Glow in the Dark Bowling

Getting kids to play outside in the summer isn’t easy – especially when it comes to evening activities. Bowling is a popular favorite for kids, but admission and rental fees can add up if you want to go on a regular basis. Making your own bowling lane outside is fun, cost effective, and kid-friendly. With the addition of glow sticks, you can set up a glow in the dark bowling lane right in your own driveway or backyard. And, there’s no funny shoes required.

Supplies

You will need between six and ten empty plastic water bottles, depending on how many pins you have. You can use small water bottles or soda bottles – the bigger the bottle, the easier it will be for your kids to hit. Glow sticks, which can be purchased at your local dollar or party supply store, are a must for decorating the bottles. And last but not least, you will need a ball to roll towards the pins. A plastic ball that doesn’t bounce works best here, but if you don’t have one any ball will do.

How-To

This game is best played after dark. It doesn’t require much preparation time, but in this case make sure you don’t prepare the pins too far in advance because the glow sticks will lose their intensity. It’s best to open the glow sticks right before you play. You should have at least as many glow sticks as bottles and more if you want more intense colors. Once you open the glow sticks, shake and bend them to activate the colors. Then open the water or soda bottles and insert one, two, or three glow sticks per bottle. The colors should be the same for each bottle. Place the lids back on the bottles. You can ask your kids to help you set up the pins in a pattern of their choice. The lane area should be flat and preferably paved. A sidewalk will do if you have no other choice. To play the game, kids can take turns rolling the ball towards the pins to knock down as many as possible.

Fun Ideas

If you want to make the game more like the real deal, you can go on the internet and download bowling score cards. Kids can each get a score card and mark down how many pins they knock down in order to tally their points. You might want to teach them the meaning of bowling terminology, such as what it means to get a strike or a spare. In the end, the player who accumulates the most points throughout the game wins. You can also play in teams if you have enough players.

Summary

Bowling is a classic game that has been around for hundreds of years. Whether your kids have been to bowling lanes or not, this game is sure to be a family classic. Glow in the dark pins make it an instant hit with kids. In addition, glow in the dark bowling is inexpensive and takes hardly any tim