Did you know that more than 600 million people do not have regular access to safe drinking water? That’s one in ten people on this planet! 

As part of Harvard Business School’s Water Awareness Campaign, and in honor World Water Day (March 22), the HBS Student Sustainability Associates (SSAs) hosted “Iceberg Jeopardy” to encourage smart water usage habits on and off campus. Iceberg Jeopardy pits teams from opposing MBA sections in a battle of “water wits” and also gives each section the opportunity to win points toward the Green Cup Challenge and the HBS Student Association (SA) Cup.

Step By Step Instructions:

1. Conduct in-section presentation on water awareness and Iceberg Jeopardy preview

Immediately after class on a day that worked for each section’s schedule, the SSA for each section presented a brief presentation on water usage globally and ways to conserve on campus (i.e. BYO-Bottle, 5 minute showers). Sections also received a preview of the Iceberg Jeopardy challenge to come with its bone-chilling rules! The presentation ran 10-15 minutes.

2. Review the “bone-chilling” Iceberg Jeopardy rules

  • Two ice buckets (one for each team) are set up at the front of the classroom on a desk/table. 
  • Teams will play each other in the format set out in the Jeopardy slides. 
  • Teams can have a maximum of five players at the bucket at any one time.
  • Players “buzz in” to answer questions by putting their hand in the bucket of ice.
  • Incorrect answers will result in the question being passed to the other team.
  • There are a total of 15 questions and no tie-breaks.

3. Come up with Jeopardy questions

Two SSA Water Captains took the lead in researching and compiling 15 water related trivia questions from various reliable government or academic sources, such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The water trivia selected spanned the gamut of important social and economic issues, to fun and random scientific and natural world facts. 

4. Host Iceberg Jeopardy 

The SSAs decided to host the challenge during the lunch break when they knew classroom space would be available. Ice buckets (one for each team) were set up at the front of the classroom. Each classroom can host two sections (or teams) that will compete against each other for Green Cup Challenge Points.

Remember—only the player with their hand in the ice bucket can answer questions!

5. Celebrate the winners, but offer everyone water saving tips

Sure the winning teams get water wisdom boasting rights and points for their section toward the Green Cup Challenge, but everyone was empowered to shrink their water footprint with tips like taking shorter (5 minute!) showers, refilling a reusable water bottle around campus, and eating less meat. 

Who to contact, partner with, etc:

The SSAs worked with Operations and Custodial to procure water buckets and towels (just in case there were a few splashes). The Dining Hall ice machines ensured the desired bone-chilling effect for Jeopardy participants’ hands.