Magnetic tile hidden messages
Make your own decoder and reveal secret messages with a coloured magnetic tile!
With just paper, a magnetic tile (or transparent coloured plastic), and everyday drawing tools, you can make and decode your own secret messages!
Write or draw with a light blue marker or pencil, then cover it by scribbling over with red. When you place a red magnetic tile over the paper, the hidden writing is revealed like magic!
This activity introduces kids to colour filtering - a simple science concept - while also sparking imagination and literacy practice.
They’ll love pretending to be spies, creating secret codes, experimenting with different colours and sending messages to family members.
You might even love sending them some love notes of your own!
Materials
Prep
Step 1:
Gather paper, colouring tools, and a red magnetic tile.
Step 2:
Set up a flat surface for writing and colouring.
Play
Step 1:
Write or draw a message with a light blue marker.
Step 2:
Cover the message by scribbling over with red.
Step 3:
Place the red magnetic tile over the paper to reveal the hidden writing.
Step 4:
Take turns creating, hiding, and decoding secret messages.
Extend
Colour experiments: Try decoding the same message through different coloured tiles (or even overlapping two colours) and observe what you see.
Secret mission: Set up a scavenger hunt where the notes become clues for the next place to look
Literacy or number play: Practice sight words, letters, or numbers with hidden writing.
