How to Make a Leprechaun Trap for St. Patrick's Day

We have been talking about trying to catch a Leprechaun since last St. Patrick’s Day. My kids spent a good majority of the day last year coming up with a plan and seeking out a Leprechaun with their uncle. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, last year’s attempts were not successful. So this year, they wanted to set up a Leprechaun trap for St. Patrick’s Day.

An aftermath of a sensory table that was a leprechaun trap and it appears the leprechaun successfully escaped. Scattered green dyed rice in a sensory bin with gold dyed chickpeas throughout. 4 pots of skittles in the middle of a row of gold coins. A cardboard box that looks collapsed but not enclosed. Lucky charms marshmallows arranged to spell out nice try.

Green rice with black pots filled with gold chickpeas and two lines of gold coins set in a black sensory bin

Building a Trap

My kids had it all planned out by themselves. They wanted to create an obstacle course that ended with a pot of gold inside our wooden rainbow. Their biggest concern was that they did not known which direction the leprechaun might start from. They started with 3 pots of gold for the leprechaun to weave in-between and then rivers of gold coins to jump over. Lastly was the cardboard box, inside was a pot of gold and it was through a rainbow tunnel! The pot of gold inside was tied to a string and attached to the cardboard holding up the box. The hope was that as the leprechaun grabbed the gold and ran, it would drop the cardboard box on top of him and leave him trapped.

Unsuccessful Trap

While it was a worthy attempt, it appears the leprechaun saw right through it. One of the wooden rainbow pieces was moved out to prop up the cardboard box. The gold was all sprinkled around the edges. Leaving in his wake, the pots of gold were replaced with Skittles and within the sensory bin was Lucky Charm marshmallows spelling out “Nice Try.” Lastly, there were bags of Nerds Gummy Clusters. While we did not catch a leprechaun, I will say this was not an unsuccessful trap. Plus, they had a fantastic time putting it together and were so excited to find the results in the morning!

Leprechaun Trap

Making a Leprechaun trap requires a bit of creativity and thinking. The best part is the science behind it. Thinking through how to make a trap, what would make something fall. How do the mechanisms work to ensure that the trap will work? Plus, thinking about the mindset of a leprechaun and what entices them. What would draw them to your trap? My kids love thinking through this and very much enjoyed making it! They were able to make the whole thing in our big sensory table!