Printable magic trick cards

✏️ The Rubber Pencil

Apprentice · 1 minute · ages 5 to 9

You need: pencil

1. Hold the pencil loosely, a third of the way along, between your thumb and first finger.
2. Point it away from you, flat, like it's lying on a shelf.
3. Move your whole hand up and down a few inches, quick but gentle.
4. Let the pencil rock in your fingers as your hand moves.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/rubber-pencil-trick

Say: “This pencil came out of a drawer at the Peabody Magic Shop, so it isn't ordinary wood. Watch what happens when I say… Wobble-ah-kazam!”

🪽 The Floating Pencil

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: pencil

1. Make a fist with your left hand, knuckles towards your audience, palm towards you.
2. Stand the pencil up inside your fist so the top sticks out.
3. Take hold of your left wrist with your right hand, to keep it steady.
4. Secretly stretch your right pointer finger up behind your fist and hold the pencil there.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/floating-pencil-trick

Say: “Some pencils are frightened of falling. If I'm very calm, and very still, and very kind to it… steady… steady… there. It trusts me.”

👻 The Ghost Pencil

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: pencil, short pencil, hair tie

1. Keep your palm turned towards you so nobody sees the short pencil under the band.
2. Rub your hands together and tell everyone you're charging them up.
3. Slide the pencil across your palm, under the tip of the hidden one.
4. Turn your hand slowly over, palm down.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/magnetic-hand-pencil-trick

Say: “Ghosts love pencils. It's how they write their spooky letters. Ghost, if you're in here, hold on tight… and don't let go until I say.”

🎗️ The Jumping Rubber Band

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: rubber band

1. Put the rubber band round the bottom of your pointer and middle fingers.
2. Show your palm, then the back of your hand.
3. Pull the rubber band towards you with your other hand, stretching it wide open.
4. Close your hand into a fist and tuck all four fingertips inside the stretched band.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/jumping-rubber-band-trick

Say: “This is a nervous rubber band. It never stays where you put it. One magic word and it leaps. Ready? Boing!”

👍 Thumb Off

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 8

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Hold your left hand flat, palm towards you, and bend your left thumb down.
2. Bend your right thumb down in exactly the same way.
3. Push your right thumb up against the left one so the two tips make one thumb.
4. Lay your right pointer finger across the join to cover it up.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/thumb-off-trick

Say: “Ow! … Only joking. My thumb comes off for easy cleaning. Most people's don't. Would you like to hold it?”

🧂 The Salt Shaker Balance

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: salt shaker, salt

1. Sprinkle a little the salt on the table in front of you.
2. Tip the salt shaker onto its bottom edge, right into the salt.
3. Wiggle it gently until it finds a spot where it wants to stay.
4. Let go, slowly, one finger at a time.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/salt-shaker-balance-trick

Say: “Salt shakers are secretly brilliant at gymnastics. Most of them never get the chance to show anyone. Balance!”

🎗️ The Haunted Rubber Band

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: rubber band

1. Hook two rubber bands over your first two fingers, with the back of your hand to them.
2. Zigzag the second band over all four fingertips, like a little cage.
3. Show both sides.
4. Close your hand into a fist, and as you do, slide all four fingertips inside the first band.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/haunted-rubber-band-trick

Say: “This band is haunted. I locked it down with a cage, see? Nothing in, nothing out. But it doesn't like being told what to do. Watch where it goes when I say boo.”

🥤 The Spooky Floating Cup

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: cup, scissors

1. Ask a grown-up to cut a thumb-sized hole in the cup, near the bottom on one side.
2. Hold the cup with the hole at the back and your thumb pushed into it.
3. Put your other hand flat on the front of the cup, so it looks squeezed between two palms.
4. Spread your fingers wide and move your hands apart.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/spooky-floating-cup-trick

Say: “Careful. This cup has been in the cupboard since last Halloween and it has forgotten how to be a cup. Hands off the table, everyone. It only floats when nobody is holding it.”

🥄 The Bending Spoon

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: spoon

1. Hold the spoon upright on the table, both hands wrapped round the neck.
2. Press down and groan a bit, as if it is hard work.
3. As you press, let the spoon slide down through your hands and tip the bowl forward.
4. Stop, look pleased, and let them see the bent handle.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/bending-spoon-trick

Say: “Metal is only hard if you believe it is. I don't, particularly. Watch. Don't tell whoever washes up.”

