30+ Train Activities For Children From Toy Trains to Track Adventures

A thrilling train journey through jungles and rocky mountains is the best way to describe my journey of parenthood. 

Parenthood is filled with silly tantrums, meltdowns, and also laughter and utter joy. The world we are living in can be unsettling at times, and our job as parents isn’t to mollycoddle our kids but to prepare them for the challenges in front of them. 

Be honest with your kids, educate them about the world, and foster their creativity by engaging their brains in different types of activities.

Interesting Train Activities For Kids

Parenthood can be a rewarding experience for us parents when we work with our children rather than against them. When our kids are young, they are dependent on us for everything. This is a crucial stage in our child’s social and mental development. 

One of the ways in which we can support this development is by engaging our kids in arts and crafts, science experiments, and meal preps. 

While these activities can lead to a lot of mess, they play an important role in helping our children become well-rounded individuals. Hopefully, your kids will have a good time participating in these activities. 

Egg Carton Train Craft 

Make this adorable traincraft with a used egg 🥚 carton. 

What you need- 

An egg carton, empty cardboard tubes, scissors ✂️, paint, glue, single hole punch, black construction paper, and a long ribbon. 

Steps- 

• Cut the egg carton cups into a pair of twos. 
• Ask your child to paint the egg 🥚 carton cups and one empty cardboard tube in their favorite color. 
• While the paint is drying, make several wheels from the black construction paper. 
• Cut one of the egg carton cup pairs in half. Discard one and paste the other on top of the empty cardboard tube, with the open side facing outwards. 
• Paste two wheels on either side of the tube and make two holes on one of the open sides of the tube. Cut two pieces of ribbon and tie them around each hole. 
• Similarly, make two holes in the front and back of the egg 🥚carton cups. Tie the other ends of the two ribbons through these holes. Repeat the process until a train 🚂of egg cartons is achieved. 
• Paste two wheels on the bottom of the cups as well. Your egg carton train craft is complete. 

Design a Train Themed Crossword 

If your child prides themselves on their knowledge of trains 🚂, then they’d be super excited to have their knowledge tested with a crossword puzzle. You can design a crossword puzzle that fits your child’s aptitude and knowledge. 

For instance, you can test your child’s knowledge about different types of trains 🚂, speeds, history, and countries of origin. 

Trains in Ice 

My children loved this science experiment with a toy at the end. 

What you need- 

Tiny plastic trains 🚂 and water. 

Steps- 

• In a large ice tray, freeze 4 to 5 plastic trains 🚂in water. 
• Remove the ice cubes from the tray and present them to your children. 
• The challenge is whoever melts the ice fastest gets to keep the toy inside. Your children must look for ways to melt the ice instead of simply smashing the cubes against the ground. 

My children came up with several ideas, like holding it in their hands, sitting on the ice cube, pouring hot water over the ice, and finally sprinkling salt over the ice cubes. We had previously conducted a similar exercise where I showed my kids that sprinkling salt over water causes ice to melt.   

Make a Box Train 

Ever since I was a kid, my house was full of empty cardboard boxes after Christmas. This year, I decided to have a bit of fun with the cardboard boxes by making a train 🚂 for my toddler. 

What you need- 

Cardboard boxes, thread, punch, and a marker 🖋️. 

Steps- 

• Ask your child to decorate the cardboard boxes in any way they like with the marker 🖋️. 
• In the meantime, you start connecting each cardboard box with each other until a train 🚂is created. 
• Leave some thread in the first train compartment for your child to pull on. 

My toddler loved opening the boxes and filling them with her favorite toys. 

Train Track Pool Noodle Craft 

Help your child make a train 🚂 track with a pool noodle. 

What you need- 

Pool Noodle, paper play mat, paint, and a paper plate. 

Steps- 

• Lay down the paper play mat on your work surface. Use paperweights to lay it down flat. 
• Cut a 6-inch piece from the pool noodles and a 3-inch piece from the pool noodles. Cut these pieces in half, lengthwise. 
• On a paper plate, squirt a lot of black paint. 
• Now, ask your child to submerge the 6-inch long half of the pool noodle in black paint and then use it as a stamp to make the train 🚂 tracks. 
• Once they have completely laid down the foundation of the train tracks, use the 3-inch long pool noodle to make horizontal lines along the train tracks. 
• They can use kitchen sponges or even cut pool noodles to make houses, trees, and cars to decorate the surroundings of the train tracks. 
• Once the paint has finished drying, your child can play on the play mat with their toy trains 🚂.  

