Straws can be used for a variety of fun and educational activities. Straw activities allow younger children to explore their creativity while developing their fine motor skills. They are also terrific for sorting, counting, and increasing hand-eye coordination.
If you are searching for the perfect straw activities to keep your child engaged and learning, look no further. This list contains 30 super straw activities kids will enjoy for hours on end!
1. Balloon Rocket
For this fun activity, you will only need a few inexpensive materials. Make sure you have a thick straw, balloons, scissors, colorful paper, clear tape, and a pencil. Build the straw rocket, and your child will have hours of fun!
Learn More: 10 Minutes of Quality Time
2. Straw Pick Up Game
Here is a fun game that will keep the kids busy! Cut one-inch squares of different colored construction paper. Spread the paper squares on a table and have each player use a silicone straw to pick up their assigned color squares. The player that collects the most squares in a certain time frame wins!
Learn More: Raising Dragons – Activities for Kids
3. Fine Motor Straw Necklace
Fine Motor Straw Necklaces are a terrific craft for kids! Stringing the straw pieces on a string helps them build their fine motor skills. This straw activity is also wonderful for practicing patterns. Create these cute necklaces in any color combination and wear them with anything you choose!
Learn More: Mess for Less
4. Drinking Straw Necklace
The Drinking Straw Necklace is a cute straw craft that is inexpensive to create. This adorable jewelry idea is perfect for your little one’s fingers. It is created with metal clasps and flexible drinking straws. An adult might need to link the pieces together because it might be a little challenging for smaller children.
Learn More: She Knows
5. Homemade Straw Pan Flute
Create an instrument with drinking straws! This fun STEM/STEAM activity will allow children to build their own pan flutes and explore the science of sound. Encourage the children to write their own songs and record the song notes. This is an engaging musical instrument craft and a fun science activity wrapped up in one!
Learn More: Buggy and Buddy
6. Super Tall Straw Tower
Challenges with straws provide lots of fun for kids! Nothing is as much fun as trying to build something as tall as you can possibly make it. This straw tower activity challenges and encourages children to build the tallest tower they can. All that is needed is a few simple and inexpensive materials.
Learn More: Galileo Camps
7. Painting with Straws
Painting with straws is a super easy and fun art project. Kids love to blow bubbles with their straws, and this activity allows them to do so with all kinds of colors. Gather lots of straws, card stock, and paint, and begin creating these great masterpieces!
Learn More: Paper Scissors Craft
8. Straw Weaving
This is one of the best drinking straw crafts! It is a perfect activity to complete with teens. The straws serve as a loom, and they can be used to create yarn belts, bracelets, headbands, bookmarks, and necklaces.
Learn More: There’s Just One Mommy
9. Pipe Cleaner and Straw Structures
This great craft for kids combines straws, beads, pipe cleaners, and styrofoam. This craft is perfect for most ages and it is mess-free. Use the straws with pipe cleaners as a base or place the pipe cleaners directly in the styrofoam.
Learn More: Crate and Barrel
10. Straw Stamp Flowers
Kids love to paint! Using straws to make flower art is a fun painting activity for them to complete! They can use different sizes of straws as well as their favorite colors of paint. Kids can also learn scissor cutting skills and increase their fine motor skills with this craft. Make your drinking straw flowers today!
Learn More: Projects With Kids
11. Straw and Paper Airplane
Kids love playing with paper airplanes! This super simple and fun activity can be made with paper drinking straws, card stock, scissors, and tape. Experiment with a variety of sizes and find out which one will fly the farthest. You will be amazed at how great the straw planes fly!
Learn More: Mud, Paper, Scissors
12. Plastic Straw Seahorse
These Plastic Straw Seahorses will make an adorable craft for your children. Simply gather a variety of colorful plastic straws before allowing your kiddos to cut and thread each piece onto a pipe cleaner to bring to life this super cute craft.
Learn More: Pinterest
13. Flying Bat Straw Rockets
These flying bat straw rockets are a cute craft with paper straws. It even comes with a free printable bat template. It is also a terrific science and STEM/STEAM activity that is simple to make and provides fun for all ages.
