Paper Plate Marble Maze

Fine Motor
Science
ThinkingGrade SchoolKindergartnersMazes
Paper PlatesLeave a Comment

This activity is part craft, and then part challenge and activity!

Firs, the kids will make a maze and then they’ll get to play with it and challenge themselves to solve it.

This is great for problem-solving and a fun way to keep their hands busy.

To make the maze, you’ll need:

• A sturdy paper plate
• scissors
• tape or glue (tape will be quicker)
• straws, strips of paper, pipe cleaners, craft sticks – to make the maze path
• a marble, or maybe a small pom pom.
• marker

The paper plate is the base of the maze. So this isn’t going to be big!

Create ‘walls’ using whatever supplies you have – pipe cleaners, the strips of paper, straws, craft sticks and attach them with the tape (or glue). You’ll have to cut these and plan out the correct way to get through the maze. Then you can add in obstacles after that.

Let the kids design it! This is a lot of the fun! You may need to create one first to show them what you mean by a maze. It might be a hard concept to just grasp without and example.

Multiple kids? Have them each create a maze and then have the other try to complete it.

Challenge to Get Through the Maze

Place the marble, or pom pom, on the plate and tilt the plate back and forth to guide the marble through the maze obstacles!

If you want it a bit trickier, number the sections of the maze to go through in a certain order. Or change up the order to make it different each time.

Younger kids may do better with a pom pom. It moves a little slower and it easier to control, which will help avoid frustration.

This is a great activity for kids to work on problem solving. Both in building the maze and getting through it. And also since its a maze done by tilting a paper plate, this is fantastic for hand-eye coodination and fine motor control.

I always love an activity that also doubles as a craft. Getting the kids involved in both creating and doing.