Building a leprechaun trap is a fun and easy STEM activity for kids in early elementary school. You can do this at home or in the classroom.
What is a leprechaun trap?
The idea is that you build some kind of contraption that includes a box or a basket that could hold a leprechaun, then you add some kind of bait under the trap like gold coins, chocolate, drawings of rainbows, etc.
You leave it out overnight before St. Patrick’s Day, and the next day the trap will be sprung. The leprechaun got away but they may have left treats, or done a little mischief in the room (or both!).
One year in my daughter’s class the leprechaun left washable paint footprints all over!
If you need some inspiration for building your own leprechaun traps, there are so many great ideas online. The key elements, as laid out in this post from The Best Ideas for Kids, include:
- Bait
- A ladder if needed to climb into the trap
- Decorations including shamrocks and rainbows
- Something to trap the leprechaun in like a box, bottle or hat
That post has some cute and really easy ideas that would be great for younger kids. If you want something more elaborate, check out the ideas at Happiness is Homemade (I particularly love the Lego leprechaun house, which wouldn’t even have to be a trap).
Artsy Mama has a great upcycled leprechaun trap made from things in the recycling bin.
Lolly Jane has another fun roundup of leprechaun trap crafts. One of my favorites is this top hat trap from The Suburban Soapbox, which is mostly made out of poster board and construction paper, so it’s a pretty low-budget option that is still really cute.
Have you ever made a leprechaun trap? I’d love to hear about the design you made and what happened when the trap was sprung!
