Active Indoor Game for Kids: Glow-in-the-Dark Dodgeball

Looking for an active indoor game that kids are sure to love? Try an interesting twist on a classic game with Glow-in-the-Dark Dodgeball!

What You Need for Glow-in-the-Dark Dodgeball

The Right Space

First, you need an enclosed space with no furniture or features—and for sure nothing breakable!—that can be made pitch-black. Yes, this is probably a rarity unless you have a gym. Put everything away, and close the doors to make it safe, enclosed, and pitch-black. Use just half the gym depending on how many people are playing, but of course, a full-size gym is great if you have a lot of kids.

The Right Equipment

Then, depending on the number of players, you’ll need one or two glow-in-the-dark dodgeballs. Although you can buy these at Wal-Mart, they might not be available in-store and may need to be ordered online.

You can also use regular 6-inch dodgeballs and wrap glow-in-the-dark duct tape around them. You can also use duct tape to mark boundaries on the floor. To determine who is on which team, have the kids wear glow-in-the-dark bracelets. Give each student two glow bracelets that are the same color, one for each wrist. Each team is based on the color of their bracelets. For an additional team, one team can have mixed colored bracelets. You can purchase the glow-in-the-dark bracelets from your local dollar store. It’s also nice to have a whistle to blow when the 3-minute segments are up. Or you can play music and stop it when the 3 minutes are up. To really make use of all the glowing power, you could use ten 2-foot fluorescent black lights.

The Right People

Of course, you need players—probably about five or six for one ball, and however many more you want if you have two balls. Be sure to tell the players to come in their athletic gear because this game is intense!

How to Play Glow-in-the-Dark Dodgeball

For K-6th graders, consider dividing the kids up into two large teams with both teams having kids from every age level. Then you can pit variations against each other for each round as follows:

• All kids on team 1 vs. all kids on team 2.
• 2nd graders vs. 3rd graders.
• Boys vs. girls.
• Kids vs. adults!

Rules: Get hit, you’re out; if your throw is caught, you’re out; if you have the ball, you can’t move.

At the end of 3 minutes, count how many kids from each team are left on the floor, which equals the number of points each team gets.

Looking for more ministry games? Check out these ideas!

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