75 Best School Carnival Games
December 1, 2024
Looking for fun ideas for your next school carnival? Check out this list of fun games, activities, and ideas that you can use to make the carnival come alive for your students. We offer 75 of the best school carnival games that are affordable and easy to set up.
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75 Best School Carnival Games
1) Ring Toss
Set out a series of glass soda bottles and give kids three rings鈥攁nd three chances鈥攖o get their ring around the bottle for a prize.
2) Duck Pond
This cute carnival game puts your students in the action. Get a bunch of yellow bathtub ducks, and color the bottoms with different colored permanent markers or waterproof paint. The colors should coordinate to different prize levels: small, medium, large, etc. Get a small kiddie pool, fill it with water, and set the ducks out for a swim. The students choose a duck at random and see what prize they get!
3) Fishing Pond
Similar to the duck pond, the fishing pond involves using magnetic fish and rods to send students out to cast their lines. The fish they manage to hook corresponds to a prize level.
4) Knock Down the Cans
Paint a bunch of empty aluminum cans and fill them with something that weighs them down a bit, like dried beans or rocks. Close off the top, and then paint the cans fun colors. Stack up three or five, and have students stand at a distance and throw a ball or a bean bag at the cans. If they can knock them all down, they get a prize! If they knock down only one, they get to try again!
5) Three-legged race
Get participants to sign up for different time slots in pairs. Have students stand shoulder to shoulder with their partners, then gently tie their inside legs together with a ribbon or soft rope. Choose a starting and finish line, and see who crosses the finish line first?
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6) Sack race
Just like the three-legged race, this classic carnival game sets students out to race from the start to the finish line. This time, though, they step into flour sacks or old pillowcases and hop their way to victory!
7) Face painting
Set up a station for a teacher, parent, or other local artist to paint flowers, colors, rainbows, and animals on the students鈥 faces.
8) Balloon darts
Fill colorful balloons with either tickets, pieces of paper with prizes written on them, or small prizes or pieces of candy themselves. Blow up the balloons, tie them off, and attach them to a sturdy wall. Give students three dart tosses to try to pop a balloon. The one they pop is the prize they win!
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9) Prize wheel
Using a prize wheel , write in different prizes that students can win in the different segments. If you鈥檝e been planning for the carnival for a while, students can pay to spin with tickets they have earned throughout the year for things like selfless acts or kind deeds. How fun is that?
10) Whack-a-mole
Building your own Whack-a-mole is easy, especially if you鈥檝e got a good puppeteer to run it. Take a large cardboard box, cut some holes in one side, and paint the whole thing how you鈥檇 like. Then, make one or two sock puppet moles that you affix to sticks. The person running the game can pop the moles up in whatever spots they want to make the game easier or more challenging for the kids playing. Give them a wooden spoon or a spatula to whack the moles with and you鈥檙e good to go!
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11) Giant bowling
You can buy a giant bowling set online, for sure. Or you could blow up an extra-large beach ball and set up some papier mache pins and let the kids take it away!
12) Pi帽ata
Sure, a pi帽ata is commonly thought of at a fiesta, but why not the carnival, too? Hit the candy shop for a couple of colorful pi帽atas, fill them with prizes, blindfold the hitters, give them a spin, and see what happens!
13) Pin the tail on the donkey
This classic children鈥檚 birthday game can take any form at the carnival. Use your school mascot, or have the students nominate and vote for their favorite characters or superheroes. Pin the mask on Spiderman is a guaranteed good time.
14) Bounce house
This will involve a rental company and a few safety precautions, but if your carnival committee has the extra money to spend, why not splurge on the endless fun that is an inflatable bounce house? Local rental companies may offer discounts and setup/teardown services for local schools and organizations, as well.
15) Quarter toss
Set up a series of ceramic plates balanced on the tops of bowls or large glasses. You could put them simply on a table, but the elevation adds to the challenge. Students stand a distance away and launch quarters at the plates, trying to get them to stay put. If they can land a quarter without it flying off or rolling away, they win a prize! It鈥檚 harder than it looks.
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16) Cornhole
A backyard classic, someone at your school or organization might just have a cornhole set or two hanging out in their garage. They鈥檙e easy enough to build, too, if an enterprising woodworker in your circle has the extra time to make it happen. But the cornhole boards a fair distance away for your age group, and have students throw bean bags into the holes for three points. If they land on the board without going in the hole, that鈥檚 one point each! Don鈥檛 forget: cornhole is also a math game. If the other team scores on the same move, the points cancel one another out. Play to 11 or 21, depending on age and skill level.