Learn More: Buggy and Buddy
14. Ghost Blow Straw Craft
This is one of the most popular straw activities for Halloween! It is a simple and fun craft that young children truly enjoy. They can create ghosts in all shapes and sizes by using a plastic straw to blow white paint on black paper.
Learn More: Crafty Morning
15. Silly Straw Shapes
Your kids will enjoy these silly straw activities! These simple crafts are easy and inexpensive to make, and your children can practice their creativity when making silly straw shapes. Have silly straw fun today!
Learn More: Kiki Comin
16. Paper Straw Kite
Make a cute, lightweight kite with drinking straws. These paper straw kites are a great project for summer camp. All you need is paper straws, tissue paper, string, and a few other materials. These kites make cute decorations!
Learn More: 30 Minute Crafts
17. Cupcake Liner Flowers
Enjoy summer with cupcake liners and straws! These precious and colorful cupcake liner flowers brighten up any spot. Encourage kids to use colorful markers to decorate white cupcake liners and use striped straws as the stems.
Learn More: 4 Herreras
19. Plastic Straw Sensory Bin
Create a straw sensory tub with colorful plastic straws. This is an easy, fun, and inexpensive activity to create. There are numerous activities that can be conducted with these fun straw sensory tubs. Enjoy!
Learn More: Teaching Mama
20. Paint with Bubbles
Have fun making bubbles and painting art with straws. These colorful bubble art masterpieces are so easy to make and provide lots of fun for little ones. Let the creativity begin!
Learn More: Early Learning Ideas
21. Paper Straw Bendy Snake
This Paper Straw Bendy Snake craft is super easy for kids to make, and it provides lots of fun. There are many paper straw patterns and colors available. Children will have a ball as they create their snakes.
Learn More: I Heart Crafty Things
22. Woven Strawberries
Make cute woven strawberries by cutting out several strawberry shapes from red construction paper. Then, cut lines into them and weave pink straws through the slits in the construction paper. Add stems and caps to complete the project.
Learn More: JDaniel 4’s Mom
23. Straw Maze
Help little ones increase their hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, patience, and cognitive thought processes with these easy-to-make straw mazes. Use colored straws, glue, and colorful paper plates to make these fun mazes.
Learn More: Teach Me Mommy
24. Fine Motor Fun with Toothpicks and Straws
Let your child fill cups with straws to increase fine motor skills. This activity is easy, cheap, and fun. Grab some cups and lots of colored straws and let your child enjoy it! These can be used over and over again.
Learn More: Fun a Day
25. Drinking Straw Necklaces
Watch the video to learn how to make these drinking straw necklaces. This craft adds a geometric twist and they look great! They are simple to make and very inexpensive. This craft is perfect for all ages. Gather your materials and begin creating. The possibilities are endless!
Learn More: YouTube
26. DIY Garland with Straws
Garlands are a terrific way to add flair and color to parties, nurseries, or everyday decorations. Using a variety of colorful straws is an easy and inexpensive way to create your own garland for any space or occasion.
Learn More: Little Red Window
27. Straw Blown Peacock Painting
Peacocks are beautiful and majestic. Use the straw-blowing method to create your very own peacock masterpiece. You can even watch a video that explains this process in detail. These paintings make great keepsakes and are beautiful when they are framed.
Learn More: The Pinterested Parent
28. Drinking Straw Door Curtain
Teens will enjoy this project! It is a little time-consuming and takes lots of straws to make, but the finished creation is worth it. Teenagers love hanging these in their doorways!
Learn More: Instructables Living
29. Straw Sunburst Frame
This beautiful straw creation looks great in lots of spaces. Create your own today with straws, cardboard, hot glue, scissors, and spray paint. These straw sunburst frames also make wonderful gifts!
Learn More: How Does She
30. Drinking Straw Coasters
To make these cute drinking straw coasters, you will use a basic drinking straw weaving technique. It will take approximately 30 straws to make one coaster. You will also need a hot glue gun, glue sticks, cardboard for templates, scissors, and tweezers. These make awesome gifts!
Learn More: Craft Passion