If you have been following along with my homeschool adventures for any length of time, you will know that I love an Adventure Box. There is something about handing a child a box full of mysterious treasures and telling them everything inside connects to what they are about to learn that makes even the most reluctant learner suddenly very interested! In this post you will learn how to put together your own Ancient Mesopotamia Adventure Box for the perfect start to your Ancient Mesopotamia unit study.
If you’d like to know Lillie’s view on all things Adventure Box-related, take a peek at our video below:
An Ancient Mesopotamia Adventure Box
We have used Adventure Boxes for literature units, history units, science, geography and all manner of other things. They have been particularly wonderful for our history studies because they allow the children to handle something connected to the period they are studying.
So, when we began our Ancient Mesopotamia unit study, I knew we needed an Ancient Mesopotamia Adventure Box.
And, oh my goodness, there are SO many fun things you can put into one!
Mesopotamia is particularly well suited to an Adventure Box because it gives you an enormous range of possibilities. You have cuneiform, clay tablets, cylinder seals, ziggurats, ancient cities, kings, gods and goddesses, irrigation, writing, mathematics, astronomy, trade, weaving, pottery, farming, mythology and some truly wonderful ancient stories to play with.
The best part? You don’t need to spend a fortune.
In fact, you could put together a wonderful Mesopotamia Adventure Box using things you already have at home.
What Is a Mesopotamia Adventure Box?
If you haven’t come across the idea of an Adventure Box before, it is essentially a container filled with interesting things connected to the topic your children are about to study.
The idea is not to create another curriculum.
It is to create anticipation.
It is the little collection of treasures that says:
Something exciting is about to begin.
I like to fill mine with a mixture of:
- Books
- Craft supplies
- Things to handle
- Things to build
- Things to investigate
- Reusable resources
- Consumable materials
- Games
- Snacks
- Dressing-up items
- Puzzles and challenges
- Little surprises
And, most importantly, I try to include things which are connected to the particular children who will be using the box.
For example, if I have a child who loves writing, I might include a clay tablet and a set of homemade cuneiform writing tools. For a child who loves building, I might include LEGO or wooden blocks and a challenge to build a ziggurat. And for the artistic child, I might include clay, paints and materials for making cylinder seals.
The box becomes personal.
That’s where the magic happens.
First Things First: Find Yourself a Box!
It doesn’t actually have to be a box.
A basket would work beautifully. So would a wooden crate, suitcase, plastic storage tub or even a large cardboard box.
For Mesopotamia, though, I rather like the idea of making the container look a little bit like a traveller’s archaeological expedition box.
You could add:
- A luggage tag
- A homemade Mesopotamia Expedition label
- A map of the Fertile Crescent
- Pictures of ancient artefacts
- Brown paper
- String or twine
- Faux archaeological labels
- A little notebook marked Field Journal
- A homemade passport
- A map showing the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
You could even call your children archaeologists for the duration of the unit.
‘Your next archaeological assignment is…’ sounds considerably more exciting than ‘time for history’.
Start With a Map
One of the very first things I would put into a Mesopotamia Adventure Box is a map.
Mesopotamia literally means ‘land between the rivers’, so the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are absolutely central to understanding the civilisation.
You could include:
- A printed map of Mesopotamia
- An outline map for the children to colour
- A small inflatable or wooden globe
- Blue ribbon or yarn to represent the two rivers
- A map of the Fertile Crescent
- A modern map showing Iraq and surrounding countries
- Small sticky notes for locating ancient cities
Some of the cities you might want the children to locate include:
- Ur
- Uruk
- Babylon
- Nineveh
- Eridu
- Nippur
The Most Important Thing in the Box: Cuneiform(or at least the ingredients to make some!)
If there is one thing I would definitely include, it is something connected to cuneiform writing.
This is where your Mesopotamia Adventure Box can become particularly fun.
You don’t need to buy an expensive replica tablet; just make your own!
You could buy:
- Air-drying clay
- Modelling clay
- Polymer clay
- Clay tools
- Wooden skewers
- Bamboo sticks
- Craft sticks
- Pottery tools
Then let the children make their own tablets.