Thomas The Tank Engine Pumpkin 

When my son was an infant, he loved Thomas the Tank Engine because of its distinct animation style. So, I decided to make a Thomas The Tank Engine-Themed Pumpkin for his first Halloween. 

What you need- 

A carving pumpkin, acrylic paint, construction paper, an empty toilet paper roll, googly eyes, and cotton. 

Steps- 

• Paint the entire pumpkin blue. 
• While the paint on the pumpkin is still drying, draw a circle with black paint on white construction paper. 
• Paste two googly eyes and draw the rest of Thomas the Tank Engine’s face. Paste the construction paper on the pumpkin. 
• Paint the empty toilet paper roll completely black. 
• Put a piece of cotton inside the toilet paper so that it looks like steam is leaving the engine. 
• Glue the toilet paper roll on top of the pumpkin, and the pumpkin is ready.  

Dinosaur Train-Themed Cake 

Dinosaur Train is a wonderful children’s program set in a prehistoric world of jungles, which is connected by a train 🚂 line called the Dinosaur Train. The show combined my son’s two obsessions: trains and dinosaurs. So, for his birthday, I decided to make this cake. 

What you need- 

Silicone cupcake mold in the shape of a train 🚂, dinosaur-shaped candy (preferably Haribo), chocolate cake mix, M&M’s, vanilla frosting, and Nutella. 

Steps- 

• Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to the instructions on the box and pour it into the silicone cupcake molds (You need at least six to seven cupcakes). Bake in the oven and let it cool down before frosting. 
• Mix half a jar of Nutella with the vanilla frosting and cover the train-shaped cupcakes completely. 
• Place the dinosaur-shaped candy on top of the train-shaped cupcakes. 
• Use the M&M’s to make the wheels of the train 🚂. 
• Assemble the cupcakes on a large serving tray before serving. 

Take Your Kids on an Excursion to Northlandz, New Jersey 

I came upon Northlandz by accident, and it was worth it. Northlandz is the perfect place to take your children if they are fascinated by trains 🚂 since there are many attractions and activities for the kids. 

Northlandz has a large variety of model train sets that children can explore, along with miniature models of metropolitan cities and their train 🚂systems. 

At Northlandz, children can learn about the history of trains, make their own train sets, and engage in other train-themed arts projects. They can also go on an enchanting train 🚂 ride around the theme park. 

For me, the best activity was a build-your-own-train model with sustainable resources. This activity aimed to teach our children about recycling and promote resourcefulness. 

Pretend Snow Train Sensory Play 

Sensory playtime is a safe and relaxing way to introduce your child to new textures, sensations, and sounds. A good sensory play box can stimulate your child for hours and give you some time to relax. 

What you need- 

Baking soda, water, a shallow plastic container, and toy trains 🚂. 

Steps- 

• Add a pound of baking soda to the shallow plastic container to make fake snow. 
• Add water, one tablespoon at a time, to the baking soda and mix with a form until a light and powdery consistency is achieved. 
• Now, place the trains 🚂 inside the plastic container and let your child’s imagination take over. 

Finish a Train-Themed Lego Set 

Assembling a Lego Set can benefit your children’s development in many ways. Following the instructions, finding the pieces, and assembling a set can improve your child’s coordination, spatial awareness, problem-solving skills, and patience. 

It also gives them a sense of accomplishment and makes them feel comfortable sharing their toys. Both my children love Legos, so last Christmas, I got them a train-themed Lego set, which they were able to build after several tries but without any help. 

Hidden Train Bath Bombs 

Make bath time more fun with this cute bath bomb. 

What you need- 

Baking soda, citric acid, food dye, essential oil, silicone molds, and tiny toy plastic trains 🚂. 

Steps- 

• Sift one cup of baking soda and half a cup of citric acid in a large mixing bowl. 
• Add a few drops of essential oil to the mixing bowl. 
• Fill a small glass of water and mix a few drops of food dye in it. 
• Pour the water into the mixing bowl with the baking soda. Mix well until everything clumps together. 
• Pour half of this clumped mixture into each cup in a silicone mold. 
• Place a toy train 🚂in the middle of each cup and cover the train with the remaining mixture. Press down slightly and let the bath bombs set overnight in a cool and dry place. 

