Interactive Ball Maze – Maker Fun Factory

One of my favorite things about Maker Fun Factory VBS is the amount of interactive possibilities!  We used mostly supplies the church already had to make an interactive ball maze.  We actually made two of these – one for the back of the sanctuary (which was interactive) and one for on stage (that was filled with balls – not interactive).  Links in this post may be referral links.  Thanks for helping support Borrowed Blessings!

Supplies:
Concrete form (ours were 12″ across and 3-4′ tall)
Poster board (4 sheets per concrete tube)
Clear packing tape
-Clear duct (we used 8′ of clear duct on the shorter tube and 16′ of clear duct on the taller tube)
Ball pit balls
Small laundry baskets (we should have used 2 per interactive ball maze)
-5 gallon bucket (we should have used 1 to sit the ball maze on)

Instructions:

1. Use clear packing tape to attach poster board to the concrete form.  Our church has several concrete forms that are covered and used to decorate for holidays, weddings, etc.  We were able to use those IF we were careful not to damage them.  I used packing tape and only attached it to the inside of the concrete form, then taped the other poster board pieces to the first one… we didn’t have any packing tape that touched the outside of the concrete form.  It took us 4 sheets of poster board to cover one 4′ tall, 12″ diameter concrete form (blue) and also took 4 sheets of poster board to cover one 3′ tall, 12″ diameter form (red).

2. Use clear packing tape to attach clear duct to the concrete form.  Again, we were careful not to damage the concrete form, just taping the duct to the poster board.  I would advise that you use high quality packing tape.  We used cheap packing tape and had to add a few layers because it was drooping.

3. OPTION A – If you want your ball maze to be for decoration only (NOT interactive) — Use clear tape to cover the bottom end of the duct.  Fill the duct with brightly colored balls, then shake the ball maze several times.  The balls will settle and you will be able to add more.  Once the duct is filled, cover the top end of the duct with clear packing tape.

4. OPTION B – If you want your ball maze to be used by the kids (interactive) — Use duct tape (or packing tape) to cover both ends of a piece of plastic gutter.  When the balls come out of the duct, they roll into the gutter and can be used again.  You could also sit the concrete form on a 5 gallon bucket, then use an empty basket to collect the balls.

We put this interactive ball maze at the back of the sanctuary.  Kids played with it as they arrived and before they left in the evening.  The ball pit balls did overflow a bit from the gutter onto the floor.  If I were doing this again, I would rig it so the balls went into a small laundry basket… hopefully they’d stay contained then.  Even with this minor nag, the ball maze was a HUGE hit with our kids (and adults)!  Need more inexpensive craft and activity ideas?  Check out the VBS category at the top of the page!

I am a long-time Vacation Bible School lover.  I’ve lead in several capacities throughout the VBS world and am currently our church’s VBS director.  It is a joy for me to be able to share VBS ideas and resources with others!  I will continue to share ideas here as we prepare for Maker Fun Factory VBS .  Follow the blog to see more of our ideas and planning!  Please let me know if there are any specific VBS items or ideas you need help with.

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