Maker Monday: The Labyrinth Game

This Maker Monday project lets your family create your own, homemade Labyrinth Game

Labyrinth Game is played by pulling three clue cards and placing them on the sequencing mat. The player reads the clue card and then rolls the ball through the corresponding labeled tubes in that order. It’s simple to make with handy materials and a fun challenge for kids of any age!

These hint cards came from a kindergarten class about identifying different types of fabric — fleece, denim, corduroy, etc. But this game could be done with any identifying activity. Kids can make up their own quiz clues related to some of their favorite subjects. And there’s no need to keep everything plain and gray: Kids can decorate the tubes and the inside of the box to fit their Labyrinth Game to the subject.

Jennifer Martin, from Keystone Oaks School District’s K-5 STEAM unit, shared this Maker Monday activity.

You can do this project with items you likely have around the house or can get at a dollar store.

A note to kid makers: Please work with a parent or caregiver on this Maker Monday project and always be very careful when using tools of any kind.

Maker Monday materials you’ll need:

• the lid from a cardboard box
• cardboard tubes (from toilet paper or paper towel)
• a marker
• paper for clue cards
• paper for sequencing mat
• scissors
• glue or a glue gun
• a small ball (small enough to roll through the cardboard tubes)
• a zipper-style plastic bag (gallon size) for storing your game

Step 1: Using a marker, write the labels you need on the paper towel tubes. The Keystone Oaks kindergarten studied types of fabric, so they chose their five favorite fabric names to write on the tubes.

Step 2: Hot glue the tubes onto the inside of the box lid. (With adult supervision, this is an excellent way to show young children how to use an engineer’s “tool” responsibly.)

Step 3: Type, print, and cut out the clue cards. (Since the kindergarten kids we created this game for studied fabrics, the used all sentences describing those various materials. You could use anything you’d like: color words, vocabulary definitions, or math problems, just to name a few. Or venture into pop culture with your children’s favorite book characters or TV shows.

Now you’re ready to play!

Have the kids mix up the clue cards and set them face down, as you would for a card game. Set out the sequencing mat, too.

The player pulls the first three cards from the pile and sets one in each sequencing box.

Here comes the best part! The player has to identify the three answers from the clue cards. Then, they roll the ball through those corresponding tubes in that order by tilting the box lid to roll the ball in the proper direction. If they mess up, they have to start over. Repeat as many times as you want.

When you’re all done playing, store the cards, sequencing mat, and ball in a small baggy for next time. Enjoy!

Want more at-home fun creating cool stuff and making beautiful things? Check out more Maker Monday projects right here.

Do you have an idea for a Maker Monday craft project? If so, please share it with Kidsburgh! Send your maker activities to info@kidsburgh.org.