When it’s bath time, place the bath bomb in the warm water to let the reaction take place. 

Graham Cracker Cookie Train 

This cookie train 🚂 is a great snack to make with your children. 

What you need- 

Nilla Wafers, Graham Crackers, Blue and White Frosting, Oreo cookies, and candies. 

Steps- 

• To make the train cars, assemble five similarly sized Graham Cracker cookies into an open box with the white frosting. 
• Repeat the process to make three to four train 🚂 cars depending upon the number of people eating this snack. 
• Use the vanilla frosting to glue four Oreo cookies on each train compartment. 
• Make the train’s front car by assembling the Graham Crackers into a large box. Glue four Oreo cookies to the bottom of the front car. 
• Make a pile of Nilla wafers with white frosting and paste it on top of the front car. 
• Fill the train compartments with blue frosting and place a layer of different candy on top of each compartment. Assemble the train 🚂on a serving sheet and serve during a party.  

Glow in the Dark Train Set 

My daughter spent hours decorating her train 🚂 set and was mesmerized by the glow-in-the-dark aspect. 

What you need- 

A wooden train set and non-toxic glow-in-the-dark paint. 

Steps- 

• Let your child paint the wooden train 🚂 and tracks with the glow-in-the-dark paint. 
• Apply at least two or more coats of paint on the wooden tracks for maximum effect. 
• I have also noticed that you can use a blacklight to enhance the glow-in-the-dark paint. 

Beach Train Track Exercise 

Ask your child to collect items from the beach which they can use to make a train 🚂track. This exercise is a great way to challenge your kids’ creativity. 

Alphabet Train for Preschoolers 

Help your preschooler learn the alphabet with this adorable alphabet train 🚂craft. 

What you need- 

Punch hole, thread, construction paper, scissors ✂️, and markers. 

Steps- 

• On a blank construction paper, draw a template of a train compartment with two windows (for the uppercase and lowercase letters). 
• Help your child draw 26 replicas of this template for each letter. Cut with scissors ✂️. 
• Instruct them to write one letter (in uppercase and lowercase) in each train 🚂 compartment. Place these cards in alphabetical order. 
• One by one, make two holes in each train compartment. The holes should be made in a straight line and should be at opposite ends of the compartment. 
• Use small pieces of thread or zip ties to connect the train 🚂compartments to one another in alphabetical order. 

Electromagnetic Train Science Experiment for Elementary School Children 

This experiment is a great way to teach your children the science behind electric trains 🚂. 

What you need- 

Neodymium magnets, wire cutters, AAA batteries, and copper wire. 

Steps- 

• Start wrapping the copper wire around a AAA battery to make the train track. Continue to coil the copper wire until you have made a long track. 
• Place four pieces of magnet on each end of a AAA battery. Make sure that the magnets are placed with the poles facing the opposite directions. This is your train 🚂. 
• Now, place the train inside the track. You’ll notice that the battery is moving forward because of an electric current. 
• You created an electric current by placing a permanent magnet inside the copper coil, which created a magnetic field between the copper wire and the train’s body. 

Peanut Butter and Jam Fruit Train Snack 

This train-inspired snack is a great way to motivate your child to eat their fruits and veggies. 

What you need- 

Bread, jam, peanut butter, banana, strawberry, and baby carrots. 

Steps- 

• Make two regular peanut butter and jam sandwiches. 
• To make the wheels of the train 🚂, cut the banana into round slices. 
• To make the train tracks, slice the baby carrots in half. 
• On a plate, place the two sandwiches together. Place two banana slices under each sandwich, and the banana slices place the halved carrots. 
• Place a piece of banana on top of the first train 🚂 compartment as the chimney and decorate it with slices of strawberries. The sandwich is ready to be served.  

Tissue Train Box For Toys 

Most parents can possibly agree that we go through many boxes of paper tissues. So, when our family went through four boxes of tissue boxes in a single week, I came up with this idea. 

What you need- 

Empty disposable tissue boxes, paint (optional), construction paper, scissors ✂️, and glue. 

