12+ Animal Games and Activities for Kids

Many young children are fascinated with animals, so if you have kids who are fond of animals, it may make things fun for them if you were to incorporate some animal games and activities into their daily lives. Not only will this be something that makes this more fun, but there can also be many learning opportunities that can arise from them.

Animal games for kids not only foster a love for wildlife but also promote physical activity, cognitive development, and social interaction. Whether in a backyard, park or even indoors, these activities are bound to captivate young minds and ignite their curiosity about the fascinating creatures that share our planet.

13 Animal-themed Games and Activities for Children

Here are some animal activities that can help you keep your animal-loving kids busy and happy. 

1. Animal Charades

It’s like playing regular charades, and the rules are the same, except that everything should be animal themed.

What You Need

• At least 4 players

How to Play

1. Split the players into two teams.
2. Each team will take turns in sending one person to act out the name of a movie, book or animal name. The books and movies should also be animal-themed.
3. The rest of the team will have to guess what is being acted out within a certain time limit. Based on the ages of the kids you are playing with, you can adjust the difficulty level.

2. Run, Rabbit, Run!

This outdoor game is best played with a group of children.

What You Need

• Enough room to run
•  At least 10 kids

How to Play

1. Divide the group into two and name one half ‘rabbits’ and the other, ‘foxes’. The rabbits will have to stand on one side, while the foxes spread themselves out around the play area.
2. The leader of the rabbits will have to take his brood out for a walk during which time the foxes will shout “run, rabbit, run!” and then give chase.
3. Whichever rabbit gets caught becomes a fox.

3. Who Am I?

This game is fun and helps kids get to know more about different animals.

What You Need

• Animal pictures
• Safety pins

How to Play

1. Stick an animal picture onto each child’s back without them finding out what animal they are.
2. To find out what animal they are, they will need to ask “yes” or “no” questions. e.g., “do I live in the ocean?”

4. Noah’s Arc

This is a fun animal sound game for children.

What You Need

• Chits of paper with animal names written on each. Only two of each animal
• Bowl

How to Play

1. The kids have to pick a chit to see what animal they are.
2. They must then try to find their partner by making the sounds of their particular animal.

5. Pin the Tail on the Donkey

One of the more popular party animal games for 6 year old.

What You Need

• A large picture of a donkey without a tail, stuck to a wall
• A donkey ‘tail’ to be stuck onto the donkey
• Blindfold

How to Play

1. Blindfold a child and have them try to pin the tail in the right place for the donkey.
2. All the children should get a turn.
3. Whoever pins the tail closest to the correct spot is the winner.

6. McDonald’s Farm

This is one of the simple and fun animal farm games for kids.

What You Need

• Toy farm animals
• A box or basket as the barn

How to Play

1. Before the kids come into the room, you should hide the animals around the room.
2. When they come in, ask them to find all the animals you hid.
3. Once all have been gathered, put them into the barn and sing ‘old McDonald’ while holding up the animal being sung about.

7. Animal Sounds

A great animal guessing game for toddlers.

What You Need

Sound clips of animal sounds

How to Play

1. You can play the sound clip of an animal making sounds and ask your toddler to guess what animal it is.
2. Alternatively, you can simply make the sounds yourself and have your little one join in.

8. Animal Scrap Book

One of the interesting wild animal activities for preschool kids is collecting information about the children’s favourite wildlife.

What You Will Need

• A notebook or drawing book
• Pictures of animals
• Glue
• Pens and pencils

How to Play

1. Have the kids pick out their favourite wild animals and gather some basic information on them, such as what type they are (feline, canine etc.), where they live and what they eat.
2. Any other additional information your child finds interesting can also be put in.
3. Your kids can swap books at the end and learn about the animals that everyone else likes too.

9. Animal Boogie

This game is fun and will have you and the kids laugh out loud.

What You Need

Animal flashcards

How To Play

1. Shuffle the animal cards and have the kids pick one.
2. Everyone will have to act like the animal that comes up. For example, scratch your head and hop around for ‘monkey’.

10. Animal Jumble

This is one of the funnier animal puzzle games for kids.

What You Need

• Sheets of paper
• Pencils and erasers
• Tape or glue

How to Play

1. Assign each child a different body part to draw of a any animal.
2. They can choose whichever animal they want, but they must not tell anyone else what they have chosen.
3. Once everyone is done with their drawings, stick them together and behold a strange animal created from their imaginations.
4. It should be a lot of fun coming up with a name for it.

11. Animal Bingo

A fun and educational game where players match animal names or pictures on their bingo cards to those called out by the game leader.

What You Need

• Animal-themed bingo cards
• Markers

How to Play

1. Distribute bingo cards and markers to each child.
2. The caller (an adult or one of the children) randomly selects and announces an animal.
3. Children look for the corresponding animal on their bingo cards and cover it with a marker.
4. Continue calling out animals until a child has covered a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) and shouts “Bingo!”
5. Verify the winning card to make sure all animals called match the markers.
6. Reward the winner with a small prize or let them be the next caller.

12. Animal Relay Race

An energetic team-based game where children mimic specific animal movements in a relay format.

What You Need

• Open space
• Animal-themed relay race cues

How to Play

1. Divide the children into teams.
2. Assign each team an animal to mimic during the relay race (e.g., hop like a kangaroo, waddle like a penguin).
3. Set up a start line and a finish line with a designated distance in between.
4. The first child from each team stands at the starting line.
5. When the race begins, the first child performs the assigned animal movement and then tags the next teammate, who does the same.
6. Continue this pattern until all members of one team have completed the race.
7. The team that finishes first wins the race.

13. Animal Freeze Dance

One of the lively animal activities for preschoolers where kids dance to animal-themed music, imitating various animal movements, but must freeze when the music stops.

What You Need

• A music player with animal-themed songs or sounds

How to Play

1. Play animal-themed music or animal sounds.
2. The children dance around freely, imitating the movements and sounds of various animals as they hear them in the music.
3. When the music suddenly stops, the children must freeze in their current animal pose.
4. Anyone caught moving after the music stops is out of the round.
5. Continue playing until only one child remains or until everyone has had a turn being the DJ.

FAQs

1. Which Age Group of Kids Can Play Animal-themed Games?

Animal-themed games are suitable for children aged 3 to 12, offering age-appropriate challenges and imaginative play that cater to their developmental stages and interests in wildlife.

2. What Are Some Famous Animal-Themed Games for Kids Birthday Party?

Some famous animal-themed games for kids’ birthday parties include:

• Pin the Tail on the Donkey
• Animal Charades
• Duck, Duck, Goose
• Animal Bingo
• Animal Scavenger Hunt
• Animal Relay Race

3. What Will My Child Learn From Animal Games?

Animal games foster knowledge of animals, creativity, physical activity, social skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, patience, and a love for nature, providing a well-rounded learning experience for children.

Other than just teaching children about animals through different fun activities and animal-themed games, you can also take them to volunteer at animal shelters, or you can always get them to help in putting together ‘wish lists’ for the animals. Shelters often have lists of things they need, like blankets, canned food, towels and other things. This also teaches your child compassion towards all living creatures.

Also Read:

Top Role Play Ideas for Kids
Fun Indoor Games for Children
Indoor and Outdoor Physical Activities for Children