You could also include a cuneiform alphabet or sign chart so that they can try writing their names.
And don’t stop at names!
Challenge them to write:
- A shopping list
- A secret message
- A poem
- A school timetable
- A royal proclamation
- A recipe
- A letter
- A law
- A diary entry
Older children could even try creating their own cuneiform-style writing system.
A very inexpensive alternative
You can make clay tablets from homemade salt dough.
All you need is:
- Flour
- Salt
- Water
Roll it out, cut it into rough tablet shapes and use a blunt pencil, skewer or craft stick to press wedge-shaped marks into the surface.
They don’t have to be perfect.
Actually, the slightly wonky ones are rather lovely!
Add a Cylinder Seal (or the ingredients to make your own)
Cylinder seals are another brilliant Mesopotamian activity.
You can buy small craft rollers, wooden dowels or even use pieces of clay to experiment with making your own.
For a really inexpensive version, try:
- Air-drying clay
- Wooden dowels
- Plasticine
- Old pencils
- Foam sheets
- Craft foam
- Wooden beads
Children can create a repeating pattern and then roll it across clay.
You could also buy inexpensive sealing wax and experiment with making impressions, although I would supervise younger children closely.
This is a wonderful opportunity to talk about how people used seals to identify documents, goods and possessions.
And, of course, children absolutely adore having their own personal seal.
Clay, Clay and More Clay!
Honestly, if you are doing Mesopotamia, I would buy a lot of clay.
Clay is such a useful material for this unit.
You can use it to make:
- Cuneiform tablets
- Cylinder seals
- Pots
- Bowls
- Figurines
- Jewellery
- Beads
- Small animals
- Miniature houses
- Ziggurats
- Decorative tiles
- Trading tokens
You could put several different types of clay into the box.
I would probably include:
- Air-drying clay
- Terracotta-coloured modelling clay
- Polymer clay
- Homemade salt dough
You could also add:
- Rolling pins
- Clay knives
- Toothpicks
- Wooden skewers
- Textured fabric
- Shells
- Beads
- Stamps
Children can press objects into the clay to see what sorts of patterns they create.
Items to Build a Ziggurat
Now we get to one of my favourite parts.
BUILDING!
Mesopotamia is perfect for construction activities.
Put some building materials into the Adventure Box and challenge the children to build a ziggurat.
You could use:
- LEGO
- DUPLO
- Wooden blocks
- Cardboard boxes
- Small bricks
- Jenga-style blocks
- Sugar cubes
- Recycled packaging
For a particularly fun project, challenge each child to design their own ziggurat.
Ask them:
- How many levels will it have?
- What is at the top?
- How will people get there?
- Where will the entrances be?
- What materials will you use?
- Who is the ziggurat for?
Older children can research actual Mesopotamian ziggurats and attempt to make their model historically accurate.
Younger children can build!
Make Your Own Mesopotamian City
If you have children who love small-world play, this could become the centrepiece of the whole box.
Include materials for creating a little Mesopotamian city.
Think:
- Cardboard
- Brown paper
- Sand
- Wooden blocks
- LEGO
- Modelling clay
- Blue fabric or ribbon for the rivers
- Small baskets
- Twine
- Popsicle sticks
- Craft sticks
- Toy animals
- Small people figures
Your city could include:
A river
A ziggurat
A palace
Houses
A marketplace
Fields
Irrigation channels
A city wall
A temple
Don’t Forget Irrigation!
Rivers are one of the most important aspects of Mesopotamian history, so I’d include something that lets children investigate irrigation.
You don’t need a fancy science kit.
Try:
- A shallow plastic tray
- Soil or sand
- Water
- Small cups
- Straws
- Spoons
- Craft sticks
- Plastic tubing
- Small stones
Let the children create their own irrigation channels.
Then pour water into the system and see what happens.
Can they get water from the river to the fields?
And how about stopping the water from flooding the city?
Or designing a better irrigation system?
This is one of those activities where children can learn engineering, geography, and history without feeling as though they are “doing school.”
