Play Ideas with LEGO DUPLO Bricks

My 3 and 5 year olds have been obsessed with LEGO DUPLO bricks lately, so we thought it would be fun to share a few simple play ideas! Build a camera, a chain reaction with a DUPLO car, and a fun golf game with a ping pong ball and a straw.

This post is not sponsored by LEGO, but they did send me some DUPLO sets so that we could put together activities to share.

All of these ideas are demonstrated in the video below, and then there are photos that will show you the bricks we used.

Build a Camera

This project was Jonathan’s idea, and I modified his design just slightly. Such a fun idea! Build a camera with a hole to use as a viewfinder. Both kids had so much fun pretending to take pictures with their cameras.

Build a Chain Reaction

One of the reasons that we have always loved LEGO is that there is so much learning inherent to this toy. The gears in some of the new DUPLO sets are really neat!

We built a simple chain reaction with a car, a ramp, and some dominoes made out of DUPLO bricks.

Turn the gears to push the car down the ramp. The gears don’t attach to the bricks – they just sit on top and turn freely. So when we added the long blue brick, it made the gear tip. We added three square bricks to provide enough weight to balance the gear again. Younger preschoolers might need a little help figuring this out, but try suggesting the arm to push the car and see if they figure it out! STEM learning in action.

The car rolls bumpety bump down the ramp and knocks down the dominoes! Boost up the bottom of the ramp by putting one brick under it. This way the car will hit the center of the dominoes. If the car hits the bottom of the dominoes, they will just slide across the table instead of falling over.

Straw Golf

Build some simple arches, and challenge your preschooler to blow a ping pong ball through the arches with a straw. This game was perfect for Janie’s developmental level. Challenging, but not frustrating, and she was so happy when she got the ball in!

Recommended Sets:

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Here are some of our favorite DUPLO sets.

The LEGO DUPLO All-in-One-Box-of-Fun is a great way to get started with DUPLO bricks!

Also check out the LEGO DUPLO Town Square and the LEGO DUPLO My Town Family House. My kids love all the little house accessories! So fun.