The Best Team Building Activities Grand Rapids Has To Offer
Are you looking for exciting team building activities? Grand Rapids, MI, is the perfect place to strengthen your team’s collaboration and morale.
Grand Rapids is a city known for its vibrant arts scene, rich industrial history, and innovative spirit. It boasts a thriving brewery culture, beautiful riverfront views, and dynamic arts districts, creating an exciting backdrop for group activities.
This guide features some of the best team building activities Grand Rapids has to offer. From creative challenges to outdoor adventures, there’s an experience for every group.
Why Choose Grand Rapids for Team Building?
Grand Rapids is a unique city with a thriving business scene and a renowned art culture. What better place to foster creativity and teamwork?
This beautiful city is also close to nature, which makes outdoor activities more accessible. Research shows that time outside reduces anxiety, encourages social connections, and improves focus. How’s that for boosting performance?
The mix of urban and natural environments creates endless possibilities for Grand Rapids corporate events and team building activities. Whether you’re a local or visiting from out of state, your team is sure to have a good time.
Seasonal Considerations in Grand Rapids
Team building is less fun if everyone is too cold, too hot, or otherwise unprepared, so it’s important to pay attention to the seasons. Each time of year offers its own opportunities and sometimes challenges, so here’s what you need to know:
- Spring (March-May): Mild temperatures (30s–60s°F), blooming flowers, and occasional rain make spring a good time of year for both indoor and outdoor activities like scavenger hunts and brewery tours.
- Summer (June–August): Warm (70s–80s°F) and sunny, ideal for kayaking, biking, and other outdoor events.
- Fall (September–November): Crisp air (40s–70s°F) with stunning fall foliage, perfect for art-based events, hiking, and pub crawls.
- Winter (December–February): Cold (10s–30s°F) with snow, making it best for cozy indoor activities like escape rooms, cooking classes, and art-focused workshops.
Don’t forget to check daily weather predictions for outdoor events, too. If you’re contending with potentially bad weather, plan a backup idea for an indoor team building activity—Grand Rapids can be a bit unpredictable in the winter and spring months.
Indoor Team Building Activities in Grand Rapids
Colder months and rainy days often call for indoor activities so that everyone can stay warm and dry. Here are some fantastic indoor activities to choose from.
The Big Picture — Giant Mural Project
Team size: 20-1,000
Time needed: 2+ hours
Space needed: A conference room with about 25 sq. ft. per participant.
Ideal for: Organization, analysis, strategy, and management skills
The Big Picture program is a super effective, memorable event that’ll get everyone involved with the creative process. Our facilitators will guide your team as they collaborate to create a stunning piece of collective artwork—no artistic skills needed!
This exercise reinforces the importance of communication, teamwork, and seeing the bigger picture. The result is a massive masterpiece and keepsake, perfect for display in your office as a symbol of team cooperation. And since it’s an indoor project, it’s ideal for colder months and inclement weather.
Grand Rapids is home to ArtPrize, one of the world’s largest public art competitions. It also has the Grand Rapids Art Museum and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, both of which would make great destinations before this event to inspire your team.
Day at the Museum — Scavenger Hunt
Team size: 12-100
Time needed: 2 hours
Space needed: Available at most museums, zoos, art galleries, or aquariums.
Ideal for: Social team building, days out of the office, and sales meetings.
The Day at the Museum program is the perfect way to check out the amazing museums, zoos, and art galleries around Grand Rapids. It’s a fun scavenger hunt that’ll have your team members solving a series of challenging brain teasers.
We’ll arrange this event at your pick of locations, so just let us know what you want to explore. The John Ball Zoo, Muse GR, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum are a few of the many options available.
Since this scavenger hunt typically takes place indoors, it’s another great pick for any time of the year! It’ll turn any venue into an engaging playground for friendly competition and engaging activities. And trust us, Grand Rapids museums don’t disappoint!
Team Cuisine — Team Cooking Experience
Team size: 10-250+
Time needed: 3-4 hours
Space needed: A conference center, winery, or auditorium with a minimum of 30 sq. ft. per person.
Ideal for: Award trips, company celebrations, retreats, and boosting morale.
Team Cuisine is a cooking team building activity that combines teamwork with a timed culinary challenge. Your team will prepare a 5-star gourmet banquet without recipes or a proper kitchen, all in a limited amount of time.
Grand Rapids has a ton of great event centers (we’ve highlighted some at the end of the article) that would work well for this. But depending on team size, a simple hotel conference room could work as well!
After you’re done cooking, your team will sit down to enjoy the dishes they created as a celebration—a great way to bond after a meal. We have pre-made menus but are also happy to work with you to build a custom menu instead.