Steps- 

• Ask your child to paint the tissue boxes in their favorite colors. Each tissue box has a separate compartment, so they can decorate it as they please. 
• While the paint is drying, draw four wheels for each tissue box. We had four boxes, so we drew 16 wheels in total. Cut them with scissors ✂️. 
• Paste four wheels on each compartment. 
• Now, assemble the train 🚂by pasting each tissue box to each other. Your tissue train box is ready. 

Color Sorting Game With Toy Trains 

This game is a great way to strengthen your child’s color-sorting abilities. It will also strengthen their observational skills and their fine motor skills. 

What you need- 

Multi-colored toy trains 🚂 and multi-colored sheets of construction paper. 

Steps- 

• Place all of the toy trains in a box. 
• Assemble the multi-colored sheets of construction paper on the floor. 
• Ask your child to pick one train 🚂out of the box and place it on the same colored construction paper. 
• Repeat the process until all of the trains have been sorted. 

I also asked my child to say the color of the train 🚂out loud before placing it on the construction paper. 

Train Cupcakes 

This cupcake train 🚂will be a hit at any children’s party. 

What you need- 

Cupcake mix, cupcake tin, cupcake liners, different types of candies, and frosting. 

Steps- 

• Follow the instructions on the back of the cupcake mix box and bake the cupcakes 🧁. 
• After the cupcakes have finished baking, let them cool down completely. 
• Pipe the frosting of your choice on the cupcakes and decorate each cupcake with a different candy. 
• Serve on a large tray with each cupcake 🧁 behind each other. 

Rainbow Train 

This activity is perfect for toddlers who are working on their color recognition skills. 

What you need- 

Construction paper, watercolors, and a pencil. 

Steps- 

• Help your child draw a train 🚂 with eight compartments. 
• Now, assist them in painting each compartment in the order of ‘VIBGYOR’ 🌈or ‘ROYGBIV.’ 
• You can even ask your child to write the color under each compartment. 

Cardboard Box Tunnel 

Help your child make a box tunnel for their train 🚂track. 

What you need- 

A cardboard box, scissors ✂️, and a marker. 

Steps- 

• Remove all of the lids from the cardboard box. 
• Draw four tunnelways on each side of the cardboard box, where the lid used to be. 
• Cut them with scissors ✂️. 
• Let your child decorate them as they like. 
• Assemble the train 🚂tracks in such a way that it goes through two tunnelways. 

Visit a Train Museum 

If you enjoy visiting Scotland or England during summer break, I highly recommend visiting a train 🚂museum, from which there are many to choose from. 

On our vacation to England, I took my kids to the National Railway Museum, where we got to learn about the Flying Scotsman, a locomotive that made travel super easy in Britain and its many colonies. 

We got to learn about how the train functioned and how the train paved the way for rail travel in the future. If your child is into trains, take them to any train 🚂 museum, as many worldwide are worth the visit. 

Candy Trains 

Make your child’s train-themed birthday party epic with this candy train 🚂dessert. 

What you need- 

Milk chocolate chips, Smarties, small Milky Way chocolate bars, Pascall Licorice Allsorts, and Bear-shaped candies. 

Steps- 

• Melt some chocolate 🍫chips in a microwave. 
• The Milky Way chocolate bars are the train’s compartments. Use the melted chocolate to glue 2 Smarties on the opposite sides of the Milky Way Bar for the wheels 🛞. 
• Cut the Licorice Allsorts into half to make the chimney and glue them on top of the Milky Way bar. 
• Glue the Bear-shaped 🐻 candies in front of the chimney. Repeat the process. 

Paint With Trains 

Make paint time fun for your kids by using the wheels of the train 🚂to paint. Simply ask your child to dip the wheels of the train in paint and then run the toy train across a blank page. Repeat the process with other paint 🎨 colors. 

Name Train Activity for Toddlers 

The first word that most parents teach their children to spell is their child’s full name. This adorable craft is a great way to incorporate learning with the arts. 

What you need- 

A construction paper, markers 🖋️, and crayons. 

Steps- 

• Help your child draw a train 🚂with enough train compartments in it to write their first name. 
• Instruct your child to decorate the train and the train 🚂tracks. 
• Now, to spell their name, they must write each letter in their name in the available compartments. 

