Magnetic Treasure Hunt

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Set up a fun and simple rainbow rice magnetic treasure hunt sensory bin, where your toddler or preschooler can explore the magic of magnets!

Magnetic Treasure Hunt sensory bin for toddlers and preschoolers

Supplies:

Any metal toy or small tool (i.e. Allen key, toy trains, coins)
Magnetic Letters
Magnetic Counting Chip
Fridge magnets
Rainbow coloured rice (see below for instructions on how to make)
Magnetic Wands
41 Qt, Clear Sensory Bin (Large)
Basket to put treasure into

How to make rainbow rice you’ll need:

White rice
Food Coloring
White vinegar
Large Ziplock Bags
Baking Sheets or Tupperware containers
Parchment Paper

For each colour use 1 cup of rice, 1/2 tsp of vinegar and several drops of food colouring. Combine everything together in the ziplock bad. Seal it carefully and mix contents throughly. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a few baking sheets or line a few Tupperware containers. Spread each colour of rice out on the parchment paper and allow it to dry over night.

How to Set Up the Magnetic Treasure Hunt Sensory Bin:

Set up for this activity is super simple! Grab your large sensory bin and fill it with all the metal objects you want to use. Cover them with the rainbow rice and let the treasure hunt begin!

Let your toddler fish around with the magnetic wands in the rainbow rice to see what they find. This was also a great opportunity to sneak in counting and letter recognition.

When she pulled out 5 chips, I started to count them as she put them into her treasure basket. If she pulled out an ‘R’, I asked her what sound it made. For younger toddlers model model model. Ask open ended questions and answer for them is they are unable to respond.