your group to accomplish your goals.

Availability & Group Size

We offer our teambuilding workshops YEAR ROUND because we can host them anywhere—inside, outside, in a big room, or a conference room.  We are more than happy to discuss with you what kind of teambuilding programming we can offer your group.

Minimum group size:  8 people

Maximum group size:  We can and have accommodated groups as large as 175 people in a teambuilding workshop.  We are more than happy to talk about how we can accommodate your larger group.

What You'll Gain

Our teambuilding (ground) workshops are perfect for working on the following goals:

  • Getting to know one another
  • Learning names
  • Building community
  • Bonding
  • Communication
  • Working with others
  • Decision making
  • Leadership
  • Problem solving
  • Support
  • Trust
  • Conflict resolution
  • Having fun

Ground Workshop Elements

Teambuilding workshops can include but are not limited to the following activity types:

  • Get to Know Yous
  • Problem solving initiatives
  • Trust activities
  • Leadership Matrix
  • Icebreakers
  • Group games
  • Name games

FACILITATION TRAININGS

Students stand in a circle with their hands together in a show of teamwork.

For 25 years, ALPs has been training college students to facilitate groups in person.

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