sensory bin idea: mini monster truck arena.

By Erin G. on July 6, 2024

Taste safe sensory bin idea: a monster truck arena! I'm not one for making many sensory bins but this was definitely worth the effort for a gathering of littles - they were so entertained!

Ingredient list

Bin: 32 qt Sterilite (my favorite storage brand!) bin with lid - stacks well, easy for transport
Flour: ~10 lbs all purpose flour
Cocoa powder: Add as much or as little as you like. I wanted the flour to look more like monster truck arena dirt, so I used what cocoa powder I had on hand that was past the best by date. Old packs of hot cocoa mix work, too.
Monster trucks: We found mini monster trucks at Daiso, but you can likely find trucks at your local toy store. For this bin I didn't want to spend too much in case we lost some in the park. The $1.50 Daiso trucks worked out perfectly and we actually still have and play with all of them.
Blocks and scoops: Anything you can use to build ramps or roads, or tools you can use to scoop and shovel, are nice additions for this bin. You could also include crash cars or toy people for an audience.
Traffic cones (optional): These add a nice touch to caution passerby of the monster fun to be had. We already had the safety cones on hand, but these I especially like because they collapse in case you fall on one.

Prep, assembly, and clean up

To make the flour taste safe, place flour layer onto a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. You'll have to do a few batches for 10 pounds of flour.

Place the baked flour in the bin and allow to cool completely, turning the flour as needed to avoid moisture accumulation, before adding cocoa powder and closing the lid.

Note: This is a taste-safe activity but I would still recommend against eating the flour. 🙂

At your party site, pop off the lid (it doubles as a toy holding area), add your trucks, set up the cones, and watch imaginations and experimentation take off!

Since we played outside on dirt, clean up was easy. Just place the lid back on and roll out. To get the flour off of toys I would wash them in soapy water and dry immediately as needed (for wooden toys); you could use a brush (a paintbrush works nicely) if flour gets stuck in smaller crevices.

Hope this sparks some ideas for creating other sensory play activities! See the full monster truck themed celebration set-up in today's journal entry: monster jam.

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