Pool Noodle Obstacle Course 🏅 ages 2+ 🏅
We created this super cool pool noodle obstacle course using only pool noodles, pencils and a little duct tape! The boys LOVED it and raced around it all afternoon! And the best part is that it only took about 15 minutes to set up!
Materials needed (affiliate links):
15 pool noodles We got ours at Five Below for $1/each.
19 sharpened pencils (tent stakes or wooden dowels would work as well)
SETTING UP THE POOL NOODLE OBSTACLE COURSE
Our course had 5 different stations:
1. Tunnels – To create the tunnels, we placed two pencils about 2-3 feet apart (sticking the sharp end of the pencil in the ground and leaving the eraser side in the air.) Place each end of the pool noodle on the pencils sticking out of the ground to create an arch. We repeated this step two more times to make three tunnels to crawl through. Older kids could use these as hurdles.
2. Mini-hurdles – To create these hurdles, we took a full length pool noodle and stuck the sharp end of a pencil into the noodle about a foot from the end on each side. Once we made a hole, we removed the pencil and placed the eraser end into the pool noodle. We repeated for each side and then with the sharp ends of the pencils sticking out of the noodles, we stuck them into the ground. We repeated two more times to make three hurdles.
3. Ring toss – We started by taking one pool noodle and looping it into a circle until the ends touched. With the ends touching flat to each other, we wrapped them in duct tape (wrapping several times generously so it didn’t come apart). Then we cut another noodle in half, stuck a pencil into the ground and placed one of the half noodles over the pencil. Use the other half noodle as a line to stand behind when doing the ring toss (or use another full noodle for this as we did).
4. Balance beam – To create a balance beam, we placed a noodle flat on the grass and secured it into the ground on each end by sticking the sharp end of a pencil through the noodle and into the ground. (Note: Ours did come out several times as people were running through the course.) Others have recommended using tent stakes instead of pencils for this portion of the course.
5. In & Out – We added some vertical noodles for the boys to weave in and out of to finish the course. To create these, we simply stuck pencils in the ground in a line about 3-4 feet apart. Then we added one noodle to each pencil sticking up and that’s it!
Finally, to create a finish line, we laid one noodle flat at the end of the course. This whole course took only about 15 minutes to set up but gave the boys hours of entertainment!
Check out our Pool Noodle Obstacle Course in action in the video below:
The boys loved racing each other to see who could get the fastest time. For my two year old, the older boys helped guide him through the course. So much fun and great for building coordination and gross motor skills!
For an additional STEAM challenge, see what new obstacles the kids can come up with!
Can’t get enough of pool noodles like us? Check out our other pool noodle games or these pool noodle activities from Making Motherhood Matter!
About Raising Dragons
Raising Dragons is a site dedicated to raising strong, smart, amazing kids! Our focus is on creating activities that can easily be pulled together with items you have around the house. We believe learning should be fun and accessible for everyone and can be done with everyday objects! We also know parents are busy and don’t have lots of time to pull together activities so we keep things very SIMPLE! Check out some of our favorite activities like: Writing Letters in Sprinkles, Alphabet Lids, Calm Down Sensory Bottle and the Paper Towel Roll & Pom Pom Challenge.