17) Plinko
This classic game just needs a peg board set up with different 鈥渞outes鈥 that a plastic disc can make its way down. Set up different prizes or rewards at the bottom of the peg board. Where the discs fall out is the prize the player gets!
18) Skee-ball
Miniature versions of this are available for fairly low prices online.
19) Longshot basketball
This can be set up with a small plastic basketball hoop that you might already have on-hand. Set it up a fair distance away from the longshot line and see how many baskets students can make in a minute, two minutes, three minutes鈥攚hatever you like! Just make sure there are some folks on hand to run the basketballs back to the throwers when they miss.
20) Dunk tank
What school carnival is complete without the chance to dunk everyone鈥檚 favorite teacher or principal? They can be rented from local businesses.
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21) Jug toss
Fill some plastic jugs with dried beans or sand and set them up in a pyramid. Have kids launch bean bags at the jugs to see if they can knock over the full stack for a prize.
22) Treasure Hunt (in a sandbox)
The pirates in your school will love this. Fill a kiddie pool or sandbox with sand, and bury small 鈥渢reasure boxes鈥 filled with candy or small prizes in the sand. Give kids just a few minutes to dig for treasure鈥攁nd refill before the next pirate takes over!
23) Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn鈥檛 love a scavenger hunt? This classic game can be a fun diversion to set students on different paths during the carnival day. The scavenger hunt for a school could even involve trivia from the academic year or things you simply want the students to know about the school, such as the location of the library, nurse鈥檚 office, and music rooms.
24) Axe throwing
Another small investment for the carnival committee. These don鈥檛 use sharpened blades, but simulate the fun with plastic axes that lodge themselves between pins on the target.
25) Mini golf
This could be as simple as a little putting green for students to practice their skills to a more involved mini golf course that you build in a field near the school. Students could also help with the setup and brainstorm for fun ideas.
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26) Ping pong fish bowls
Set up a series of different sized fish bowls. The sizes should correlate to different prize levels. Kids try to throw their ping pong bowl into the smallest fish bowl they can for a prize.
27) Lollipop Pull
In this fun mini game, everyone is a winner. All you need is a bunch of lollipops and something to stick them in. Paint the ends of some of the lollipops with different colors that correlate to different prizes. Leave some lollipops 鈥渂lank.鈥 The shape of the holder can be whatever you want: cylinder, cone, flat surface, etc. Poke small holes in the cardboard and put the lollipop sticks through the holes. Even if the kids don鈥檛 pull a larger prize, they still win a lollipop!
28) Ladder bean bag toss
Set up a ladder with different prize levels on the different rungs of the ladder. Have students stand a certain distance away and launch bean bags through the ladder levels to see how big of a prize they can win.
29) Ladder toss yard game
This that you try to 鈥渉ook鈥 on the ladder after a toss. This is a great team game that can build camaraderie and fun competition.
30) Frisbee bottle toss
Set up two PVC pipes a good distance from one another (10 or 15 feet, depending). Place an empty glass soda bottle on top of each PVC pipe. Students stand at either end and throw the Frisbee at the other side鈥檚 soda bottle. The first one to knock the bottle off three times wins!
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31) Obstacle course
Fun no matter what, you can easily set up an obstacle course inside a school gym or outside in a playground or yard. The possibilities are endless!
32) Water gun race
A DIY water gun race could be set up a few different ways. You could have tiny boats in a tank of water that students have to shoot with a water gun until the boat crosses the finish line. Or you could set up a small container that they have to fill to the top before the rest of the contestants. What other great ideas can you come up with?
33) Guess how many items are in a jar
A simple staple makes your carnival that much better. Fill a large jar with marbles, pieces of candy, or coins, and have students guess how many of that item are in the jar. The closest without going over wins!
34) Hopscotch
This game is simple, but you can save space on the asphalt or sidewalk for students to get creative with drawing their own hopscotch courses.
35) Four square
Set up the four square court by drawing four squares out of chalk on asphalt or taping out four large squares on a gym floor. Students have to pass the ball by bouncing it in another person鈥檚 square. If it goes out of bounds, the student who couldn鈥檛 stop the ball is out. If the thrower launches the ball too far without hitting inside the square first, they go to the end of the line.
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36) Hula hoop toss
Set up a series of large objects like painted boxes or even large prizes. Kids throw hula hoops and try to hoop the largest prize they can!
37) Hula hoop contest
Use the same hula hoops to have a hula hooping contest. Who can get the hoop up on their hips the longest without letting it drop? They win!
