How to Make a Leprechaun Trap

Every year leprechauns spread chaos and leave small green footprints in classrooms and kitchens everywhere! Well, enough is enough! We decided that we needed to create a leprechaun trap to catch the one that visits our house. I thought I would walk you through the steps we went through to create our  trap so, you can create a trap to try to catch the leprechauns that visit you.

Steps for Creating a Leprechaun Trap

Planning

Taking the time to plan just what your leprechaun trap will look like is key. You can have your children draw out a plan on paper. It really doesn’t matter which of these two ways you select. The steps you will need to use to plan will be the same either way.

1. Look over the materials you have to create the trap with. A box or crate is a great base for your trap.
2. Think over what simple machines you could use in your trap. (pulley, screw, lever, inclined plane, wedge, or wheel and axle) Simple machines can really help the actions in a trap move easily.
3. Decide if you want to trap your leprechaun under something or move him off the ground the way we did with our trap.
4. Figure out what you will use to get a leprechaun’s attention and draw him or her into the trap.

Draw Your Trap on Paper

After visualizing your trap on paper, it is important to draw it. We like to draw planned creations in pencil. The pencil is easy to erase! Sometimes plans change as they are drawn. It is really nice to be able to make changes to a drawing and not feel that you have to start again on another piece of paper.

Make a List of the Supplies You Need

It is important to make a list of all the supplies you need to make your trap. Having everything you need ready to go will insure that you won’t have to revise your plan.  After looking at the supplies you have on hand, you may decide you have to buy a few items on your list. We try to create with what we have on hand. If we don’t have something, we often revise plans and use a different creation supply.

Build Your Trap

Now you are ready to dig and start building.  You have your supplies ready and your plan is done. We started our trip several days before St. Patrick’s Day to make sure we had plenty of time. You may decide to make this a St. Patrick’s Day Eve activity!

Wonderful Leprechaun Traps Created By Others

Playing with Words Leprechaun Trap

Fun-A-Day’s LEGO Leprechaun Trap

Brain Power Boy’s LEGO Leprechaun Trap

Kids Activities Blog Leprechaun Trap

Coffee Cups and Crayons Leprechaun Trap

Here are some other St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids

{Printable} Roll and Color St. Patrick’s Day Pages

Creating a Snack with Leprechaun Magic Dust

Creating a Rainbow Place Mat

Rainbow Magazine Collage

{Printable} Gold Coin Counting Mats

If  you create a leprechaun trap, please leave me a comment below telling me about it  or share a picture of it on my Facebook page.