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Make · Wild and Tumble activity

Little bug hotel

Rooms available for tiny guests. Fill a plant pot with cosy hidey-holes and see who checks in.

  • 25 min total
  • Some mess
  • Ages 3–5*
  • Outdoors
  • Spring to autumn
Let's do this

*Illustrative age guidance. Your child's development and circumstances matter more than a number.

A tiny plan for your day

Estimated time: 5 min to prepare · 15 min to build · 5 min to tidy. Check back each week. It's fine to stop early.

Before you start

What you’ll need

  • An old plant pot or a small cardboard box
  • Pine cones, bark, dry leaves and short hollow stems
  • Rolled-up cardboard tubes

Let's begin

Five simple steps

That's the whole activity. Tick each step off as you go, and stop whenever you like.

  1. Talk about what bugs like: dark, damp and lots of little gaps.

  2. Little one leads

    Your child packs the pot tightly with cones, tubes, bark and leaves.

  3. Grown-up job

    An adult lays the pot on its side in a shady, sheltered spot, tucked against a wall or hedge.

  4. Make a little sign for your hotel.

  5. Peek in once a week. Who's staying?

All done!

That's every step. However it went, you made a little moment together.

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