Ben Franklin Games for Kids

Bifocal Glasses

• Benjamin Franklin is credited with inventing the bifocal glasses. Bifocal glasses help people who are both nearsighted and farsighted. Let your child play a version of pin the tail on the donkey to help her remember Franklin's invention. Print a large picture of Benjamin Franklin and place it on a wall. Print several pictures of bifocal glasses. Ensure the glasses are large enough to fit on Franklin's picture. Blindfold your child, spin her around and let her make her best attempt to properly place Franklin's bifocals on his face. Continue playing until she is able to get the glasses on the face in the proper place.

Fire Department

• Benjamin Franklin expressed a need for fire protection in the community and started the first fire company in America. Let your child play a game to pretend he is a real firefighter and protect the community like Franklin intended. Paint a large box red. Let it dry. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the box. Place clothespins on the side for handles. Have your child step inside and hold the handles. Place several dolls in the middle of the floor. Play music. Let him ride around like a firefighter. Explain to him that every time the music stops he must run to the pile of dolls like he is rescuing people.

Electricity

• From his extensive work with electricity, Benjamin Franklin was the first to determine that there are two types of electricity -- positive and negative. A simple balloon can be used in a game to introduce your child to Franklin's conclusion. Pick a day when the weather is dry. Have your child rub an inflated balloon on her hair, creating static electricity. It will give the balloon a slight negative charge and remove some electrons from her hair. Have her place the balloon against a wall. It will stick to the wall. Explain that the negative charges in the balloon will re-orient the atoms of the wall, allowing it to stick. The weak electrical force will hold the balloon in place.

Pennies

• Along with being an inventor, Benjamin Franklin was an almanac and newspaper writer. His almanac contained many memorable sayings such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Your child and a friend can participate in a "save the penny" relay as a reminder of Franklin's popular quote. Create a start and finish line. Place two buckets at the finish line and have the children stand at the starting line. Have the children place a penny on one of their feet. On the word "Go," the each child must walk to the finish line and use his foot to place the penny into the bucket, then run back to start. The first kid who gets back to starting line wins the game.