Do you have a Super Mario Bros. fan at home? If so, they will love this Super Mario sensory play table. I remember getting the first Nintendo game system when I was a little girl (that was a long time ago lol). I can still hear the theme song in my head. It’s definitely an earworm!

I really enjoyed creating this sensory bin, especially since my son and nephew helped me to design it. An added bonus was that it cost me less than $5 to create this activity. Granted, I did have to put in a little time and elbow grease to prep everything.

SUPPLIES FOR MARIO SENSORY PLAY BIN

Pasta (I used ditalini)

Wood Stars

Wood Mushrooms

Coins

Wood Blocks

Paper Towel and Toilet Paper Rolls

Paint and Paintbrush

Super Mario Figurines

Container or Sensory Table

Just a reminder to use your judgment on what items are age appropriate for your child. Some of these items may be choking hazards.

I purchased the coins, wood stars, and wood mushrooms from my local Dollar Tree store. The wood stars and mushrooms came as natural raw wood. I already had the wood blocks and Mario figurine.

For this Mario sensory play activity, I used the FLISAT table and TROFAST bins from IKEA. However, you can use any container that you may already have on hand.

INSTRUCTIONS

I will warn you that there is some prep for this Super Mario sensory play activity. Since I was trying to stay on a budget, I painted everything myself.

1. Begin by painting the paper towel and toilet paper rolls green. These will be the tunnels from the game.

2. Next, paint the wooden stars a bright yellow. After they are dry, add eyes to one side. Do these look familiar to you?

3. Then, paint the mushrooms white with red tops. I added white dots to the tops of the mushrooms. These will be the mushrooms that make Mario grow.

4. Gather some wood blocks to use for building. I received these wood blocks at my baby shower. Everyone who attended decorated them. I selected the most plain ones to use for this sensory bin.

5. Assemble all of the loose parts including some gold coins. I like to use a bin like this and small plastic bowls.

6. Now it is time to paint the pasta. I feel like pasta was the perfect choice for a Mario sensory play bin. I used ditalini noodles.

To color the pasta, add the noodles to a plastic ziplock bag. Then, add the desired paint color. You do not need to use a lot of paint, just a squirt or two. Next, seal the bag and mix the pasta with the paint. After they are completely coated, lay them out to dry on a piece of parchment paper.

7. Assemble your sensory bin. I made an “M” for Mario out of the red pasta and then filled in with the blue pasta and remaining red. If you do not want to do this, you can either use a single color for the pasta or mix the two colors.

INVITATION TO PLAY

I assembled the Super Mario sensory play table while my son was at school. Ben was so excited to see it when he got home. He said, “I’m so happy that you made this for me!” He got right to work playing with it. Of course, the first thing that he did was mix the pasta up.

He built a tower out of blocks for Mario to climb. At the top were gold coins for Mario to collect.

The green tunnels were a big hit. He loved putting everything through the tunnels.

I will have to say that I think that this Super Mario sensory play table was a big hit. I will leave it up throughout the week for Ben to play with.

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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child’s parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child’s pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.