Add Sand and Sensory Materials
Mesopotamia also lends itself beautifully to sensory play.
You could include a small container of:
- Play sand
- Kinetic sand
- Dried lentils
- Dried chickpeas
- Rice
- Small pebbles
Obviously, you don’t need to include all of these.
A little tray of sand can be particularly useful for younger children.
They can:
- Draw cuneiform signs
- Make river channels
- Build tiny cities
- Bury archaeological artefacts
- Sort objects
- Create patterns
You could even bury little clay tablets and give your child an archaeological excavation challenge.
Make an Archaeological Dig
This would make a wonderful surprise tucked into the bottom of the box.
You could make your own little excavation kit containing:
- Paintbrushes
- Small wooden tools
- Tweezers
- Magnifying glass
- Notebook
- Pencil
- Measuring tape
- Small containers
- Labels
- String
Then create some artefacts for the children to discover.
You could bury:
- Clay beads
- Small pottery pieces
- Homemade tablets
- Coins (modern ones are fine for play)
- Small stones
- Tiny figurines
- Broken pieces of terracotta pots
Of course, explain that this is a pretend archaeological dig rather than encouraging children to dig up real archaeological sites!
Books for Your Mesopotamia Adventure Box
Books are one of my favourite things to add to an Adventure Box.
I would include a mixture rather than buying ten books which all say essentially the same thing.
Look for:
Reference books
An encyclopaedia or children’s ancient history book.
Non-fiction
Books about:
- Mesopotamia
- Sumer
- Babylon
- Ancient Iraq
- Cuneiform
- Archaeology
- Ancient inventions
- Ancient mathematics
- Ancient astronomy
Myths
This is where Mesopotamia gets particularly interesting.
Look for children’s retellings of:
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Stories of Inanna
- Mesopotamian creation stories
- Flood traditions
- Stories of ancient kings
Activity books
These are particularly useful for younger children.
Look for:
- Ancient history activity books
- Cuneiform activities
- Archaeology activity books
- Ancient civilisation colouring books
- Ancient history sticker books
And don’t forget the second-hand bookshops!
This is one of those subjects where older children’s history books can often be picked up very cheaply.
A Copy of The Epic of Gilgamesh
If you are studying Mesopotamia with older children, I would definitely consider putting a version of The Epic of Gilgamesh into the box.
Choose the version based on your children’s ages.
For younger children, look for a beautifully illustrated retelling.
For older children, you can introduce the actual epic and discuss:
- Kingship
- Friendship
- Mortality
- Courage
- Pride
- The gods
- The natural world
- What makes a hero
You could even give your children a little Gilgamesh challenge card that asks them to decide whether Gilgamesh is a hero, a villain, or something in between.
Art Supplies
Now for the bit I particularly enjoy!
Fill the box with things the children can make.
I would include:
- Brown card
- Cream card
- Kraft paper
- Watercolour paper
- Paint
- Metallic paint
- Gold paint
- Black pens
- Pencils
- Coloured pencils
- Oil pastels
- Chalk
- Paintbrushes
- Sponges
- Glue
- Scissors
- String
- Twine
- Beads
- Raffia
- Fabric scraps
Mesopotamian art lends itself beautifully to earthy colours, geometric patterns and repeated motifs.
You could challenge the children to make:
- A cylinder seal
- A clay tablet
- A royal headdress
- A wall decoration
- A city gate
- A mythical creature
- A patterned pot
- A mosaic
- A king’s robe
- A jewellery design
Make a Mesopotamian Headdress
If you have children who love dressing up, put materials in a box for making ancient-inspired clothing and jewellery.
Try:
- Gold-coloured card
- Fabric scraps
- Ribbon
- Beads
- String
- Sequins
- Metallic paper
- Foil
- Craft wire
They could make:
- Crowns
- Headbands
- Necklaces
- Bracelets
- Belts
- Decorative collars
You could then have a Mesopotamian royal day.
And yes, I realise that dressing up as an ancient king or queen does not necessarily result in historically perfect clothing.
That isn’t really the point.
The point is that the child imagines themselves in history.
Weaving Materials
Textiles are another wonderful addition.