🪵 The Broken Toothpick Restored

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 11

You need: napkin, toothpick, scissors

1. Ask a grown-up to snip the sharp ends off both two toothpicks, and to work one into the hem of the napkin.
2. Lay the napkin flat and put the loose two toothpicks in the middle, where everyone can see it.
3. Fold the napkin over it twice, keeping the hem corner under your fingers.
4. Hold the hem through the cloth and ask somebody to snap it.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/broken-toothpick-restored-trick

Say: “Go on, break it. Properly, I don't mind. Did everybody hear that? Good, because I'm going to need you all as witnesses in a moment.”

🥤 Easy Cups and Balls

Wizard · 3 to 5 days · ages 7 to 12

You need: cup, pom-poms

1. Set the three three cups mouth-down in a row, the loaded one in the middle.
2. Put one four pom-poms on top of the middle cup and stack the other two on it.
3. Lift the stack and show the ball has gone through.
4. Do it again with the second four pom-poms, the same way, in the same order.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/easy-cups-and-balls-trick

Say: “Three cups, three balls. Keep your eyes on the middle one. Actually, keep your eyes on all of them. Actually, you know what, it won't help.”

✏️ The Vanishing Pencil

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: pencil

1. Sit at a table with your friend across from you, and hold the pencil up like a wand.
2. Say: on three, this pencil will disappear.
3. Lift it right up beside your head every time, then bring it down and tap: two!
4. On the next lift, leave the pencil tucked behind your ear, and keep looking at the table.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/vanishing-pencil-trick

Say: “This is a very shy pencil. It doesn't like being counted. One… two… three! Oh. Oh no. Where did it go?”

🖍️ The Crayon Mind Reader

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: crayons

1. Put the crayons on the table and turn your back to your friend.
2. Hold your hands behind you and say: put any crayon in my hands, and hide the box.
3. Turn round to face them, with the crayon still behind your back.
4. Behind your back, secretly scrape a little of the crayon with your thumbnail.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/crayon-mind-reader-trick

Say: “Every colour makes a different feeling in your fingers. Warm ones tingle. Cold ones prickle. This one is… tingling… it's pink!”

☝️ The Stretching Finger

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Hold up one hand with the pointer finger bent, so only the top part sticks up.
2. Wrap your other hand round it, so the fist hides the bent part of your finger.
3. Pinch the fingertip and pretend to pull hard.
4. Slide the fist up slowly while you straighten your finger inside it.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/stretching-finger-trick

Say: “My fingers are made of chewing gum. Watch. If I pull… really… hard… it stretches! Better put it back before it snaps.”

🖐️ Eleven Fingers

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Say: I have eleven fingers.
2. Say: no, you counted wrong.
3. Touch the fingers of one hand, counting backwards: ten, nine, eight, seven, six.
4. Hold up your other hand and say: and five on this hand.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/eleven-fingers-trick

Say: “Most people have ten fingers. I'm a magician, so I got one extra. Don't believe me? I'll prove it.”

🏁 Race to 100

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: paper, pencil

1. Tell your friend the rule: each turn, you add any number from 1 to 10 to the total.
2. Whoever says exactly 100 wins.
3. Offer to go first, as if you are being kind.
4. Whatever your friend adds, you add the number that makes 11 with it.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/race-to-100-trick

Say: “I've been practising adding. Not fast adding: lucky adding. You can choose any numbers you like, and I'll still get to 100 first.”

🃏 The Magic Mind Reader

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 11

You need: deck

1. Shuffle the deck, and as you square it up, tilt it and peek at the bottom card.
2. Spread the cards face down and let your friend take any one at all.
3. They look at it and show the audience.
4. Ask them to put their card on top of the deck.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/key-card-trick

Say: “Cards hold on to a little bit of your thoughts when you touch them. Think about your card. Think hard… I'm picking up a signal. It's faint. It's getting stronger…”

🔢 The 21 Card Trick

Apprentice · 10 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Count twenty-one cards off the deck and put the rest away.
2. Deal them face up into three columns, one card at a time, left to right.
3. Ask your friend to pick a card in their head and say which column it's in.
4. Gather the columns up with theirs in the middle of the other two.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/21-card-trick

Say: “Your card is shy. Every time I deal, it creeps a little closer to the middle, where it feels safe. There's only one word that can coax it out. A-B-R-A-C-A-D-A-B-R-A!”

