A Bible sensory bin is a simple way to help children explore a Bible story through touch, movement and play.
You do not need an elaborate setup. Start with a container, add a sensory material, a few Storytelling Peg People and some simple props.
Here are 10 easy Bible sensory bin ideas to try.
What You Need
Most Bible sensory bins can be made using a few basic materials:
- A shallow tray, tub or sensory table
- Coloured rice
- Sand
- Stones
- Fabric
- Small branches or leaves
- Wooden blocks
- Toy animals
- Storytelling Peg People
Use what you already have. The scene does not need to look perfect to be effective.
1. Jesus Calms the Storm Sensory Bin
You need:
- Blue sensory rice
- A small wooden or toy boat. You could even use part of a cardboard egg carton
- Jesus and disciple peg people
- A few stones or shells
Fill the tray with blue rice to represent the Sea of Galilee.
Place the boat and characters into the rice and use them to tell the story. Children can then move the boat through the “water” and retell what happened.
Try asking:
“What did Jesus do when the disciples were afraid?”
2. Baby Moses Sensory Bin
You need:
- Blue rice
- A small basket
- Baby Moses
- Miriam
- Pharaoh’s daughter
- Grass, leaves or artificial reeds
Create a section of blue rice for the River Nile.
Place baby Moses in a small basket and add grass or greenery around the edge of the river.
Children can move the basket along the river and recreate the moment Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses.
Try asking:
“Who was watching baby Moses?”
3. David and Goliath Sensory Bin
You need:
- Natural or yellow rice
- Small stones
- David
- Goliath
- Soldiers
Use natural-coloured rice as the ground and scatter a few smooth stones through the tray.
Place David on one side and Goliath on the other.
Children can choose five small stones just as David did before acting out the story.
Try asking:
“Why was David brave enough to face Goliath?”
4. Daniel and the Lions’ Den Sensory Bin
You need:
- Sand
- Daniel
- Toy lions
- Stones or small rocks
- A small cave or den made from blocks
Sand works particularly well for this story and gives the sensory box a dry, rocky feel.
Fill the base of the tray with sand and create a simple lions’ den using rocks, blocks or a small wooden cave.
Place Daniel and the lions inside.
Children can explore the scene while retelling how God protected Daniel.
Try asking:
“What happened to Daniel while he was in the lions’ den?”
5. The Lost Sheep Sensory Bin
You need:
- Green sensory rice
- Toy sheep
- A shepherd peg person
- Stones
- Small branches or greenery
Use green rice for grass and add stones, leaves and small branches to create a simple countryside scene.
Hide one sheep somewhere in the sensory bin and ask the child to find it.
Try asking:
“What did the shepherd do when one sheep was missing?”
6. Noah’s Ark Sensory Bin
You need:
- Blue rice
- A small ark or wooden boat
- Noah
- Toy animals
Fill the sensory bin with blue rice and place the ark in the centre.
Add pairs of animals around the tray and let children place them into the ark.
Try asking:
“Why did Noah build the ark?”
7. Jonah Sensory Bin
You need:
- Blue rice
- A small boat
- Jonah
- A large toy fish or sea animal
- Stones or shells
Use blue rice as the sea.
Move Jonah in the boat, into the “water” and towards the large fish as you tell the story.
Children can then recreate the sequence themselves.
Try asking:
“What did Jonah do after God gave him another chance?”
8. The Good Samaritan Sensory Bin
You need:
- Brown or natural rice
- Stones
- A donkey
- Peg people for the traveller, priest, Levite and Samaritan
Create a winding road through the rice using stones.
Place the characters at different points along the road and move them as you tell the story.
Try asking:
“Who stopped to help?”
9. The Nativity Sensory Bin
You need:
- Natural rice or sand
- Mary
- Joseph
- Baby Jesus
- Shepherds
- Wise men
- Toy animals
- A simple stable made from blocks
Use natural rice or sand for the ground and build a simple stable using wooden blocks.
Add Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus first, then introduce the shepherds, angel and wise men as the story progresses.
Try asking:
“Who came to see baby Jesus?”
10. The Garden of Eden Sensory Bin
You need:
- Green rice
- Adam and Eve
- Toy animals
- Leaves, flowers and branches
- Stones
Fill the sensory bin with green rice and add plenty of plants, leaves and animals.
Place Adam and Eve in the garden and use the scene to talk about creation and the garden God made for them.
Try asking:
“What did God put in the garden?”
Make Your Own Coloured Rice
Coloured rice is one of the easiest materials to keep on hand for sensory play.
Blue can become water, green can become fields and yellow can become a desert.
You can make a batch in just a few minutes and store it for future Bible story activities.
Click here to read our How to Dye Rice for Sensory Play blog post.
Let Children Retell the Story
Once you have finished telling the Bible story, leave the sensory bin available for play.
Ask:
“Can you show me what happened?”
Let children move the characters and retell the story in their own words.
If they need help, try:
- What happened first?
- Who was there?
- What happened next?
- How did the story end?
Keep It Simple
A good Bible sensory bin does not need lots of materials.
Start with:
one story + one sensory material + a few characters + a few simple props.
The aim is to give children a hands-on way to explore the story, remember what happened and tell it again for themselves.