You could include:
- A small children’s loom
- Yarn
- Wool
- Raffia
- String
- Fabric scraps
- Embroidery thread
Children can experiment with simple weaving.
Older children can investigate how textiles were made and traded.
You could also discuss the importance of wool, farming and trade.
And if you have a child who loves making things with their hands, this can easily become one of the most popular parts of the box.
Mesopotamian Mathematics
One of the really fun things about Mesopotamia is that it isn’t just kings and battles.
There is mathematics!
Include:
- Number cards
- Counters
- Dice
- Beads
- Small stones
- Graph paper
- A ruler
- Measuring tape
You can introduce ancient counting systems and explore the importance of 60 in Mesopotamian mathematics.
This gives you a lovely opportunity to connect ancient history with something your children encounter every day.
Why are there 60 minutes in an hour?
Why 60 seconds in a minute?
And why are there 360 degrees in a circle?
Mesopotamia can suddenly be sitting right there on the kitchen table!
Astronomy and the Night Sky
The Mesopotamians were also keen observers of the heavens.
For this part of the box, I would include:
- Glow-in-the-dark stars
- A star chart
- Black card
- White pens
- A small torch
- A simple astronomy book
- A constellation activity
- A moon phase chart
Let the children create their own night sky.
You could also encourage them to keep an ancient astronomer’s journal for a week, recording what they see in the night sky.
Make a Mesopotamian Game
Games are always a winner.
One particularly interesting option is The Royal Game of Ur.
You can either buy a replica game or make your own version from:
- Cardboard
- Paint
- Wooden counters
- Dice
- Buttons
- Small stones
If your children enjoy board games, this could be a wonderful way to bring ancient Mesopotamia into family game night.
It also lets you discuss how archaeologists learn about ordinary people’s lives, not just kings’, from the objects they leave behind.
Add a Merchant’s Bag
This is a fun one.
Put together a little merchant’s bag containing things which represent trade.
You might include:
- Beads
- Fabric
- Wool
- Spices
- Dried grains
- Small stones
- Shells
- Clay tokens
- String
- Little baskets
Then set up a pretend marketplace.
Give your children different roles:
- Farmer
- Weaver
- Potter
- Merchant
- Scribe
- Builder
- King
- Priest
They can trade goods and negotiate prices.
For older children, introduce the idea of supply, demand, taxation and trade routes.
Food for Your Adventure Box
Now, obviously, fresh food won’t sit happily in a box for six weeks!
But you can include some shelf-stable ingredients or a little card directing you to a recipe you plan to make.
You might include:
- Dates
- Dried figs
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Barley
- Sesame seeds
- Honey
- Flatbread ingredients
- Spices
You could make:
- Flatbreads
- Date balls
- Lentil soup
- Barley dishes
- Honey cakes
- Date-and-nut treats
And you could even have a Mesopotamian feast at the end of the unit.
The children could help plan the menu and make table decorations.
Little Things Make the Box Magical
Some of my favourite things to put into an Adventure Box cost almost nothing.
For example:
A Field Journal
Give each child a small notebook.
Tell them it is their Mesopotamia Archaeological Field Journal.
They can use it throughout the unit to record:
- New words
- Drawings
- Maps
- Questions
- Facts
- Cuneiform
- Archaeological discoveries
- Favourite myths
Secret Messages
Put a sealed envelope into the box containing a message written in cuneiform.
The children have to decipher it.
A Museum Label
Put an ‘artefact’ into a little bag with a museum-style label.
Can they work out what it is and what it was used for?
A Challenge Card
Give them a challenge such as:
‘Build a city that can survive a flood.’
Or:
‘Invent a way to transport grain.’
Or:
‘Design a seal that identifies your family.’
These little additions can turn an ordinary collection of craft supplies into an adventure.