For example, you might add the traditional Michigan olive burgers or Grand Rapids wet burritos to your menu to dig into the local culture.
Outdoor Group Activities in Grand Rapids
A city like Grand Rapids is the perfect place to hear out into the sun with your team in the warmer months. Here are some of the best outdoor group activities Grand Rapids has to offer.
Healthcare Heroes — Scavenger Hunt
Team size: 20-5,000
Time needed: 2-3 hours
Space needed: This event can be staged almost anywhere in the world, even in multiple locations at the same time.
Ideal for: Corporate social responsibility, exploration, boosting morale, and encouraging bonding.
The Healthcare Heroes Scavenger Hunt is a high-tech adventure designed for adventure, sightseeing, and team building. It’s also a wonderful way to give back to the local heroes of the community.
Grand Rapids has a fast-growing healthcare and life sciences industry. It’s all anchored by the world-class healthcare destination known as the Medical Mile—a stretch of Michigan Street lined with leading research institutions and hospitals.
The Medical Mile would be a great place to host the Healthcare Heroes Scavenger Hunt, but we can customize this even for any location. Your team will take videos and photos, complete trivia, and assemble donation bags for healthcare workers.
Pub Crawl — Scavenger Hunt
Team size: 15-300
Time needed: 2.5-3 hours
Space needed: This event works well in any neighborhood that features pubs within walking distance from your starting and ending locations.
Ideal for: Happy hours, finishing conference days, friendly competition, and team celebrations.
Given the area, the Pub Crawl scavenger hunt makes a fantastic team building activity! Grand Rapids is nicknamed Beer City for a reason, after all. Your team will explore your chosen area, completing challenges, quizzes, and friendly competitions along the way.
Here are a couple of great bars that you might want to visit:
- SpeakEZ Lounge
- Brick and Porter
- Knoop Rooftop Cocktail Lounge
- House Rules Lounge
- The Nighwatch
This event is often best in the warmer months with comfortable afternoon weather. That way, everyone can enjoy the event—it’s one of the best adult activities Grand Rapids has to offer, and you don’t want to miss out.
The Mystery Bus — Multi-Event Adventure
Team size: 20-300
Time needed: 5-6 hours
Space needed: A parking lot where our buses can load and unload passengers at the beginning and end of the event. We handle all other venue requirements.
Ideal for: Holiday parties, team celebrations, client entertainment, and boosting morale.
When your team rides The Mystery Bus, they experience the excitement and surprise of not knowing where they’re headed until they get there. They’ll visit 3-4 locations and take in the wackiest, most interesting locations around Grand Rapids.
The TeamBonding event planners can pick locations based on your interests, timeframe, and budget, or you can pick your team’s mystery destinations. It’s up to you! Every event includes at least one cultural, culinary, and physical activity.
Here’s a sample itinerary:
- Stop 1 — Culinary Adventure: The Sovengard for a Nordic-inspired artistic dining experience.
- Stop 2 — Cultural Experience: Grand Rapids Public Museum to explore interactive exhibits and learn about city history.
- Stop 3 — Low-Stress Physical Activity: Kayak Brewery Tour to grab a few beers along a leisurely kayak ride where you can pedal or paddle your way to good times together.
The three stops in this example sort of turn into four when you consider that the low-stress physical activity is also a second culinary adventure! And that’s just a taste of the creative fun we can get up to on The Mystery Bus.
Unique Event Venues in Grand Rapids
If you’re planning a large-scale Grand Rapids corporate event, here are some unique venues to consider:
- The B.O.B. (Big Old Building): This is a multi-level entertainment complex with fantastic event spaces, restaurants, and comedy clubs. It can hold between 20 and 2,000 guests.
- Mangiamo: This is a beloved 19th-century mansion and grounds now known as the most beautiful restaurant in Michigan—it features a venue with a beautiful gated lawn and private banquet rooms. It can accommodate up to 300 guests.
- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: This is a stunning event space that blends art, nature, and hosting on a 158-acre campus. It can accommodate between 10 and 5,000 people.
- The Goei Center: This is a premier event center with historic roots and two separate venues. It can accommodate up to 600 guests between both spaces.
This is just a sampling of the many event venues available, each of which provides a memorable, engaging backdrop for any corporate event. Grand Rapids is also home to numerous co-working spaces, museums, and other venues.
Ready To Strengthen Your Team in Grand Rapids?
Use these team building activities to take advantage of the exciting opportunities in Grand Rapids. Whether your team loves creativity, adventure, or good food, this beautiful city offers endless opportunities to strengthen their skills and their bond with each other.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to capitalize on the power of team building activities. Grand Rapids awaits!
Feel free to contact us if you’d like some help creating the perfect event for your team. We have over 25 years of experience making these programs shine.
