STEAM Saturday – Box Lid Maze! (2/24/2024)

Box Lid Maze

Are you looking for an educational boredom buster that your child can use over and over again? We’ve got you covered with today’s awesome STEAM Saturday activity – Box Lid Mazes!

Box Lid Maze

A box lid maze is just what it sounds like – a maze created on the inside of a box from straws and other materials. Your child will create their maze, then use a small round bead or ball to navigate all the obstacles and get from start to finish! This is the perfect activity to help your child use critical thinking, trial and error, testing, and revising.

Box Lid MazeFirst, collect all of your materials. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A box lid
  • Construction or other decorative paper
  • Clear tape
  • Straws
  • Pencils, crayons, or markers
  • A small bead, marble, or ball
  • Paper towel rolls (to create ramps or tunnels)
  • Scissors
  • Optional: Other items to decorate your maze or create additional obstacles

The first step to making your lid maze is choosing a theme. This could be based on a favorite book, TV show, or a subject that holds a particular interest for your child. Once you’ve chosen your theme, cover the bottom of your box lid with decorative paper that fits your theme. For instance, if you choose space, perhaps you can use paper with stars as the background paper for your maze.

Choose a ball or bead to roll through your maze. Now, decide where your maze will start, and tape pieces of straws down to create an opening lane for your ball to roll through. Make sure to keep the tape close to the straws so that the ball doesn’t get hung up as it rolls through.

Box Lid MazeChallenge your child to cut the straws in different lengths and creating more pathways for the ball to roll through. They can also add additional obstacles in between the pathways, such as holes, ramps, corners, and dead ends. Have your child think about their maze theme to get inspiration for their obstacles.

Mark the ending point to your maze, and add some finishing touches. Now your child is ready to play! Playing the maze may prompt them to make some changes to their maze design. That’s all part of the critical thinking and design process! The finished product is something that your child can play with and enjoy time and time again!

Check out the full activity from One Time Through HERE.

As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!

We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity!  Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!

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