Ollie's Mystery Sniff Cups

What you need

• Paper or colored cups you can't see through, 5, one per smell
• Paper, 5 pieces, one per cup
• Crayons or markers, for drawing a favorite (optional)
• Cinnamon, 1 small pinch
• Lemon peel, 1 strip
• Mint leaf, 1
• Garlic, 1 slice
• Vanilla, 1 drop
• Pencil, 1
• Painter's tape, a little, or a rubber band (optional)
• Plate or tray, 1 tray (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Set out five clear cups and a small amount of each smell. Check for food allergies or sensitivities to spices, garlic, mint, lemon or vanilla first. An adult should poke the holes in the paper, and young children should be watched so nothing gets tasted or swallowed.

1. Crush the mint leaf with your fingers to wake up its smell.
   Ask: What do you think will happen to the smell when we squish the leaf?
2. Close your eyes while a grown-up hides a smell in each cup. A grown-up does this
3. Cover each cup with a piece of paper.
4. A grown-up pokes a few small holes in each paper lid. A grown-up does this
5. Mix up the cups, then sniff each one gently.
6. Guess what each smell is.
   Ask: What does it remind you of? Where have you smelled it before?
7. Pick your favorite smell, and choose a stinky one too if you like!
8. Cook with your favorite smell sometime this week. Ask for help if you need it
9. Now invite a friend to sniff, or hide new smells! What will you hide next?
   Ask: Which smell will be the trickiest for someone else to guess?

Play it again

• Swap jobs: you hide the smells and a grown-up sniffs and guesses.
• Eyes closed: sniff each cup with your eyes shut, then guess before you peek.
• Smell race: guess all the cups, and see how many you get right in a row.