10 Miniature Small World Play Ideas
These 10 miniature small world setups will spark creativity and encourage imaginative play for kids of all ages! Designed to be quick and simple to set up, these tiny worlds can be created in any base you choose—making them perfect for small play spaces or on-the-go setups.
Whether you're a parent, teacher, or caregiver, these ideas offer endless opportunities for storytelling, sensory play, and hands-on exploration.
1. Arctic Small World
Create an exciting Arctic ice adventure with this simple and engaging small world play setup! ❄️🐧 Perfect for imaginative play, this setup is easy to customize using materials you already have at home.
We built ours in a white storage tray insert, but you can use any container that suits your space. For the icy waters, we used blue felt, while a silver cake board made the perfect frozen ice sheet. To add a snowy touch, we scattered cotton balls and white gems, then placed rocks for our seals and penguins to explore.
For an extra creative element, we even made a mini igloo by wrapping a rainbow arch in white paper—a simple yet fun addition!
2. Jungle Small World
A shoe box is an ideal container for creating small worlds, and it’s easy to transport, making it perfect for taking your jungle adventure anywhere! Start by adding a small layer of sand at the bottom for a desert-like ground effect. Then, arrange natural elements like sticks, bamboo, leaves, and bark at various angles to create different textures and layers. The best part? Loose parts like these bring the jungle to life with so much creative potential.
Add jungle animals—snakes, tigers, and lizards—positioning them both on top of and underneath the loose parts for a realistic and interactive play experience. Once your jungle world is set, it’s time to dive into imaginative play! And when the adventure is over, simply close the lid, and your mini jungle is all packed up, ready for the next fun-filled exploration!
3. Fairy Small World
A magical fairy small world needs lots of vibrant colours! Layer colourful blocks to form a rectangular shape in a tray. Add some things that are sparkly such as shiny glass stones. Make or add a rainbow feature like a rainbow puzzle. Every good fairy deserves a house to live in! A paper cup house with a cut out door that can open and close adds a great play feature.
Complete the fairy small world with a path of big stones for the fairy to follow. Add fairies and unicorns and let the magic begin!
4. Minibeasts Small World
Transform a simple basket into an exciting minibeast adventure by using natural materials found around you! Start by gathering loose parts like leaves, sticks, and bamboo to build a dynamic environment. Arrange some elements at angles to create climbing challenges for your tiny creatures. Next, place minibeast toys—like ladybugs, ants, and beetles—amidst the bamboo, on the leaves, and tucked under the sticks for a realistic, interactive play experience.
Natural loose parts are incredibly versatile, offering endless possibilities for imaginative play. Once your minibeast world is set up, simply carry the basket to the perfect spot and step right into the fascinating world of tiny creatures. Whether it's inside or outside, this small world encourages children to explore nature while sparking creativity and curiosity!
5. Ocean Small World
Splash into an ocean small world adventure and let the learning begin! Use a transparent bowl with a wide mouth. Place natural stones at the bottom of the bowl. Arrange glass blue stones on top to add the colour of the ocean. A bit of greenery can be added such as small grass tufts which were part of other play equipment. Pour water into the bowl and add colourful sea creatures such as octopus, fish and crabs.
This small world is a great hit for little leaners who enjoy water play and sea creatures. Children can dip their hands into the water to move the sea creatures as the adventure unfolds. The ocean small world can also be viewed from above and around the bowl which makes this set up very special.
6. Frog Pond Small World
Bring the magic of a frog pond to life with a simple yet creative setup that sparks imagination! Start by using a green tray or covering a tray with green fabric to set the scene for your little pond. To define the edges of your lily pond, arrange smooth stones around the perimeter, giving it a natural look. Lily pads are a must-have for this adventure—either find objects in the shape of lily pads or cut out your own from green felt or cardboard for a DIY touch.
Fill the spaces within the tray with green stones to mimic the lush, vibrant surroundings of a frog's habitat. Finally, add some frog figurines or toys to bring your pond to life. Let your frog friends jump and play in their new watery world, and dive into an exciting frog pond adventure! Whether for play or storytelling, this setup is perfect for inspiring kids' creativity while connecting them with nature.
7. Dinosaur Small World
Dinosaurs in a suitcase! Now that’s a different idea! A transportable dinosaur land is a lot of roaring fun! It can be taken anywhere. Open the suitcase and get ready to create this fun small world. Use a tube and drape it with red and black pieces of material to make a lava effect. Position the “volcano” in the bottom of the suitcase. Fill in the gaps at the bottom with stones. Place sticks, wood and bark on top.
Invite the dinosaurs into their new home and let the adventures begin! When the adventure is done, shut the lid of the suitcase ready for the next time.
8. Farm Small World
If you have one, use a crate which fits in with this farm small world! If you don’t have one, use a box. Fill the bottom of the crate with green felt for grass. Make a chicken house out blocks and add some chickens. A small rectangular box with shiny silver material is great to use for a water trough. Build a pig enclosure with a piece of brown paper in the shape of a square. Place stones along the edge of the square to keep those pigs in! Put the pigs in the “squishy” mud enclosure. Place a small tube on the grass for the bunny to live in. Now it’s time for cows, horses, sheep and other animals to move in! Happy farm days are about to begin!
9. Construction Small World
Sometimes it’s cool to play with sand and construction vehicles in a small container. Use a box lid or cut down a cardboard box to make a tray. Fill the tray with sand and smooth the sand. Add a couple of piles of rocks that are small enough for the vehicles to load and move around.
Add signs and cones to the construction site. Add trucks, diggers and excavators and let the work begin!
10. Space Small World
If it’s time to have an adventure into space, then this small world is for you! Start with a tray covered in black material for the dark sky. Finding toy astronauts, aliens and space crafts can be tricky to find. These can be made by printing pictures, cutting them out and gluing them onto cardboard. Add cardboard cut outs to the tray. Use small colourful balls and marbles to represent planets. Add stars and a moon to complete the scene. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF! Enjoy your space adventure!
Check out these small worlds being set up in action in our video below.