38) Poke-your-head-through-the-hole photo opp
Large painted boards with the face cut out of funny characters make a great photo opportunity to be silly at the carnival.
39) Fun props and photo station
Set up a selfie or photo station in front of a colorful background with themed props for your carnival to make the memories last.
40) Ball in the bucket
Set up large buckets or even unused trash cans and have students throw a large ball into the buckets from far away.
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41) Football through the tire
Hang a tire or hula hoop from a tree or horizontal pole and have students attempt to toss a football through the ring from far away. Who鈥檚 got the most accurate arm?
42) Lollipop ring toss
Stand up a bunch of lollipops a bit of a distance from each other in a cardboard holder. Have students toss a small ring to see if they can snag a lollipop. If they can, they win that lollipop. You can also paint the ends and have them correspond to different prizes.
43) Balloon animal man
Hire a balloon man to make fun balloon animals for your carnival goers!
44) Kick darts
A fun way to play darts without the sharp objects: set up a large painted 鈥渄art board鈥 and have students kick a playground ball or soccer ball at the dart board to see how many points they can score. This kind of game is .
45) Rock climbing
This is a bit more involved, but some local businesses provide rock wall rentals that can add an extreme element to your carnival.
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46) Petting zoo
A little more lowkey, setting up a petting zoo with the help of a local farm can bring a lot of joy to the carnival.
47) Bubble station
Bubbles are a simple, underrated pleasure. Set up a station with lots of bubbles of various sizes. Your science teachers could even have a little lesson planned for how bubbles work, to add some learning to the day.
48) Balloon stand
Get a helium tank and fill colorful balloons up for your carnival goers.
49) Rainbow glitter hair braiding
Set up a station to into kids鈥 hair.
50) Sand art
A fun and unique craft, set up tables with colorful sand and funky glass bottles that kids can use to make sand art.
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51) Used book swap
This is a great idea to help promote literacy: have students bring in the books they no longer want to read and swap them in a big book swap.
52) Beading station
A beading station can let your craftier students take time to bead bracelets, lizards, keychains, or whatever they can dream up.
53) Caricature artist
Hire a fun local caricature artist and get your students picturing themselves in a different way!
54) Slime station
This is a great science experiment and activity in one. Using corn starch, water, and food coloring, have students build their own slime. They know they have the right consistency when they can form a solid ball in their hands鈥攂ut if they break it apart, it will turn to goo.
55) Popcorn
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56) Cotton candy
57) Hot dog cart
58) Penny candy
59) Lemonade stand
60) Churro stand
61) Roasted corn
62) Fruit skewers
Who doesn鈥檛 love carnival snacks? Popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, penny candy, roasted corn, and all the rest can keep hungry kiddos satisfied during a long day of fun.
63) Bobbing for apples
Perfect for a fall-themed carnival, place apples in a plastic tub of water and have students try to pick up the apple using only their teeth. Best on a sunny day!
64) Apple on a string
A fun play on bobbing for apples, tie apples to a string and have kids try to eat the apple off the string without using their hands. The first one done, wins!
65) Caramel apples
This can be a make-your-own caramel apple station, or, for less mess, a sweet and sticky handout.
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66) Chalk drawing contest
Calling all artists! Who can draw the most unique chalk drawing? Have judges pick the winner!
67) Leap frog
Always fun, set up teams of students to race while leaping over the back of the person in front of them, who waits in a crouched position for their turn to leap.
68) Giant tic-tac-toe
This is another fun investment for your annual carnival. !
69) Giant checkers
This is something you could make on a gym floor or in a parking lot, or you can pick up .
70) Tire swing
If you鈥檝e got nature on your side, setting up a simple鈥攂ut safe鈥攖ire swing can add a relaxing and fun element to the day.
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71) Egg drop challenge
Break students into teams and give each one an egg and a bunch of crafting supplies. They have to build a container that will keep their egg safe and free from cracking
72) Egg spoon race
Give each participant a spoon, and balance an egg on the spoon. Then, have the students run to the other side of the room or playground without dropping their egg. If it falls without breaking, they can get back into the race, but if it breaks, they鈥檙e out. Who can go the farthest the fastest without breaking the egg?
73) Paper plane challenge
Set up a station with colorful paper. Let participants make their own paper plane design. See whose design can fly the farthest!
74) Long jump contest
Set up a jumping station in the grass and see who can jump the farthest. Give participants space to run before taking off!
75) High jump contest
Last but not least, this fun contest can help participants practice jumping while also spreading some fun competition. Mark their high jump on a wall with chalk to see who wins!
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