If you’re looking for fun, unique team-building activities in Houston and Galveston, read on for our top five picks.

1. inSPIRE Rock Climbing Gym

If your team members like activities that get them moving, booking time at InSPIRE Rock Climbing Gym could be a great activity. Trained organizers guide your team through adventure-based experiences that emphasize leadership, communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills. There are many different options for rope courses, and with the partnership of Team Synergy, they can create a program to fit the unique needs of your team and meets your goals.

2. Love & Make

Looking for a unique team-building activity that is hands-on and utilizes your creative skills? Consider booking a class at Love & Make, a craft studio that hosts workshops to create a number of crafts such as candles, soap, and bath bombs. Experienced artisans teach you how to make something you’ll love. The studio allows you to bring your own beverages and snacks.

3. Escape Hunt Houston

One of the best team-building activities is an escape room. Your group will have to work together to solve a mystery on a time crunch. Escape Hunt Houston offers many adventures to choose from including finding Blackbeard’s treasure, rescuing the crew of an Apollo mission, recovering a stolen artifact, solving a murder mystery, and much more! Successfully solving an escape room challenge as a team can bolster your team’s trust in one another. You have the flexibility of choosing between a one-hour escape room game or a whole day experience.

4. Well Done Cooking Classes

If your team can appreciate a good eggs benedict or New York Style cheesecake and is interested in learning how to make their own, book a class at Well Done Cooking Classes. There are a number of classes to choose from, ranging a number of cuisines from all over the world from Italy to India and Japan to Thailand. If people in your team have dietary restrictions, there are options for gluten-free, vegetarian, and pork-free menus.

5. Game Show Challenge

Test how well you know your coworkers in this interactive one-hour game show! Games include spinning a wheel to solve word puzzles, competing in hilarious relays, dropping chips from twelve feet in the air, and much more. The space can accommodate over one hundred people and you also have the option to bring outside food and catering. Hosting your team-building event at The Game Show Challenge is also a great way to support a local business in Houston!

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Check out our list below of the five top aspects that make a great escape room.

1. A Variety of Adventures to Choose From

A great escape room offers a variety of experiences to choose from. From recovering Blackbeard’s lost treasure to solving a murder mystery, there should be plenty of exciting adventures to choose from. Not only should there be variety in your choice of game, but there should also be varied difficulties. Some escape rooms are more difficult than others, so you should be able to select one based on what your group is looking for and their skillset. Additionally, each room will include different puzzles and codes so you can return and try a different adventure next time!

2. Fun Environment

While you could play a board game at home, escape rooms offer a fun, interactive experience! You will be actively engaged in solving a mystery under a time crunch with red herrings and obstacles thrown in your way. Not only are they an interesting challenge, but the room often follows the theme of the game you are playing with decor and sounds.

3. Inspire Teamwork

The overall goal of an escape room, besides the fun, is to foster teamwork. See if your escape room offers opportunities for birthday parties or corporate events. Escape Room Houston offers packages for private corporate events, birthday parties, bachelor parties, and much more. We are able to accommodate larger groups than any other escape room in Houston!

4. Safety

The fun of an escape room is being “locked” in a room until you solve a mystery. However, the door to the room should remain unlocked in the case of an emergency. Additionally, if you have valuables, the escape room should offer a secure area to keep these items to not distract you from the game.

5. Opportunities to Play at Home

Some escape rooms offer games that you can play at home with just a computer and internet connection. While these games don’t have the added fun of being in a themed room, these offer the flexibility to solve mysteries with family or with work colleagues no matter where you are.

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If you’re visiting or living in Houston this summer and looking for some ways to still have fun despite the blistering summer heat, check out our list below.

1. Underground Tunnel Tour of Houston

Did you know that Houston is home to the most expansive underground tunnel system in the United States? Even most natives to Houston might not know about this! The tour takes you to artistic and historic sections of the tunnels as well as the corporate buildings that sit on top of them. This ranks as one of the best activities to beat the summer heat because the tunnels are air-conditioned. You also have the option of adding on a food tour as well as a tour of the underground tunnels.

2. Escape Hunt Houston

One of the best interactive indoor activities for families and friends alike to beat the heat is an escape room. Escape Hunt Houston offers original games with varying difficulty levels. Some of the games include rescuing the crew of an Apollo mission, escaping Blackbeard’s ship, recovering a stolen artifact,  and more!

3. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

A museum is always a fun way to stay cool! If you love art or art history, this is the place to visit. No matter what kind of art you like, there are over 70,000 pieces to look at from paintings to sculptures to ceramics to photography and film. One of the most unique aspects of the museum is the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, which is fourteen acres of exquisite gardens decorated with American art and furniture.

4. Downtown Aquarium

Another great way to beat the summer heat is to visit an aquarium. The Downtown Aquarium in Houston showcases animals and fish local to Texas such as alligators, bullfrogs, and turtles. Other animals and fish include lionfish, pufferfish, sharks, eels, lizards, colorful rainforest frogs, and tigers from the jungles of India. You can also touch and feed live stingrays in the stingray reef exhibit.

5. Houston Museum of Natural Science

There is certainly no shortage of museums in Houston, and many are located in the city’s Museum District. The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one such museum located in this district. The permanent exhibitions showcase fossils dating back millions of years, dioramas of local Texas wildlife, and gems and minerals. One piece in the museum’s collection is the Foucault Pendulum, which was first displayed at the World’s Fair in 1851. The museum also has a planetarium and IMAX theater, which are additional ways to have fun in the heat. The museum also offers free museum hours for entry to their permanent exhibitions on Thursdays. Check the museum website for more details, as these hours change seasonally.

6. Game Show Challenge

If you’ve ever dreamed of being on a game show but could never make it to a casting call, now’s your chance to fulfill that dream! The Game Show Challenge is a live, one-hour interactive game show led by a real host. There are nine different game show rounds to choose from, including spinning a wheel to solve word puzzles, competing in hilarious relays, dropping chips from twelve feet in the air, and more. This is the perfect fun, indoor activity to stay cool in a Houston summer.

7. The Hobby Center

Looking to get a hint of Broadway in Houston? Check out the Hobby Center, which has an array of plays, musicals, and concerts on its calendar. Some examples of well-known musicals include Wicked, Hamilton, Six, Moulin Rouge, and Pretty Woman.

8. Children’s Museum of Houston

If you’re looking to keep children entertained in the heat, the Children’s Museum of Houston is a great option. Kids can explore interactive exhibits that explore water, physics, the periodic table, 3D printing and so much more. For kids who love solving mysteries, there’s an interactive spy game where kids uncover clues and crack codes to help save the museum from attack.

9. The Galleria

The Galleria is Houston’s most popular retail shopping space. With over two million square feet of space containing 400 stores, some of which are exclusive to the location, there’s something for everyone. There are also highly-rated restaurants. Even if you’re not looking for retail therapy, taking a stroll in an air-conditioned place certainly helps to stay cool.

10. iFly Houston

If you’re the adventurous type and have always wanted to skydive, iFLY Houston is the place to check out! The facility has vertical wind tunnels so you can skydive indoors. All first-time flyers attend a training session taught by skilled instructors who have your safety top of mind.

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Check out our list of the top fun attractions in Houston, Texas.

1. Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park

If you’re looking for an outdoor adventure, look no further than Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park. This park has become a notable landmark in the middle of the city thanks to the beautiful man-made waterfall. Over 11,000 gallons of water flow every minute, leaving a lot of fountain spray to cool off on a hot day.

2. Escape Hunt Houston

One of the best interactive indoor activities for families and friends alike to beat the heat is an escape room. Escape Hunt Houston offers original games with varying difficulty levels. Some of the games include rescuing the crew of an Apollo mission, escaping Blackbeard’s ship, recovering a stolen artifact, and more!

3. Underground Tunnel Tour of Houston

The second most populous metropolitan area in Texas is also home to the most expansive underground tunnel system in the United States. The tour takes you to historic and artistic sections of the tunnels as well as the corporate buildings that sit on top of them. You also have the option to add a food tour to your underground tunnel adventure.

4. Space Center Houston

If you love to learn about the cosmos, Space Center Houston is the place for you to check out.  As the number one attraction for international visitors to Houston, the Center serves as the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center. Some of the things you can see are a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket, suits from Apollo moon missions, and a space shuttle replica mounted on a shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905. Visitors can walk the flight deck of the shuttle and inside the aircraft to learn more about the shuttle program.

Visitors can also go on the NASA Tram Tour to get a behind-the-scenes look at the NASA Johnson Space Center to see Mission Control and astronaut training facilities. Houston is the Space City for a reason!

