I keep a supply of nuts and a container of Sunsweet Ones (individually wrapped prunes) on my desk for grazing throughout the day. I know how this sounds, and to give you a balanced picture, let it also be known that I have been on a quest for the perfect hot dog and hamburger for quite a few years now. I like to balance working out with pigging out.
Anyway, I recently finished off the last prune and found myself staring at the empty canister, wondering what I could use it for. It had definite potential to be repurposed for something else… Robot part? Shaker? Drumstick holder? All viable uses. What about a look and find tube? Bingo! It would make a perfect look and find tube! Really, you can use any plastic container that you wish, such as a soda bottle.
I consulted with my wife about dying rice for the filler, sine she had recently died pasta for another project. I used her technique and it worked out great.
The tube held two cups of rice with a little room to spare, so I divided that into five ziploc bags, adding about a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and about four drops of food coloring to each bag. Then I let my daughter shake them to her heart’s content. We spread out the rice on a foil lined pan and left it out to dry while we played outside in the snow.
Later that day, I looked around for tiny items to hide in te tube. I thought about putting little miniature people and animals in it, but I didn’t want to have run out and purchase anything since I had already made everything else from what was readily available. My list of found treasures is below. I mixed them with the rice and dumped it all into the tube, using super-glued to seal it. I’d also recommend some packing tape on the lid. This is one toy we do not want to break in the car!
- Saxophone lapel pin
- Pink Pez
- Blue M&M
- Brown M&M
- Mini green M&M
- Flintstone vitamin
- Chalk
- Pistachio
- Cocoa dusted almond
- Broken red crayon
- Goldfish cracker
- Red bead
- Pair of googly eyes
- Pencil eraser
- Black pen cap
- Red paperclip
- Washer
- Drywall screw
- Penny
- Nickel
- Dime
- Match stick
- Yellow paperclip
- Hair clip
- Large nut
- Small nut
- Dog treat
- Pushpin
- Pen spring
- Tiny yellow hair band
- Blue gem
- Toothpick
When my kids get board of finding item from this lists I’ll cut open the container, throw in some different tiny treasures, and seal it back up in a new container. You can also take a picture of all the items so your kids can know exactly what they are searching for (I wish I would have thought of the BEFORE I sealed the lid).
Secret Dad Society 
Are they just looking for the things thought the side of the tube? No dumping and sorting?
-M
Yup, through the side of the tube. The more you fill it to the brim with filler, the less things move around and the harder it is to find items. Experiment before you seal the lid.
I would suggest taking a picture of all the items (just one photo with everything laid out) before putting them into the tube so they know what they are looking for. If you kids are readers, then print out multiple checklists with all of the items and they can work on finding them in the car or at a restaurant. I’d love to hear about anyone else’s attempts with this. Thanks!
This the coolest toy. It’s endless fun. The trinkets inside continuously move in and out of view. You never know what’s going to show up next when you shake it. I’ve seen these in stores for quite a hefty price and they are not nearly as fun as the home made version filled with trinkets from around the house that the kids are familiar with. Super idea!