🅰️ The Ace Finder

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Ask your friend to cut the deck into four piles in a row.
2. Starting at the far left pile, they move three cards from its top to its bottom.
3. Then they deal one card off that pile onto each of the other three.
4. They do the same for the next pile, and the next: three under, one to each.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/four-aces-trick

Say: “Aces are the bosses of the deck. You can mix them, cut them, bury them, shuffle them — and when the dust settles, the bosses are back on top. Every time.”

🐝 The Spelling Bee

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: thirteen cards

1. Hold the thirteen cards face down and tell everyone you taught them to spell.
2. Spell A-C-E out loud, moving one card from the top to the bottom for each letter.
3. Turn over the next card on top.
4. Spell T-W-O the same way, then turn over the next card.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/spelling-card-trick

Say: “These thirteen went to the Peabody School of Spelling. Most of them did their homework. Let's find out which ones were paying attention. A… C… E…”

🙃 The Upside-Down Card

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Hold the deck out and fan it so somebody can take a card.
2. While they look at it, lower your hands and quietly turn the deck over.
3. Hold the deck out again and ask them to push their card back into the middle.
4. Put the deck behind your back, turn it over once more, and bring it out.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/upside-down-card-trick

Say: “Cards know things. Push yours back in anywhere you like, I won't look. Somewhere in there it's going to tell the others, and when a card tells a secret it goes red in the face and turns right over.”

🔮 The Crystal Ball Prediction

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: deck, paper, marker

1. Pick up the deck and sneak a look at the bottom card.
2. Write that card on the paper with the marker and put it face down.
3. Put the deck on the table and ask somebody to cut it anywhere.
4. Pick up the bottom half and lay it across the half they lifted.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/crystal-ball-prediction-trick

Say: “I had a dream about this last night. I wrote it down so nobody could say I made it up afterwards. Cut the cards wherever you want. Anywhere. It won't help.”

🥪 The Card Sandwich

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: deck

1. Show the two Jacks on top of the deck and leave them there, face up.
2. Fan the deck and let somebody take a card, then have them put it back on top.
3. Put the two Jacks back on top of their card, so it is already in the sandwich.
4. Cut the deck once, so all three disappear into the middle.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/card-sandwich-trick

Say: “These two are the bouncers. Nothing gets past them and nothing gets out. I'm going to lose your card in the deck, and they are going to go and fetch it.”

🔢 The Countdown Card

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Count nine cards down in the deck before the show and remember the ninth.
2. Say the card out loud, so everybody hears you name it first.
3. Ask somebody for any number between ten and twenty.
4. Deal that many cards into a pile, one at a time.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/countdown-card-trick

Say: “Pick a number. Any number between ten and twenty, your choice, I'm not helping. Right. I already know where that's going to land you, and I knew before you opened your mouth.”

👯 Do As I Do

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: deck

1. Give your friend one two deck and keep the other.
2. Shuffle, and sneak a look at the bottom card of your own two deck.
3. Both of you take a card from the middle, look at it, and put it on top.
4. Both cut two deck once, so the card is lost in the middle.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/do-as-i-do-trick

Say: “We're going to do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, you and me. Same shuffle, same cut, same everything. And at the end we'll see how alike we really are.”

⬆️ The Rising Card

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Get their card to the back of the deck, with the faces towards your audience.
2. Hold the deck upright in your fingers, little finger curled round the back.
3. Wave your other hand over the deck and say the magic word.
4. Straighten your little finger slowly.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/rising-card-trick

Say: “Cards are mostly lazy. Yours isn't. Yours has been trying to get my attention since the moment you put it back, and I think it's about to make a run for it.”

🪽 The Levitating Card

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Lay one card flat on your open palm, fingers together.
2. Bend your middle finger back behind the card and press it to your palm.
3. Turn your hand upright.
4. Move your hand away from the card a little, as if it is floating free.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/levitating-card-trick

Say: “Watch. No strings, no glue, nothing up my sleeve, and before you ask, no, I can't do it with anything heavier. I've tried it with a sandwich and it was a disaster.”