5. Game Show Challenge

If you’ve ever dreamed of being on a game show but could never make it to a casting call, now’s your chance to fulfill that dream! The Game Show Challenge is a live, one-hour interactive game show led by a real host. There are nine different game show rounds to choose from, including spinning a wheel to solve word puzzles, competing in hilarious relays, dropping chips from twelve feet in the air, and more. This is the perfect fun, indoor activity to stay cool in a Houston summer.

6. iFLY Houston

If you’re the adventurous type and have always wanted to skydive, iFLY Houston is the place to check out! The facility has vertical wind tunnels so you can skydive indoors. All first-time flyers attend a training session taught by skilled instructors who have your safety top of mind.

7. Hermann Park

You can take a stroll or jog on the nearly 450 acres of land and ornate gardens at Hermann Park. If you have a pooch with you, they are allowed as long as they remain on a leash. Additionally, the park includes a Japanese garden, golf course, the Houston Zoo, a two-mile railroad, and pedal boats. Talk about options for fun! You can also stop at one of the many picnic areas available, the nearby cafe, or food trucks that frequent the park throughout the week. Additionally, along the park’s northern border, you’ll find our next pick, the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

8. Houston Museum of Natural Science

Houston is famed for its Museum District. One of the most popular museums in the district is the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Among the exhibitions are dinosaur fossils, dioramas of local Texas wildlife, and gems and minerals. The museum also has a planetarium and IMAX theater. The museum offers free museum hours for entry to their permanent exhibitions on Thursdays. These hours change seasonally so check the museum website for more details.

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First…the Escape Room Experience!

The Escape Hunt Experience is a fantastic way to enjoy a night out in the Midtown area. They are the premier escape room in Houston and 5-star rated on Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook. Enjoy an immersive experience that challenges you and a group of family and friends on a mental level to escape the room within 60 minutes.

Just opened this past summer is a very popular escape room based on NASA’s Apollo 13 space accident. You will be amazed with the detail and realism that they have captured in this escape room. They are not exaggerating when they promote this room as “The Most Realistic Escape Room in the U.S.”.  Players who are chosen to be the astronauts are even given full size astronaut flight suits to wear during the experience.

You can choose other experiences such as “Theft of the Texas Lone Star” and “Murder in Marylebone”. Escaping requires mental fortitude, so be sure to save it for the period before you begin drinking! Worried about parking?  Don’t! They offer complementary free parking in their covered parking structure.

Then….Enjoy These Nearby Great Food and Drinking Choices

Oporto Fooding House & Wine

125 W Gray Avenue

Oporto is right next to the Escape Hunt which makes for a very convenient itinerary to follow! This is a Portugese wine bar that specializes in small plates, so it’s perfect for sharing with friends. They feature creative dishes like scallop farrotto, curry chicken empanadas, and piquillo pepper rellenos. The cocktail menu doesn’t disappoint, either.

Axelrad

1517 Alabama Street

Axelrad is a beer garden that’s focused on leisure! You can choose board games, corn hole, and hammocks strewn about. It’s dog friendly, and local food trucks like Luigi’s stop by on the regular. What’s not to love? There are installations from local artists, and they feature a DJ on Sundays. There’s a ton of seating and space, so bring your friends.

13 Celsius

3000 Caroline Street

If the diverse wine selection doesn’t excite you, the amazing S’mores bar surely will. The ambient atmosphere is perfect for relaxation. There’s also a decent beer menu for those who aren’t fans of wine. The staff here is completely knowledgeable, so feel free to inquire about their offerings if you’re having trouble deciding.

Transportation

If you’re planning on visiting multiple destinations in one night, figuring out logistics beforehand is always a good idea. This is especially true if you plan on drinking! When a group is involved, it certainly makes sense to reserve a party bus or limousine and Houston! You can focus on socializing instead of finding directions, a parking spot, or battling traffic with Houston Limos. Plus, when you split the cost among everybody involved, it turns out to be just as affordable as a ride share service, but with many more features.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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As a business, you generally want to take this time to lighten things up around the office by being festive, wearing Christmas sweaters and creating a fun and relaxed atmosphere.  Then, there’s the Holiday Party.  Every business has one.  How was your company holiday party last year? Did you reserve some banquet room at a fancy restaurant and some staff didn’t show?  Maybe you planned an actual party and realized most of your staff shouldn’t be drinking.

