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Indoor activity

Laser Maze Training

Transform any hallway into a high-stakes secret agent training facility! Dodge the string 'laser' beams to secure the intel without sounding the alarm.

Ages 3-12 0-1 hours Education 7/10

Materials

  • String
  • Tape

Illustrated Steps

1

Secure the Perimeter

Find a narrow hallway and prepare small pieces of Tape along the walls.

2

Activate the Lasers

Zigzag the String back and forth across the walls, taping it securely.

3

Place the Intel

Place a highly classified object at the end of the maze for the agent to retrieve.

4

Commence Training

Navigate the maze without touching the string to retrieve the intel!

What You’ll Create

You will transform a normal hallway into a high-stakes Secret Agent training facility! By zigzagging String back and forth across the walls using Tape, you’ll create a glowing ’laser’ grid. The mission: navigate from one end to the other without touching a single beam to retrieve the classified intel.

How to Set It Up

Step 1: Secure the Perimeter

Find a narrow hallway or a space between two pieces of heavy furniture. Take your roll of Tape and rip off several small pieces, sticking them lightly to the wall or a table edge so they are ready to grab.

Step 2: Activate the Lasers

Take the end of your String and tape it securely to the wall near the floor. Pull the string across the hallway to the opposite wall, angling it slightly upwards, and tape it there. Continue zigzagging the string back and forth, high and low, until you reach the end of the hallway.

Step 3: Place the Intel

At the far end of the maze, place a highly classified object — a favourite stuffed animal, a shiny coin, or a secret message written on paper. This is the target that the secret agent must retrieve.

Step 4: Commence Training

Have your secret agent start at the beginning of the maze. They must step over, crawl under, and contort their body to make it through the grid. If they touch the string, they have tripped the alarm and must start over!

Have fun!

  • 🕵️‍♀️ Time each run to see who the fastest secret agent in the family is.
  • 🔔 Tape tiny jingle bells to the string — if they ring, the alarm is tripped!
  • 🔦 Turn off the lights and use a flashlight to highlight the ’lasers'.
  • 🤸‍♂️ Make it a two-player mission where agents have to hold hands the entire time.

Why It’s Amazing

  • Gross Motor Skills: Crawling, stretching, and balancing builds core strength and body awareness. 🤸‍♀️
  • Spatial Reasoning: Children must calculate their body’s position relative to the complex web of string. 🧠
  • Executive Function: Requires planning, patience, and impulse control to move slowly and carefully. 🛑
  • Imaginative Play: Fully immerses children in a thrilling role-playing scenario. 🎭

Pro Tips

For ages 3–5: Keep the lasers very low to the ground so they can mostly step over them, and don’t make the web too dense.

For ages 5–8: Create a tight web with lots of varied heights — require them to crawl on their bellies for certain sections!

For ages 8–12: Add ‘moving lasers’ — you gently swing a separate piece of string that they have to time their movements to avoid.