Today’s activity involves Wikki Stix. Wikki Stix are hand-knitted yarn that have a wax coating that makes them stick. They can be used from practicing spelling (by creating the letters with the Wikki Stix) to simple designs for fun. They are a wonderful tactile tool that are used many times for STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) activities. The Wikki stix you use today will be reused in tomorrow’s activity, so don’t throw them away! Just store them back in the package or in a sealed container.
Daily Activity Challenge #6: Wikki Stix Maze
Today’s challenge is simply creating a maze out of Wikki Stix. I used paper plates as the surface, but old CD covers make great maze surfaces, too. You can also use a piece of paper or cardboard. Wikki Stix stick to most surfaces, so use what you have. It’s almost like a Labyrinth game where you try to get the metal ball from start to finish without falling through the hole in the maze. You do not need to make the hole in this activity, but you certainly can for more of a challenge.
Materials:
- Paper Plates (or another surface to make the maze)
- Wikki Stix
- Marbles (or a small ball that can be used to navigate the maze)
- Scissors
Object of the Activity: To create a maze or labyrinth for a marble to get through from start to finish
How to Play: Give each player a paper plate and some Wikki stix. Create a maze using Wikki stix for a marble to go from start to finish with some dead ends throughout the maze. Players may want to cut the stix to fit in the maze, and that is totally fine! Solve your own maze, or give it to another player for him or her to get the marble through the maze.
Skills Used: Critical thinking, Problem-solving, Creativity, Imagination
If you have the time, let children just play with the Wikki stix before you start any activity, especially if they are not familiar with them. There are so many fun things that can be made with Wikki stix. Also, allow kids to come up with a maze design using pencil and paper before letting them create the maze with the Wikki stix.