The real question is, was it beneficial?  Did your employees and shareholders enjoy themselves?  Was it a memorable event?  Would you do it again?  Were the company dynamics improved because of it?  If you answered no to any of those questions, you may want to consider a different type of corporate holiday party.

We believe team building should be a regular occurrence for all businesses and including some team building activities during the Holiday Party is a win for everyone involved.

Entire Staff is Available

Generally, everyone comes to the holiday party.  They are usually scheduled on weekends or after work hours.  Whether to schmooze with upper management or take advantage of the free drinks, all of the employees will usually show.  Give them a fun and informative time they won’t forget.

Most companies have several people operating in multiple roles.  How awesome would it be to leverage those different roles and personalities in an escape room?

Create a Culture of Togetherness

Understanding that most job roles don’t integrate with each other, an escape room creates the chance for relationship building.  On the day to day basis, accounting doesn’t engage with the production team and your sales force may not engage with the customer service department.

An escape room presents an opportunity to put random staff on teams to solve multiple problems quickly while having an amazing time doing it.  Customer service may soon realize those sales guys aren’t so bad after all.

Accomplish 2 Tasks with 1 Event

If you are having quarterly team building events (and you should), then it will be important to switch things around each time.  Team building, especially at your company holiday party, shouldn’t be boring.  In fact, Forbes.com says, “Spending time together, sharing an experience or working towards a common goal allows bonding to happen more organically and far more effectively”.  If your team is remotely located, a team building event at an escape room is a good opportunity to strengthen bonds by bringing everyone together face-to-face. The benefits can outweigh travel costs. Million Miles Secrets has created a helpful guide to reducing travel costs and continue the team building experience beyond the escape room.

For the sake of being efficient, how much time and resources would be saved if you had a successful team building event at your holiday party?

Have Your Holiday Party at Escape Hunt

We have three games; Theft of the Texas Lone Star, Murder in Marylbone and Houston We’ve Had A Problem (featured on KHOU).  All three are team games with challenging mental exercises that require teamwork and strategy to finish and win.  Book yours today.

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What Is an Escape Room?

Escape room games have been around for close to a decade but have gained popularity in recent years. An extension of old-fashioned adventure video games, escape room games bring the virtual experience to life by challenging teams of players to figure their way out of a locked room. Through solving puzzles, gathering clues and working together as a team, players get to test their wits against the game and see how fast they can escape. Escape rooms come in many shapes and settings, from prison breaks to space stations, providing endless possibilities for a thrilling time with friends and co-workers.

How Will It Build the Team?

Team-building games are a great way to bring colleagues closer together. From simple verbal games (like two truths and a lie) to problem-solving games (who can build the tallest tower?), businesses use icebreakers to help employees build trust with each other. Learning more about each other will help your employees feel comfortable with one another, improving the work environment. An escape room is no different! By tasking your employees with solving a physical problem together, you can ensure they learn how to communicate and work together constructively. Best of all, these newfound skills translate to the field when faced with corporate challenges in the future.

Why a Holiday Party?

Everyone needs a bit of a respite from the daily grind, whether they’re social workers who need a course in self-care or white-collar workers who need some time away from their desks. The holiday season is a great time to show your appreciation for your employees by treating them to a fun time out of the office. Whether you do dinner and cocktails at a fancy restaurant or a lunch party during working hours, a holiday event shows that you value your employees as part of your corporate family. Of course, you also want to show that you can think outside of the box. Why settle for a run-of-the-mill event when you can build employee cohesion with a creative team-based event? An escape room party could be a unique way to celebrate while bringing the team closer together.

Where Do I Sign Up?

Ready to plan your next corporate holiday party at an escape room or use one for other corporate team-building ideas? There’s a great escape room in your own backyard, ready to challenge your employees and help them bond. The facilitators are trained to guide participants in reflective discussions and provide verbal and written feedback to the organizer. Sound like a perfect fit for your next holiday party? Find out more at Escape Hunt Houston — if you dare!

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“We wanted to do our part to bring some type of relief to our impacted families and brave volunteers who have demonstrated resilience and a strong sense of community during this devastating time,” says James Barcz, owner. “It’s amazing to see people from around the nation and world come together alongside Houstonians to assist those impacted by this disaster.”

