Team building for research teams and labs

Team building for a research team works best as a 60 minute hosted event on a weekday afternoon, booked around the lab's own calendar: the week after a grant deadline, never in the middle of a time course. A puzzle game on video lets everyone play, from the PI to a first-year student, with collaborators at other institutes on the same call.

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A principal investigator, postdocs, graduate students and a technician laugh around a lab break room table while playing a hosted trivia game on a laptop video call

Lab team building activities

Puzzles and games anyone in the lab can win, a talk workshop for conference season, and kits with no alcohol in the box. Every one runs about an hour with a live host, and prices are live from our catalog.

Hosted games need about 2 weeks; kit workshops about 3 weeks for US addresses. See all activities.

Plan it around the bench

The hardest part of a lab event is the hour. Experiments, instruments and live samples all keep their own clock.

  • Time courses

    Announce it two weeks out

    Incubations, cultures and time points are planned days ahead. A fixed date gives everyone time to set their runs around it.

  • Instrument time

    Skip the weeks you have the scope

    Booked time on a microscope, sequencer or core facility is hard to get back. Pick a week when the group has none.

  • Live samples

    Keep it on a weekday afternoon

    Cells need feeding and animals need checks, often on a rota. A weekday slot inside working hours lets the person on duty join.

  • Field and night work

    Run it twice

    If part of the group is on a field season or a night run, book a second session. Each one gets its own live host.

The research year: when a lab event lands well

Grant cycles, conference season and the academic calendar decide who is around and who is stressed. Book for the quiet week after the push.

  1. December 2026

    The lab holiday party, before the winter break

    For Thursday, December 17, 2026: book a hosted game by Thursday, December 3, and a kit for US addresses by Wednesday, November 25. With anyone in Canada or abroad, allow about 5 weeks. Ideas on virtual holiday parties.

  2. After each deadline

    The week after a grant goes in

    NIH publishes standard due dates for each type of application, and your institution usually sets an internal deadline before that. Book the week after yours, never the week before.

  3. January 2027

    A welcome for new rotation students and spring hires

    For an event on Thursday, January 21, 2027, book a hosted game by Thursday, January 7. For kits, book before the winter break so addresses are in while everyone is still around.

  4. Before a big meeting

    Talk practice for conference season

    Book a presentation workshop 2 to 3 weeks before your field's main meeting, so students can rework slides before they fly. Check the dates on the society's own site.

  5. June to August 2027

    Summer students in, postdocs out

    Summer is when undergraduates and interns arrive and postdocs leave for new jobs. Pair a welcome game with a farewell party for the people moving on.

One PI, five career stages, many countries

A lab is a small group with a steep hierarchy and members from all over the world. Six rules that make team building for scientists work.

Collaborators spread across time zones? Global team building covers scheduling across regions.

  • Put the PI on a team, not on the judging panel. Let a student captain.
  • Mix career stages in every team. A technician, a postdoc and a first-year student talk more than three postdocs do.
  • Lean on puzzles, not one country's pop culture. Escape rooms and Poll Points depend less on where you grew up.
  • Assume someone is under 21. Undergraduates work in many labs, so every kit on this page is alcohol free.
  • Keep it inside working hours. An evening event loses the parents and whoever has a run to check.
  • Invite your collaborators. Partner labs join the same video call, and terrarium, tea and coffee kits ship to Canada and other countries for an added charge per kit.

From one lab to a whole institute

The group you are planning for decides the format and the budget.

  • 8 to 15 people

    One lab

    The PI, postdocs, students and a lab manager. One hosted game is one package for up to 25 guests, so the whole lab is one price.

  • 20 to 40 people

    A lab and its collaborators

    Two or three groups on a shared grant, in different buildings or countries. Mixed teams on one call meet the people behind the emails.

  • 50 to 150 people

    A department or institute

    A retreat or a year-end event for every group. For faculty and staff across a whole campus, see university team building.

  • Company R&D

    A research department at a company

    Same bench, a different budget. More for biotech companies and for engineering teams.

What it costs for a lab, a group and an institute

A hosted game is one package for up to 25 guests, so most labs pay a single price. A kit is a base fee plus a price for each kit.

Total price for the whole group, by headcount
Poll Points!Hosted game, 60 minutes12 people$85025 people$85060 people$2,550
Beach Vacate-tion Escape RoomHosted escape room, 60 minutes12 people$87525 people$87560 people$1,315
Terrarium MakingKit workshop, 60 minutes12 people$1,38725 people$2,47960 people$5,419
Tea Garden & TastingKit workshop, 60 minutes12 people$1,20725 people$2,10460 people$4,519

Totals for the whole group from our live catalog prices, with continental US kit shipping included. Get a free quote for your exact headcount.

Which budget pays for it

Labs run on restricted money, so the account matters more than the price.

The federal cost principles in 2 CFR 200.438 treat entertainment, including amusement, diversion and social activities, as unallowable unless it has a specific and direct programmatic purpose and is included in the award. This is general information: check with your sponsored programs or grants office.

  • Federal grant funds: usually not, unless the social event has a direct programmatic purpose and is in the award.
  • Discretionary, gift or unrestricted funds: the usual source for a lab event. Your department administrator knows which accounts you hold.
  • Company R&D budgets: a team or department budget, like any other company event.
  • Paying: reserve with a 50% deposit by card or P-card, or get a quote and pay by invoice against a purchase order.

Team building for research teams: questions

What is good team building for a research team?

A 60 minute hosted event on a weekday afternoon, booked the week after a deadline: a puzzle game like an escape room, trivia with mixed teams, or a kit workshop such as terrariums or a tea tasting. A live host runs it, so nobody in the lab has to plan the content, and collaborators at other institutes can join the same call.

What are good lab team building activities?

Games that reward solving a problem together: an escape room in small teams, Poll Points, where knowing your labmates beats knowing facts, or a story game where each team votes on what happens next. For something calmer, a terrarium or tea garden kit is built together on video and kept on the bench shelf.

How much does team building cost for a lab?

A hosted game is one package for up to 25 guests, so a lab of 8 to 15 pays one price, with added guests in blocks. Beach Vacate-tion Escape Room is $875 for a lab of 12 and $1,315 for 60 people. Kit workshops are a base fee plus a price per kit, with continental US shipping included. Each activity page shows the price for your headcount.

Can we pay for team building from a federal grant?

Usually not. The federal cost principles in 2 CFR 200.438 treat entertainment, including amusement, diversion and social activities, as unallowable unless it has a specific and direct programmatic purpose and is included in the award. Most labs use discretionary, gift or unrestricted funds. This is general information: check with your sponsored programs or grants office.

How do we fit an event around experiments?

Announce the date two weeks ahead so people can plan time points around it, avoid weeks with booked instrument time, and pick a weekday afternoon so whoever is on duty for cells or animals can still join. If part of the group works nights or is in the field, run it twice.

Can collaborators in other countries join?

Yes. Hosted games run on one video call: Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. Terrarium, tea and coffee kits ship to Canada and other countries for an added charge per kit; with anyone outside the US, book about 5 weeks ahead.

How far ahead should a lab book?

About 2 weeks for a hosted game and about 3 weeks for a kit workshop with US addresses. A custom version takes about 4 weeks.

Keep planning

Give the lab an hour off the bench

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