Noah's Ark Games for Kids

Further immerse children into the story of Noah’s Ark by playing themed games. These games involve various aspects of the biblical story. Playing the games can help a kid remember the story. For example, matching two of the same animal cards together reminds the kids that Noah had two of each animal aboard the ark. Use the games in Bible schools, classrooms or at home. They work most effectively with younger children.

Turn the “two-by-two” theme from Noah’s Ark into matching games. Make prints of each pair of animals for the child to match. To make a more complicated matching game, use several pairs of the same animal, but give each pair a different feature. The kids have to match the characteristics of the animals. For example, make four pairs of giraffe cards. Give one pair large, circular spots, another rectangular spots, another stripes and the last a white or tan face.

With all the different types of animals aboard Noah’s Ark, there would have been a lot of noise. Place a picture of several different animals into a container or toy ark. Players have to act out the animal they pick. For example, if a child chooses the elephant, he could walk on all fours, sometimes use his arm as a trunk and make elephant noises. You could also have the kids act out the animals silently. The kids not acting out the animal have to guess what animal the player acts out.

Play words games regarding Noah’s Ark. Types of games include listing items and unscrambling words. For example, one person says that Noah brought along two frogs on his ark. The next person says he brought two frogs and two lions. The next person says the items before, and then adds their own. Continue until everyone had a turn, and then ask someone to say the entire list of animals. To play a Noah's Ark word scramble, mix up a list of 15-20 words that have to do with Noah's Ark (examples: ark, two, elephants, flood). Write out the list of mixed-up words on a board. Give each child a piece of paper. The children try to unscramble the words. Give the kids a 10 minute time limit to figure out the words. Each child works on the list by himself. Whoever unscrambles the most words correctly wins.

Adapt various party games to a Noah’s Ark theme. These Pin the Tail on the Donkey, relay races and a ring toss. To set up a Noah’s Ark relay race, split the kids into groups. Each member of the group has to act out like a certain animal from a pre-made list, going one at a time. The team that finishes acting out all the animals first wins. You can adapt other games by swapping out parts to fit the theme. For example, have the kids toss a ring around different toy animals.