With three unique escape room games offered at the Houston branch, “Theft of the Texas Lonestar” will be the featured escape room game for the relief effort. Participants will be “locked” in a room for 60 minutes as they become Texas Ranger Detectives trying to recover the original Texas Lone Star artifact that has been stolen from the museum exhibit of the first president of the Texas Republic, Sam Houston. A “team” works together with clues to solve a series of puzzles to find the artifact in the allotted time slot so the group can “escape” from the room.

“Our business is in a position where we can provide a distraction and temporary escape from the day to day hardships Houstonians are facing,” says Barcz. “By offering complimentary games, our goal is to provide a sense of comfort, relief, entertainment, and community as we come together to rebuild this great city.”

Complimentary games are available Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm, and Sundays from 6pm to 9pm. To reserve a spot, please call 346.240.9111. For more information, please visit www.houston.escapehunt.com.  Maximum reservation of six people; one reservation per family; ages 10 and up. Some additional restrictions apply.

About The Escape Hunt Experience Houston

The Escape Hunt Experience Houston provides a unique setting for companies hosting team-building events or celebrations, as well as family and friends who are looking for a fresh and fun entertainment option. Escape Hunt regularly hosts business groups of all sizes, holiday celebrations, anniversaries, birthdays, reunions, school and college groups and even bachelor and bachelorette parties. After the “escape,” participants gather for 30 minutes to socialize, dress in props to take memorable photos and discuss the experience while enjoying a complimentary beverage. The facility is also ADA-compliant, with wheelchair accessibility. To learn more or to book an escape room session or special event visit houston.escapehunt.com or call 346-240-9111. Find us on Facebook at The Escape Hunt Experience – HOU USA, on Twitter @EscapeHuntHOU, on Instagram @EscapeHuntHOU, and on YouTube.

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1. Communication

When employees are tasked with solving problems together, communication is key. Unfortunately, unclear communication (or a lack of communication in the first place) is the root of many workplace conflicts. Some corporate teambuilding ideas are perfect for fostering clearer and more productive conversation. Take escape room games, for example. By working together to solve a tangible, immediate problem, your employees need to be deliberate in how they communicate with each other. This will translate to the workplace when all parties need to come together to meet a common goal.

2. Energy

All too often, organizations suffer from a lack of new energy. When employees have been working together for years – sometimes decades – it’s easy to fall into a rut. Getting your employees out of the routine with team-building games is a great way to re-energize them as you bring them closer together. This is also a wonderful opportunity to incorporate new faces into the family and get everyone excited about working as a team. Try a day-long retreat at a local campground complete with icebreaker games and activities where employees can share fresh and new ideas in a relaxed environment.

3. Creativity

Many corporate team building games and escape rooms involve a degree of creative thinking. Whether your employees are trying to build the tallest tower out of candy or find their way out of a locked room, they are going to need to work together to come up with a creative solution. By doing activities that will force them to stretch their minds together, they can bring an element of creativity back to the workplace to help with their next project.

4. Levity

Depending on the industry, corporate work can be a bit of a grind. Deadlines, interpersonal conflicts and big picture projects can drain some of the life out of a workplace. By incorporating corporate team building games into staff meetings, you can bring a sense of lightness or levity to the organization. This type of self-care is also essential to your overall employee satisfaction. By ensuring all employees have a chance for some lighthearted fun within the work day, you can help retain them for years to come.

5. Community

Doing icebreakers can be a great way to build community within the workplace. The more your employees know about each other and the more they get the chance to interact outside of an office setting, the more comfortable they’ll be working together in the workplace. To achieve this, focus on icebreakers that help professionals get to know each other on a personal level. Common games like Two Truths and a Lie are a great way to learn quick and fun facts about coworkers. From there, your employees will likely form bonds that will help provide a sense of team camaraderie in the workplace.

Completing escape room games or icebreakers not only helps employees to connect with each other but benefits your organization with better productivity. By encouraging communication, creativity and more, corporations can ensure their employees are successfully working together for the best possible business outcomes.

Looking to schedule your next company team-building event? The Escape Hunt Experience Houston specializes in large groups and would be happy to assist you. With our convenient location and fun atmosphere everyone will have a great time here. We work with businesses and corporations of all sizes and offer a variety of options to meet your specific objectives. Please contact us directly for further details of arranging a private corporate event.

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