5 easy magic tricks for kids

Preparation: You’ll need a quarter, a piece of tinfoil just bigger than the quarter, and a small square of paper (big enough to fully cover the coin). Place the tinfoil over one side of the quarter and around the rim, and gently rub it to set the coin’s impression on the foil. Remove the quarter and cut off any excess foil.

Trick: Place the foil quarter in the palm of your hand and show the audience; tell them you’re going to make it disappear. Place the piece of paper over the quarter, wave your magic wand, say the magic words and remove the paper. When the audience sees that it’s still there, say you’ll try again. When it doesn’t work for the third time, apologize to the audience and crumple the paper and the foil into a tiny ball. Make sure the paper covers the foil so it looks like the quarter has been crushed.

Prep: Fill an aluminum pie plate with just enough water to cover the bottom. Arrange some toothpicks in a square in the middle of the pie plate, making sure their tips overlap so they stay together. Dip another toothpick in dish detergent.

Trick: Have your audience gather around the pie plate, which you can either set on a table or the ground. Tell them that you will fill a toothpick with your power, and then use it to make the square of toothpicks separate. Take out your toothpick dipped in dish detergent, say your magic words, and place the soap-dipped end into the middle of the square. The soap will cause the toothpicks to fly apart in the water.

Prep: Sit at a table in front of your audience with a piece of paper and rip off two little pieces, each a bit bigger than your fingernails. Tape a paper piece to one fingernail on each hand and tell your audience you’re going to make the paper disappear and reappear. 

Trick: Place your two fingers with the paper on them on the table. One at a time, put your hand behind your back, quickly switching fingers and placing a finger with no paper on it back on the table. Repeat with the other hand. Tell your audience you will now bring the paper back. Repeat the first step, this time replacing the fingers without paper with the fingers with paper. Use your index and middle fingers since they look the most alike

Prep: Before you perform the trick, choose a friend to assist you and explain to them how it works. Tell your assistant to always inquire about the audience-chosen object after an item that’s the colour black. Your assistant will appear to be “testing” your powers in front of the audience.

Trick: Tell your audience that you have psychic powers. Ask your friend to assist you, then instruct the audience that they must choose an object when you leave the room. When they call you back in, ask the audience to concentrate on the item and then ask your assistant to start testing your powers. Have your assistant go through different objects in the room asking: “Is it the yellow chair? Is it the green rug?” etc. Astound everyone when you correctly identify the object!

Prep: Get a dishtowel, a plastic cup and a small, flat eraser. Sit at a table and have your audience stand on the opposite side.

Trick: Put the eraser on the table and cover it with the cup; then place the dishtowel on top. Lift both the cup and dishtowel up, revealing the eraser, and ask your audience to concentrate on it. While they’re focused on the eraser, discreetly drop the cup into your lap, but continue holding the towel as if the cup were still there. Then put the towel back over the eraser and smash your hand down on it; at the same time, drop the cup from your lap to the floor. Lift the towel to show that the eraser is still there, but that the cup has fallen “through” the table.