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Bottle Caps

Bottle caps from beer bottles or juice bottles are available free of charge from recycling centres. Alternatively, the group members collect all the caps from their households over 1-2 months.

1. Pitching ‘pennies’

   ‘Pitching pennies with cent pieces is easy in comparison to doing it with bottle caps. From a distance of 2-4 metres attempts are made to throw a bottle cap as close as possible to a wall. The winner keeps all of the caps from this round.

2. Target shooting

   The caps are thrown into a circle drawn on the floor containing various points. Depending on where the caps land, points are given out. After 3 (5) rounds, who will have the most points in their bank?

3. Stacking

   Who can build the highest bottle cap tower?

4. Knocking flat and stacking

   First the caps are flattened using a hammer and then stacked on top of one another. Who can make the highest pile? Alternative: who can make the smallest pile out of 20 caps within 60 (120) seconds? I.e. who managed to flatten their caps the best and then stack them?

5. Chain

   Within 60 (120) seconds, the group has to thread bottle caps to make a chain. A hammer and a nail are required, in addition to a string to thread the bottle caps onto. Firstly, make a hole in the bottle caps using the hammer (careful not to hit your fingers!). Then the bottle caps are threaded onto the string (take care of sharp corners).

6. Smuggling and swapping

   Bottle caps are ideal for smuggling and swapping (depending on the bottle cap brand [brand of beer etc] the caps have different values) for outdoor activities.

7. Search & collect

   A great environmental campaign linked to a game, or as an additional task for a circuit race. Everyone picks up and collects any bottle caps lying on the floor and brings them to the finish line. Bottle caps are often found in abundance at barbeque sites and in the vicinity of picnic areas and park benches.

8. Build Instruments out of rubbish – the bottle cap rattle or bell

   Several threaded bottle caps and various chains tied together make a bottle cap bell or rattle. The bottle cap rattle acts as a self-made musical instrument.

9. Letting them swim

   Bottle caps can under certain circumstances even float. Can the group succeed in placing 10 bottle caps into a bath full of water within 60 seconds without the caps sinking?

10. Fishing

    Using a magnetic fishing rod fish as many magnetic caps as possible have to be fished out of a tub. The ‘fisher’ stands as close to the tub as is necessary depending on the fishing rod.

11. Sinking bottle-caps

    The same numbers of caps as players are floated in a tub. Prior to this each person marks the inside of their cap with a waterproof pen. Each player receives 5 cherries. The first person begins to eat their cherry and then by spitting out the pip tries to sink his/her cap. To do this the players should stand approximately 30cm away from the tub. Thereafter the second player chews his/her first cherry etc. The person able to sink the most caps wins.

12. Perception task

    Group leaders pass a certain number of caps under the table e.g. first 3, then 5 then 7… Participants should feel the number of caps in their hands and then add them up.

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