50 Magna-Tiles Games and Building Ideas for Kids
![50 Magna-Tiles Games and Building Ideas for Kids What treasures will you find at the end of this Magna-Tiles rainbow? Photo courtesy of Magna-Tiles](https://static.mommypoppins.com/styles/image960x650/s3/magnatiles-rainbow_0.jpg)
Magnetic tiles—whether they're the classic Magna-Tiles brand or one of the many other variations—are one of the most beloved and versatile toys for kids of all ages. After all, there are so many fun Magna-Tiles games to play, interesting learning activities to do, and awesome structures to build.
Playing and building with magnetic tiles teaches kids STEM skills, helps them learn their shapes and colors, fosters their creativity, and so much more. I recently asked my third-grader and kindergartner to create whatever came to mind using their magnetic tiles and they had lots of inventive ideas, including a monster and a rainbow tower.
If you need some inspiration on how to have fun and learn with magnetic tiles, here are 50 Magna-Tiles games and activities, Magna-Tiles building ideas, Magna-Tiles printables and video tutorials, and more. For more at-home STEM and art ideas, check out our lists of easy science experiments for kids and 100 awesome art projects for kids.
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Note: While we use the term "Magna-Tiles" often throughout this article, most of these Magna-Tiles games, activities, building ideas, and more are compatible with any brand and type of magnetic tiles.
Play fun matching games with your Magna-Tiles. Photo courtesy of Magna-Tiles
Magna-Tiles Games and Learning Activities
1. Matching Magna-Tiles Games
These fun and educational matching games require kids to find matching pairs of tiles and to find the odd pair out. For little ones, you can simply have them match up tiles of the same color.
2. Tic Tac Toe
Create a square Tic Tac Toe grid out of nine magnetic tiles, and use colored bottle caps or any other small items as markers. Play again and again without wasting paper!
3. Magnetic Tile Pattern Cards
These handy cards help kids learn how to make patterns using magnetic tiles.
4. Guess the Shape
Arrange Magna-Tiles into shapes on a whiteboard (they stick!) and have little ones guess the shape. Then have the kids create the shapes themselves. They'll have so much fun, they won't even realize they're learning!
5. Sorting Game
Have toddlers and preschoolers sort magnetic tiles by color, shape, and/or size.
6. Marble Maze
Use Magna-Tiles to form the walls of a marble maze, then drop a marble and watch it fall. Move the tiles around to adjust the maze as many times as your kiddo likes.
7. Pom-Pom Ball Run
For another fun take on a maze, make a fun pom-pom ball run on the fridge (if it's magnetic) or on a whiteboard.
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Give your magnetic tiles emotions with these fun stickers! Photo courtesy of Jack and Zoe Play
8. Magnetic Tile Stickers
These removable magnetic-tile face stickers are not only a fun way to decorate tiles, they help little ones to recognize different emotions.
9. Magna-Tiles Dominoes
No dominoes? No problem. Just use Magna-Tiles instead, knock one down, and watch them all fall!
10. Math Magna-Tiles Games
Break out a magnetic surface to do these four fun math activities, which including counting and addition practice.
11. Magnetic Tile Ten Frames
Make math fun by creating ten frames using magnetic tiles.
12. Coding Magna-Tiles Games
Teach kids the basics of coding—including sequencing, algorithms, and debugging—using a grid of magnetic tiles and blocks.
13. Magna-Tile Sight Word Activity
Write letters on Magna-Tiles with a a dry-erase marker. Then have kids combine them to make sight words.
14. Sensory Table
Use colored rice, magnetic tiles, and a magnetic wand to make a fun sensory table that can teach little ones how magnets work.
15. Primary and Secondary Colors Experiment
This experiment shows you how to mix blue, red, and yellow (primary colors) Magna-Tiles into different combinations to make secondary colors like violet/purple, green, and orange.
16. Colorful Shadows
Shine a flashlight through magnetic tiles to project a rainbow of colors. Overlap different colors to explore color mixing.
17. Exploring Symmetry
Place a mirror perpendicular to the floor or table. Arrange magnetic tiles into a shape against the base of the mirror. Show kids how the shape is perfectly reflected in the mirror, with the base of the mirror as the line of symmetry.
18. Magnetic Tile Fishing
Create a fishing rod out of a stick, some string, and a magnet. Arrange magnetic files on the floor and go fishing!
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Kids can get creative and build their own custom monster.
Magna-Tiles Building Ideas
19. Monster
Design your own Magna-Tiles monster, like the one created by my 8-year-old. Start by making a large cube using 24 square tiles. Then, place triangle pieces to form ears, eyes, and “arms.” Use one last square tile for the mouth—and done!
20. Race Car Track
Create a race car track out of magnetic tiles using your imagination, or buy a set made specifically for that purpose. Then get out the toy cars and wheel them around to your hearts' content!
