Indoor Obstacle Courses

Indoor Obstacle
Courses - with an
Escapade Twist!

Keep kids moving indoors
with these fun obstacle
course ideas!

Obstacle courses are fun for all
ages! Check out all our ideas
below, and have fun!





Laser Beams
See how stealthy you can be by avoiding the laser beams in this obstacle course!

What You Will Need:

• String or Yarn (we like to use Red Mason Line)
• Painters Tape (we use the blue low-tack tape)
• Hallway (the longer, the better)

What You Do:

• To set up the course, use painters tape to adhere string along your hallway in a criss-crossing pattern, as shown in this overhead diagram, appoximately 12"-18" off the floor. NOTE: You will want to make sure the spacing between the lines allows for a person to get their foot into the space created, but not too much space (that would be too easy!)
• To play, have the first player start at one end of the course and shimmy under the laser beams all the way to the other end of the course without touching the laser beams. Anything goes here - shimmy on your stomach, your back, on your knees - whatever works for you. Be creative!
• Count the number of times the player touches the laser beams, as the player with the lowest number wins this course.
• Once the first player reaches the end of the course, they must stand up and make their way back to the beginning, but this time stepping through the course without touching the laser beams. Again, count the number of times the player touches the laser beams, for a final count when they have accomplished the course.
• Repeat these steps until all players have made their way completely through the course. The player with the lowest number of touches wins the course!

Variations:

• Set up this same laser beam obstacle course, but use white string and a black light at night! Turn off the regular lights and then turn on the black light. The white string will appear to "glow" in the dark, making this a super-cool obstacle course... great for sleepover parties!

The Pendulum
This obstacle course is great for twisting and turning your body, while you avoid the pendulums!

What You Will Need:

• Roll of String (we like White Mason Line or Monofilament Fishing Line)
• Large Stick Pins (we use pins that are about 1 inch long and have a large pin head on them)
• Needlenose Pliers
• Atom Balls or Ping Pong Balls
• Tape
• Hallway
• Step Stool or Small Ladder

What You Do:

• To set up the course, tie a length of string or fishing line securely to the head of a stick pin. NOTE: To ensure the string stays in place, you might want to add a piece of tape over your knot.
• Using a step stool or a small ladder, have an adult push the stick pin into the ceiling using a needlenose pliers. NOTE: We don't want to ruin our ceilings either, so if you hold a stick pin in the pliers and push straight into the ceiling, the pin will stay in place and only make a very small hole in your ceiling. When this game is done and you remove the stick pin, you won't even see the small pin hole. Trust us - we've done this a lot!
• Repeat these steps until you have strings hanging from your ceiling along the length of the hallway, spaced out about 18" from each other. You can add as many strings as you like, but the more you have, the harder this course will be.
• Use a scissors to adjust the length of the strings so that some are 6 inches off the floor, and others are about 3 feet off the floor, as shown in the diagram. The variety in string length makes this course more fun.
• Once the strings are all cut to the lengths you want, tie a light weight ball, such as Atom Balls to the dangling end of each string. You may need to secure the string to the ball with tape, as well. Your course is now ready for action!
• To play, the first player must move through the hallway in such a way as to avoid the hanging pendulums. Whether crawling on the floor, or manuevering through by walking, the player must avoid touching the pendulums. This is not as easy as it sounds!
• Count the number of times a player touches the pendulums, and when all players have had a chance to work through the course, the player with the lowest touches wins!

Variations:

• To make this course even more difficult, you may want to walk through the course and get the pendulums swinging before a player attempts to work through the course! Make sure to have your camera ready for some really funny photos!

Snow on the Mountain
We couldn't resist adding a bit of snow to this fun obstacle course!

What You Will Need:

• 12 or more Pillows - all sizes (the more pillows you have, the more difficult and fun this is)
• 24 or more Cotton Balls (you decide how much "snow" you want!)
• SnoBaller, Scoop, or Salad Tongs
• Small Pail or Wire Handle Box

What You Do:

• To set up this course, pile as many pillows as you have in an open space of your room - this forms the "mountain".
• Randomly throw cotton balls - the "snow" - over the mountain.
• To play, give the first player the SnoBaller and a handle box. The object is to walk from on side of the mountain to the other side without falling down. Along the way, you must use the SnoBaller to pick up as much "snow" as you can and put the snow into the box. If you fall down, your turn is over and your score will be the amount of snow you have in your box. The player who completes the course with the most amount of snow is the winner!

Variations:

• Because walking across a mountain of pillows without falling down can be challenging, you might want to have young children crawl over the mountain for this course.
• The SnoBaller is a lot of fun for this activity, but small children may find the Scoop easier to use.

Tunnel of Love
Team up with a buddy to see how quickly you can get through this tunnel obstacle course!

What You Will Need:

• 2 or more large dark Blankets (the thicker and darker the blanket, the better)
• Red Play Silk
• Large Open Room
• Heavy Objects or Extra People

What You Do:

• To set up the course, lay 2 or more large blankets on the floor, overlapping one edge of the blankets. This will form the tunnel.
• Place heavy objects along the outside edge of the blankts to help keep the blankets on the floor, as shown in the overhead view diagram. We recommend using objects that won't tip over easily, such as a bin of toy blocks or a stack of 2 or 3 heavy books. If you don't have heavy objects to use, you can also have extra players stand on the edges of the blankets to keep them in place - just stand spaced out about every 2 feet or so.
• Place a red silk scarf somewhere under the blanket.
• To play, pair two players together. One player will start at one end of the blanket tunnel and the other player will start at the other end.
• To start, each player must crawl under the blankets, find the silk scarf, tie it around the left wrist of one player and the right wrist of the other player, then make their way out of the tunnel as a team.

Variations:

• If tying the silk scarf around the wrists is too difficult, players can just hold onto the silk scarf and make their way out of the tunnel while not letting go of the scarf.
• To make this course more of a challenge, stretch the blankets fairly tight and have extra players stand along the outside edge of the blankets to keep the blankets as close to the ground as possible when the team is crawling under it. This makes it much more difficult to crawl under.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Indoor obstacle courses are a lot of fun when the weather outside prevents outdoor play. But they are also a fun activity for birthday parties, sleepovers, and playdates, too!
• Don't limit your indoor obstacle course to just one room, set up a different kind of obstacle course in various rooms of your house, then move from one course to the other in series.