Counting With Trains 

This maths exercise will improve your child’s counting and number recognition skills. 

What you need- 

Trains 🚂and a whiteboard. 

Steps-

• Line up a number of trains in a line and ask your child to count the number of compartments out loud. 
• Now, write a number on the whiteboard and ask your child to add or subtract the number of compartments from the train 🚂to get that number. 
• You can also ask them to build two trains with different numbers of compartments. 

Pro Tip- 

You can also do this exercise by drawing on your sidewalk with chalk. 

Bond Over a Train-Themed Jigsaw Puzzle 

Did you know that solving jigsaw 🧩puzzles is incredibly beneficial for your toddlers and children in general? It is true! 

Research indicates that solving jigsaw puzzles gives children a sense of accomplishment, improves their self-esteem, and builds confidence in their abilities. 

It strengthens hand and eye coordination and even plays a big role in their fine motor development. Recently, my children and I spent three evenings trying to finish a 500-piece train-themed jigsaw 🧩 puzzle. 

Read Books About Trains 

Trains 🚂happen to be a prevalent setting for many children’s books. I have read many books to my children, which also featured an anthropomorphized version of trains 🚂. 

Some of my children’s favorite books are Steam Train, Dream Train by Sherri Duskey Rinker, Look Inside Trains by Alex Frith, and Trains Coming Through!: My First Book of Trains by Stephanie Morgan, Danger at Dead Man’s Pass by M. G. Leonard, and I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910 by Lauren Tarshis. 

Make a Cardboard Train Set 

If you are on a budget and can’t afford to get your child an expensive train 🚂 set, then help them build their own train set using cardboard boxes and empty toilet paper rolls. 

My son, who is in elementary school, helped my daughter make her very own train set. They built a tiny town around the train 🚂 track and used old or empty items for them, along with felt fabric, cotton, and other arts and crafts supplies. 

Practice Letter Formation with a Wooden Train Set 

Help your child assemble the train 🚂tracks so that it forms the letters in the alphabet. We started by making an uppercase and lowercase A. 

Now, instruct your child to use a toy train 🚂to follow the tracks. Repeat the process with other letters and even numbers. 

Activities like this are beneficial for your children not only because they will teach them how to identify letters but also to write them. It will also strengthen their coordination and fine motor skills, 

Train Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Include your children in baking with this super easy chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

What you need- 

Unsalted butter, brown sugar, egg 🥚, vanilla extract, self-raising flour, chocolate chips, and a train-shaped cookie cutter. 

Steps- 

• Cream 100 grams of softened unsalted butter with 150 grams of brown sugar in a mixing bowl with a whisk. Mix until the mixture has a light and fluffy texture. 
• Add one large egg 🥚 to the creamed butter, sugar, and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and salt. 
• Mix everything with a spatula or a wooden spoon until the egg is well incorporated. 
• Follow the egg 🥚 with 200 grams of self-raising flour and 100 grams of chocolate chips. 
• Mix properly to avoid flour lumps and until the mixture takes the shape of a dough. 
• Preheat an oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Place the train-shaped cookie cutter on the baking sheet and press a spoonful of cookie dough inside it. Repeat the process and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake until the cookies are golden brown. Let them cool on a cooling rack after they have finished baking. 

Pro tip- 

You can make the cookies more festive by dipping them in chocolate, caramel, or even butterscotch. 

Make a Train Whistle 

Teach your child how to make their own train 🚂whistle with an empty paper towel roll. 

What you need- 

Paper towel roll, wax paper, markers 🖋️, hole punch, and a rubber band. 

Steps- 

• Ask your child to decorate the outside of an empty paper towel roll. 
• Then, instruct them to make a hole at the top of the tube with a hole punch. 
• Cut a piece from the wax paper that can completely cover the open end of the paper roll. 
• Using the rubber band, adjust the wax paper to the end of the tube where your child punched a hole before. Make sure not to cover the punched hole. Your train 🚂 whistle is ready. Blow through the small hole to produce sound. 

Conclusion 

This past summer, I had a great time fostering my children’s creativity with the activities mentioned above. 

Through these activities, they learned about the history of trains, their important role in the global economy, and how electric trains work. 

Hopefully, with these activities, you could bond with your children whilst engaging them in mentally and socially stimulating creative activities.