This simple box tunnel is easy to make and lots of fun to play with!
The next time you have a large box you need to make this easy box tunnel for your kids.
One bonus of never ending renovations is that there is a never ending supply of big boxes!
We’ve had quite a few big boxes lately and we’ve made a Lego town with one big flat box, but this time the box project was for the smallest member of our family.
Our youngest doesn’t say any useful words such as ‘Mamma’ or ‘drink’ but he can say ‘hiding’.
“Where’s Noey?” his siblings ask him constantly.
And his reply is always “Hiding!”
Even though he is quite obviously not hiding!
Clearly he needed somewhere to hide, and somewhere fun to try out his crawling skills, so we made him a box tunnel.
This easy to make cardboard box tunnel is a great indoor gross motor activity that is perfect for encouraging crawling. Crawling is a vital skills for children to master. It strengthens muscles, improves coordination, and prepares them for walking. It’s also important for cognitive and sensory development.
Read more information on crawling milestones and find more activities to support this important skill.
Kids of all ages will love crawling through the tunnel, or rolling cars in one side and out the other. Older kids might like to lie down and draw on the inside walls, or snuggle up and relax.
It’s great for encouraging some active play inside on a rainy day, and it also makes a great place to hide!
How to Make a Cardboard Box Tunnel for Kids
To make a box tunnel for your kids all you need is a large box or a big flat piece of cardboard.
If you are not getting any new appliances you can often get large appliance boxes from retail stores if you go and ask. Or put the word out on your local Facebook group and see if anyone in your neighborhood has gotten a new fridge lately.
You’ll also need something to cut and score the cardboard with, we used a box cutter, and some strong tape.
If you are starting with a box, split down one corner to make a large flat sheet of cardboard. Use the existing folds/corners and overlap two sides of the box together on the bottom to turn it from a box to a triangular tunnel. Tape up the bottom so it stays together and you are done.
If you are starting with a flat piece of cardboard, roughly divide the cardboard into thirds along it’s length and score along each line. I used the back of the box cutter to score my lines and you can use a ruler or another piece of cardboard to keep your lines straight, but they don’t need to be perfect. Fold along each of your scored lines and tape the edges together to make a long triangular tunnel.
Making the tunnel a triangle gives it some extra strength so it should last for a while, or until a big kid jumps on the top and squishes it!
Grab some markers or paints and add some decorations to the tunnel for some extra arty fun!
So the next time you come across a big box or a really large piece of cardboard, grab it so you can make your kids one of these simple but super fun cardboard box tunnels!
Beautiful photos! We love playing with boxes too. My older son had a d play house and a pentagon shaped cave. Unfortunately, we haven’t made any big purchases recently and my two year old, exactly the right age for a box, hasn’t had any yet.
Hi there Kate, I have been a lurker for way too long, love your blog very much! Just wanted to tell you!! :)
Love the box idea, my boys love doing this sort of stuff too!
Kate
Boxes are so much fun have you seen rolobox? They are reusable wheels that you can attach to any box. So cool.
Ahha! Excellent, I was just wondering what to do when hubby gets back from Ikea tomorrow and we unpack the contents of the cardboard boxes! My girl would love a tunnel for the half term holiday!
Adorable, my boys do the same thing, too cute. Who needs expensive toys when they can have so much fun with a box? I love the pics on the side of the tunnel. Fun.
This is an excellent post! The best toys are generally right under our noses. The tunnel looks like so much fun, and the photos just say it all. Have you read the post about “The 5 Best Toys” by Geek Dad? It is pretty funny. Box is number 2 on his list. :-)
Ha ha ha. Just look at the joy in that gorgeous face! Love this Kate! I’ll be featuring this as part of my baby play roundup this week. xo Pauline