🚔 The Four Burglars

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: deck

1. Fan the top cards of the deck and show four Jacks, keeping the three behind them hidden.
2. Square them up and put all seven back on top of the deck face down.
3. Take the top card and push it into the bottom of the deck: the first burglar.
4. Push the next into the middle, and the next a bit higher up.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/four-burglars-trick

Say: “Four burglars. This deck is a tall building and they are going in. One in the basement, one on the second floor, one on the third, and this one stays on the roof to keep watch. Uh oh. Police.”

🃏 The Card That Keeps Coming Back

Wizard · 3 to 6 days · ages 10 to 13

You need: deck

1. Let your friend pick any card from the deck, show everyone, and put it back on top.
2. Openly put one more card on top of theirs.
3. Snap your fingers over the deck.
4. With your thumb, lift the top two cards together at the back, lined up exactly.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/ambitious-card-trick

Say: “Some cards are shy. This one is the opposite: it wants to be on top. I can put it in the middle, I can bury it, I can tell it off. Watch what it does.”

🃏 Three Friends, Three Cards

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 7 to 11

You need: deck

1. Shuffle the deck, then hold up the top three cards so only your first friend sees their faces.
2. Ask them to think of one of the three, and not to say which.
3. Lay those three face down in a row: now there are three spots on the table.
4. Show the next three cards to your second friend, then lay one on each spot.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/three-friends-card-trick

Say: “Three minds, nine cards, and I'm only allowed one question each. I won't even ask which card. Just tell me: is it in this pile?”

🔟 The Card That Counts

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 8 to 13

You need: deck

1. Take the Ace to 10 of any one suit out of the deck.
2. Put them face down in order, with the Ace on top and the 10 at the bottom.
3. Show your friend the rule: move one card at a time from the top to the bottom.
4. As you show them, move exactly three cards, counting "one, two, three".

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/card-that-counts-trick

Say: “Cards are terrible at keeping secrets. While my back was turned, these ten were watching you. Let's ask the one who saw everything.”

👑 Gathering the Kings

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 13

You need: deck

1. Fan the six cards face up, with the two Jacks hidden exactly behind the second King.
2. Show the four Kings, square them up, and put all six face down on top of the deck.
3. Take the top card, let everyone see it is a King, and put it on the bottom.
4. Take the next card without showing it, and push it in a third of the way down.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/gathering-the-kings-trick

Say: “Kings hate being apart. Watch: one goes to the bottom, one gets lost in here, one in here, one on top. And with one cut… they find each other again.”

🪙 The Coin Fold

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: coin, square of paper

1. Put the coin right in the middle of the square of paper.
2. Fold the bottom edge up over the coin, stopping half an inch short of the top.
3. Fold the left and right sides round to the back.
4. Fold the top flap back as well.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/coin-in-paper-vanish

Say: “This is magic paper. It's hungry, and what it likes best is money. Can you feel the coin? Still there? Good. Watch this.”

⭕ The Impossible Hole

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: paper, dime, quarter, scissors

1. Draw round the dime in the middle of the paper.
2. A grown-up cuts the little circle out with the scissors.
3. Hand the quarter over and ask them to push it through the hole.
4. Take it back.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/coin-through-small-hole-trick

Say: “It's not the size of the hole that matters. It's the size of your imagination. Go on, have a go. No tearing!”

😄 The Forehead Coin

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: coin

1. Tell your friend you're going to test their forehead muscles.
2. Press the coin firmly onto their forehead and count to ten out loud.
3. Take your hand away with the coin still in it, and slide it into your pocket.
4. Say: now wiggle it off, just with your eyebrows.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/forehead-coin-trick

Say: “Right. This is a serious scientific test of forehead strength. Hold still. Ready… set… wiggle!”

🤔 Which Hand?

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: coin

1. Turn away and ask your friend to hide the coin in one hand, behind their back.
2. Ask them to hold that hand up by their head and think "here it is" while you count to thirty.
3. Ask them to put both fists out in front, then turn round and look.
4. Watch their eyes first.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/which-hand-coin-trick

Say: “Coins are warm, and minds are loud. Think about where it is. Think hard. Don't tell me… I can hear that coin thinking.”