What I Would Actually Put in My Ancient Mesopotamia Adventure Box
If I were making one from scratch, this is roughly what I would gather:
The Box
- Suitcase or cardboard box
- Mesopotamia map
- Mesopotamia Expedition label
- Field journals
Books
- Children’s Mesopotamia reference book
- Ancient history encyclopaedia
- Cuneiform/activity book
- Children’s retelling of The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Ancient mythology book
- Archaeology book
Craft Supplies
- Air-drying clay
- Brown card
- Kraft paper
- Acrylic paints
- Metallic paints
- Paintbrushes
- Pens
- Pencils
- Glue
- Scissors
- String
- Raffia
- Beads
- Fabric scraps
Building
- LEGO/DUPLO
- Wooden blocks
- Cardboard
- Craft sticks
Archaeology
- Paintbrushes
- Magnifying glass
- Tweezers
- Small containers
- Labels
- Measuring tape
- Homemade artefacts
Cuneiform
- Clay
- Wooden skewers
- Cuneiform chart
- Small tablets
- Tablet-making instructions
Games
- Dice
- Counters
- Game board materials
- Royal Game of Ur, if you want to buy one
Science/Geography
- Sand
- Soil
- Tray
- Straws
- Cups
- Water containers
Dressing Up
- Fabric
- Gold card
- Ribbon
- Beads
- Jewellery-making supplies
Food
- Dates
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Barley
- Honey
- Sesame seeds
You absolutely do not need all of this.
This is simply me demonstrating how far you can take the idea!
Where to Find Everything
And now for my favourite question:
Where can you get all this stuff without spending a fortune?
Start at home.
Seriously.
Go through your craft cupboard before you buy anything.
Look for:
- Old cardboard
- Paint
- Clay
- LEGO
- Fabric
- Beads
- Yarn
- Books
- Board games
- Magnifying glasses
- Trays
- Small containers
Then try the charity shops.
This is where you might find:
- Old history books
- Children’s encyclopaedias
- Board games
- Building toys
- Dressing-up clothes
- Fabric
- Baskets
- Wooden boxes
- Little pottery items
- Craft supplies
Second-hand marketplaces are also fantastic.
Search for things like ancient history books, archaeology books, children’s pottery tools, wooden blocks, kids’ weaving looms, and air-dry clay.
You are simply looking for inexpensive things you can repurpose for Mesopotamia.
That’s where the fun begins.
Make It Child-Specific
This is perhaps the most important part of the whole thing.
Don’t make the box for Mesopotamia.
Make the box for your child learning about Mesopotamia.
There is a difference.
If you have a budding writer, add:
- Beautiful notebooks
- A quill-style pen
- Cuneiform writing activities
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Story prompts
Likewise, if you have an artist, add:
- Clay
- Paint
- Gold paper
- Beads
- Pattern-making materials
Or for a budding engineer, add:
- LEGO
- Building blocks
- Irrigation challenges
- Construction challenges
If you have a budding archaeologist, add:
- Brushes
- Tweezers
- Magnifying glass
- Field journal
- Digging challenges
If you have a child who loves stories, add:
- Myths
- Puppets
- Costumes
- Story stones
- Storytelling cards
And if you have a child who loves mathematics, add:
- Counters
- Number challenges
- Measuring activities
- Ancient mathematics puzzles
The Adventure Box is your opportunity to say:
‘I see what you love, and I have found a way to put it into our history.’
And that is a rather wonderful thing to say to a child.
You Don’t Have to Do It All
One final word of encouragement.
Please don’t look at a list like this and think:
“Good grief. I need to buy all of that!”
You really don’t.
The whole point of an Adventure Box is not to create a Pinterest-perfect box containing every conceivable resource.
It is simply to create a little bundle of things that make your child curious.
You could put three things in a cardboard box:
a piece of clay, a book and a map.
And that could be enough.
Or you could go completely overboard and fill an entire suitcase with artefacts, crafts, games, books, costumes and archaeological equipment.
Both are perfectly good Adventure Boxes.
The question I always ask myself is:
“What can I put in here that will make my children desperate to open it?”
Once you have answered that, you are done.
And then comes the very best part…
You hand it to them.
You watch them open it.
And you get to see that little spark of curiosity light up.
Welcome to Mesopotamia!
Feel free to download the FREE pdf that goes along with this Ancient Mesopotamia Adventure Box post: