Up for some messy sensory summer play? Try structure building with pool noodles and shaving cream! It’s messy but totally engaging for all ages. It cleans up easily too so don’t let the mess deter you. The kids will remember the day they played with shaving cream, pool noodles and rinsed off in the sprinkler.
Materials for Building Structures with Pool Noodles and Shaving Cream
For this STEAM activity, just hit the dollar store for some pool noodles and inexpensive shaving cream. You could choose to use Colorations Foam Paint in place of shaving cream, but it’s much more expensive.
Use a serrated knife to make pool noodle slices. Vary the size for extra fun.
You may prefer to just put out bowls of shaving cream rather than full cans. I felt it was engaging for my older ones to allow them to spray the cans but they may have focused more on building structures if I just put out bowls of cream for them to dip the noodle slices in.
Dipping the foam pieces is easier for younger ones.
Let the play begin!
We have some wood crates that serve as outdoor toy storage or tables when the lids are on. I just put the materials out and let them at it!
Spraying the foam is the most fun. The girl in the photo below is squirting shaving cream into the hole of the pool noodle.
What kind of structures can we build?
How about castles and walls…
…Towers and “layers”
…or donuts and cupcake creations!
No matter which way they chose to play with the materials, it was fun!
Structure Building with Pool Noodles & Shaving Cream engaged my group for a long time. Then clean up itself kept them busy for another 45 minutes or so.
Rinse away to clean
Cleaning up is part of the fun! We rinsed and sprayed off the foam pieces before putting them in the sun to dry.
