Give yourself extra sensory perception
Build and test a blindfolded senses challenge to sharpen hearing, touch, and smell; create simple tools, record observations, and compare results with adult supervision.
About this activity
Build and test a blindfolded senses challenge to sharpen hearing, touch, and smell; create simple tools, record observations, and compare results with adult supervision.
What you need
Step by step
- 1
Step 1
Gather all the listed materials and set up a clear safe table area with an adult present.
- 2
Step 2
With adult help cut a hand sized hole in the side of the shoebox for your touch box.
- 3
Step 3
Tape a flap over the hole so your hand can reach in but sight is blocked.
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Step 4
Fill three lidded containers with different sound materials and close them tightly to make sound bottles.
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Step 5
Put a cotton ball with a different scent into three small jars and seal them to make scent jars.
- 6
Step 6
Place the three textured objects into the touch box and close the box.
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Step 7
Put on the blindfold with adult help and make sure you cannot see.
- 8
Step 8
Have an adult shake one sound bottle behind you while you listen carefully.
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Step 9
Write your guess about which sound bottle was shaken in your notebook.
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Step 10
With the blindfold on reach into the touch box and feel one object without looking.
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Step 11
Write your guess about what the touch object is in your notebook.
- 12
Step 12
With the blindfold on have an adult hold one scent jar under your nose and inhale gently.
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Step 13
Write your guess about the scent in your notebook.
- 14
Step 14
Remove the blindfold with adult help and check each real item to see which guesses were correct and count how many you got right.
- 15
Step 15
Share your finished senses challenge and what you discovered on DIY.org.
Fun facts
How do you build and test a blindfolded senses challenge for kids?
Set up a safe, quiet space and gather objects for hearing, touch, and smell. Create simple tools like a texture box (holes cut in a shoebox), sound shakers (cups with rice), and small sealed scent jars. One child wears a blindfold while an adult presents items one at a time. Ask the child to identify or describe the sense used, record answers on a chart, then repeat to compare results. Discuss patterns, do multiple trials, and adjust difficulty as skills improve.
What materials do I need for a blindfolded senses experiment?
You'll need a soft blindfold, small objects with different textures (cotton, sandpaper, toys), odor samples in sealed jars (vanilla, lemon, herbs), containers for a texture box, simple sound makers (sealed cups with rice, bells), paper and pencils for recording, labels, a timer, and basic craft supplies (tape, scissors, markers) to build tools. Include a small tray to hold items and an adult to supervise. Avoid small choking hazards for young children.
What ages is this blindfolded senses challenge suitable for?
This activity suits children aged about 4–14 with different supervision and complexity. Ages 4–6: simple touch and sound games with close adult help; avoid small parts. Ages 7–9: introduce scent jars and basic recording sheets; child can guess and tally results. Ages 10–14: design controlled trials, build more elaborate tools, and analyze patterns. Always supervise younger kids and adapt challenges to each child’s attention and safety needs.
What are the benefits and safety tips or variations for a senses challenge?
Benefits include improved listening, tactile discrimination, scent recognition, attention, and scientific thinking as children make hypotheses and record results. Safety tips: avoid small or sharp objects, use sealed scent jars (no toxic substances), supervise blindfolded kids, and limit experiment time to prevent fatigue. Variation: turn it into a friendly competition (blindfolded relay) or add a blindfolded art activity where kids describe textures to draw. Always discuss results to reinforce
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can I substitute if I don't have a shoebox, small jars, or a blindfold?
Use a cereal box or small plastic storage bin for the touch box, film canisters or clean baby-food jars instead of scent jars, and a scarf or sleep mask as the blindfold.
What should I do if light sneaks into the touch box or the sound bottles don't make enough noise?
Reinforce the hand-sized hole with extra cardboard and tape the flap firmly to block sight, and if a lidded sound container is too quiet add more filler like rice, beans, or coins and tighten or tape the lid.
How can I change the activity for younger or older kids?
For younger children use just one or two gentle textured objects, larger safe items, and help with the blindfold and writing, while older kids can use five or more lidded containers and scent jars, add a timer and scoring in the notebook, and try creating challenges to share on DIY.org.
What are simple ways to enhance or personalize the senses challenge?
Decorate and label the shoebox and containers, create a scoring chart in your notebook, let the child assemble their own themed sound and scent jars, and photograph the reveal to post on DIY.org.