21. Ramp
If a flat track isn't cool enough, try building this awesome ramp. Since this might be tough for little ones, it's a great way to get older kids in on the fun—and to score some sibling playtime.
22. Hot Wheels bridge
If you have a lot of Magna-Tiles, add this bridge to the mix to create the ultimate course for Hot Wheels and other toy cars.
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Kids won't want to take their magnetic tile robot apart.
23. Robot
This video provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to create a cool robot out of Magna-Tiles. If only it could move!
24. 3-D Rainbow
Use square and triangle Magna-Tiles in a variety of colors to create a beautiful 3-D rainbow.
25. Castle
No instructions are needed to make this classic Magna-Tiles design—only your imagination. Even my 2-year-old niece loves building magnetic-tile castles!
26. Ostrich
If you've got PicassoTiles of various shapes—including the narrower tubes—use them to build this awesome ostrich.
27. Strawberry
This magnetic-tile strawberry is just the sweetest, and makes a great project for an elementary-schooler to tackle.
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Use magnetic tiles to create a unique floral arrangement.
28. Flowers
Use magnetic tiles to create flowers in all colors, shapes, and sizes—green(or not) for the stems and leaves, various other colors for the petals!
29. Ice Cream Cone
Use tall orange triangles to make the cone, and smaller triangles to put different flavors on top.
30. Ball
Learn how to form a ball—though not one you can throw—out of magnetic tiles.
31. Christmas Tree
Use green magnetic tiles and and small jingle bells to make jingly, jangly Christmas trees to add to your holiday decor.
32. Star
You'll need 28 equilateral triangles, four squares, and two right-angled triangles to make this sparkling, shining star.
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Printable templates help little ones form magnetic tiles into fun shapes.
Magna-Tiles Printables
33. Free Magnetic Tile Printables from Totschooling
These printables help kids arrange magnetic tiles into 11 shapes, including a duck, a cat, and an airplane. Each shape comes in two levels of difficulty.
34. Numbers Magna-Tiles Printables
Kids can piece together Magna-Tiles tangram-style to form the numbers 0 through 9.
35. Letters Magna-Tiles Printables
These printables will help kids form the entire alphabet—both uppercase and lowercase—out of Magna-Tiles.
36. Magnetic Tile Puzzle Printables
These printable tangram-style puzzles are perfect for preschoolers.
37. Magnetic Tile People Printables
Print out these templates of diverse people, then use magnetic tiles to create outfits for them.
38. Lunar New Year Magna-Tile Printables
Create a firecracker, a lantern, and a lucky coin out of Magna-Tiles with these fun Lunar New Year printables.
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Dino lovers will roar over dinosaur Magna-Tiles printables. Photo courtesy of Magna-Tiles
Dinosaur Magna-Tiles Activities
39. Brachiosaurus and Stegosaurus Magna-Tiles Printables
Follow the patterns on these printables to make a Brachiosaurus and a Stegosaurus out of Magna-Tiles.
40. Design-Your-Own Dinosaurs
Or, break out the kraft paper to create your own dinosaur outlines for the kiddos to fill in with magnetic tiles.
41. Tyrannosaurus Rex
You'll need a big set of Magna-Tiles—71, to be exact—to make this T-Rex, a perfect project for older kids.
42. Brontosaurus
Budding paleontologists will love building a Brontosaurus out of magnetic tiles.
43. Magna-Tiles Dinos Collection
These specialized Magna-Tiles dinosaur sets will have little dino lovers roaring with delight!
44. Free Magnetic Tile Dinosaur Templates
These free printable templates will help kids arrange magnetic tiles into a Pterodactyl, a Stegosaurus, and an Apatosaurus.
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Can your kiddo build a tower that's taller than they are?
More Fun Magna-Tiles Ideas
45. How High Can You Go?
Stack up those tiles to see how high you can get them before they all fall down—or your kiddo knocks them down!
46. Flower Pressing
Flowers look especially beautiful when pressed between colorful magnetic tiles.
47. Magnetic Tile Task Cards
Put these 22 fun cards in a pile face-down. Have kids choose a card and then do what it says with magnetic tiles. The cards challenge kids to design and build something that flies, something they might see in outer space, something you can ride on, and more.
48. Color-On Magna-Tiles
Some Magna-Tiles sets—including a Sesame Street-themed set and a Crayola Creativity Bus set—allow kids to color and draw on the tiles with washable markers.
49. Garage-Door Decorating
Use magnetic tiles to create fun designs on your garage door. Just don't forget to take them off before opening the door!
50. Custom Photo Magna-Tiles
CreateOn.com allows you to customize your own set of Magna-Tiles with up to 32 images. Imagine how much fun your kid will have building things out of family photos!
Unless noted, photos by the author
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