Create a simple Easter egg maze for your kids using the power of magnets! This is a fun indoor activity that can lead to lots of free play with magnets!
Scroll down to see a video of Easter eggs magnetic maze at work!
I can’t believe I have not played with magnets yet with my twins! Now I have to qualify that. They love playing with magnetic tiles but we haven’t actually played around with our magnetic wands to explore what things are magnetic and what’s not.
Although this activity is a bit too advanced for them I did show them how it worked and after let them play with the eggs and magnetic wands.
How to set up Easter egg magnetic mazes
Grab your sensory bin and washable liquid chalk markers. Draw at least three different tracks for the Easter eggs to take using three different colours. I also wrote start and finish to help create the idea that this was not only a maze but also a race.
Fill three Easter eggs with small metal items like nuts or bolts or coins or nails. Seal them. Test it out to ensure that you have placed enough metal items inside the Easter egg by placing your magnetic wands under the sensory and trying to move them using the wands.
I didn’t tape my eggs until after I started playing with them with my daughter and realized that they opened up sometimes especially as we had races. So putting a small piece of tape on the outside to ensure that they remain closed is a good idea.
Place your sensory bin either between two chairs by balancing it on the edge of the two chairs. Or if you have an IKEA Flisat table you can remove the bins and the center piece and place your sensory bin inside, if it fits.
You are ready to start you Easter egg maze.
Place your Easter eggs at the starting line on their corresponding coloured line. Use your magnetic wands to move your Easter egg along the coloured line to the finished line. Come back and move the next egg to the finish line and repeat with the last egg!
How the played
Although, I wanted to play with magnets with my twin two year olds this particular activity was not for them. But I did show them how it worked. They loved grabbing the eggs as I moved them with the magnets and opening them up to see what’s inside.
With my 5 year old we had easter egg races. There were collisions and sometimes the eggs broke open. That is why taping them is a good idea.
Other ways to play: Race against time. Time how long it takes to move all three eggs from start to finish one at a time.
Race against other’s time. Needs two of more people. Time how long it takes to move all three eggs from start to finish one at a time and then compare your time to the second or third player.
How would you play?