13 Days of Halloween: Touch and Feel Mystery Boxes

Mystery boxes can add to the Halloween fun. Students reach inside a box through a hole and feel what's inside. You can label the contents as a spooky Halloween item, and the students try to guess what it really is.


Making the Boxes

You can do this in many different ways.  Shoe boxes with holes are popular.  Some will do paper bags, but they get crinkled if there are a lot of people exploring.  You want it set up so the kids can not see what is inside.  I usually line the boxes with aluminum foil in case the items our wet and gooey to avoid leaks.

Add labels with What the item is supposed to be, not what it actually is.

Items to Put in the Boxes
I try to pick items that take less prep but still have a big effect.

  • Mouse Poop = Bowl of Uncooked Rice
  • Eyeballs = Peeled Grapes
  • Teeth = Candy Corn or Corn Seeds
  • Hearts = Canned Whole Tomatoes
  • Worms= Cooked Spaghetti with a little oil to make them
  • Tongue = Dried Apricots  (This one is great!)
  • Witches Warts = Raisins
  • Ears = Dried Apple Slices
  • Fingers = Baby carrots
  • Intestines = Cooked Twisty Shaped Pasta
Lemon Squeezy Home Blog explains it so well.  I like that it shows using a copy paper box.  Schools are full of those.
 
Make it a Classroom Science Lesson.

We like to take this up a notch and bring some more science skills into it.  Through my years of teaching, I have found that taking observations is difficult for students.  It takes practice to learn how to write an observation instead of an opinion.  

An observation is using the 5 sciences to describe something, and an opinion is what you think of something.  Touch and Feel Mystery Boxes are a great way to practice this.

Directions

Have students take a sheet of paper and divide it in half.  On the left, write "Observations," and on the right, write "Opinion."  Students put their hands in the first mystery box.  They must write several observations and several opinions. 

Example

In example number 1, the observations and opinions were for eyeballs.  There were peeled grapes in the box.  Observations use the five senses.  It was slimy.  It is cold.  Opinions tell what you think.  It is gross.  Why is it gross?  Because it is slimy, squishy, and cold.

Number 2 shows observations and opinions about mouse poop.  Rice was in the box.  They can not see the item, but they can draw a picture based on what they feel.  Observations would be that it is tiny and feels rough.  An opinion might be; that I am happy it is not slimy.  I like that it feels rough.
     
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