💨 The Vanishing Coin

Wizard · 3 to 5 days · ages 8 to 13

You need: coin

1. Hold the coin between the thumb and fingers of your right hand, up where everyone sees it.
2. Bring your left hand over as if to take the coin from underneath.
3. As your left hand covers it, let the coin drop into the curl of your right fingers.
4. Close your left hand as if the coin is in it, and move it away.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/vanishing-coin-trick

Say: “One coin. Nothing special about it, you can look. Into this hand. Now, the tricky bit is that coins don't actually like being held, so if I just... blow... there. Gone. Don't ask me where, I've never found out.”

💪 The Elbow Vanish

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: coin

1. Rub the coin into your elbow and let it drop on the table.
2. Pick the coin up with your other hand, pass it back, and try again.
3. Drop the coin again.
4. Pick it up with the other hand and reach for your elbow, dropping the coin down your collar.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/elbow-vanish-trick

Say: “Right. Everybody knows you can rub a coin into your elbow, yes? No? Well, you can. It's just quite hard. Watch. ...Hang on. Let me try that again.”

👂 The Coin From Behind Your Ear

Wizard · 2 to 4 days · ages 8 to 13

You need: coin

1. Rest the coin in the curl of your fingers, halfway down, and let your hand hang naturally.
2. Show your other hand empty, front and back, and keep talking.
3. Reach behind their ear with the hand holding the coin.
4. Straighten your fingers so the coin comes to your fingertips, and bring it out.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/coin-from-ear-trick

Say: “Hold still. You've got something back there. No, don't touch it, I'll get it. How long has that been there? You should really check more often.”

🥛 The Glass Vanish

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: coin, glass, napkin

1. Put the coin on the table and stand the glass upside down over it.
2. Cover the glass with the napkin and press it down so it takes the shape.
3. Say you will make the coin vanish.
4. Put them back, slide them towards you, and let the glass drop into your lap.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/glass-vanish-trick

Say: “Watch the coin. Keep watching the coin. Whatever happens, do not take your eyes off the coin. ...You weren't watching the glass, were you.”

🪙 The Heads or Tails Mind Reader

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: coin

1. Spread six six coins on the table and count how many are heads up.
2. Turn your back and ask them to flip any coins they like, saying "flip" each time.
3. Count their flips in your head.
4. Ask them to cover one six coins with a hand, then turn round.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/heads-or-tails-mind-reader-trick

Say: “I can't see a thing, I promise. Flip as many as you want, I'm only listening. Now put your hand over one. ...It's tails, isn't it. I could hear it being tails.”

🪙 The Two-Coin Jump

Wizard · 3 to 5 days · ages 10 to 13

You need: quarter

1. Sit at a table and lay both hands palm up, a little apart.
2. Put two quarters on your palms, one each: the left near your fingers, the right near your thumb.
3. Say: watch both coins.
4. Flip both hands over fast and slap them down on the table together.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/two-coin-jump-trick

Say: “These two coins are best friends. They hate being apart. Even when I keep them in different hands… they find each other.”

🪙 The Warm Coin

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 10

You need: coin, cup

1. Put five coins in the cup.
2. Turn your back and ask your friend to take out any coin they like.
3. Ask them to squeeze it tight in a fist and think about it while you count slowly to thirty.
4. Ask them to drop it back in the cup and give the cup a shake.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/warm-coin-trick

Say: “Coins remember who held them. Squeeze your thoughts right into it… Now let me feel which one is still thinking about you.”

🪙 The Flying Coin

Conjurer · 20 minutes · ages 8 to 13

You need: coin

1. Lay one coin in each palm and close your hands, palms up.
2. Ask a friend to balance one more coin on the nail of each middle finger.
3. Say you will throw one coin from one hand to the other, which is very hard with closed hands.
4. Jerk both hands up and open them, and let the left hand catch its nail coin into the palm.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/flying-coin-trick

Say: “Coins can fly, you know, but only a little way, and only if nobody watches them take off. Ready? …Oops. Ready again?”

🪙 Odd or Even

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 7 to 11

You need: coin, cup

1. Split ten coins into two piles: some for your friend and some for you.
2. Turn away while your friend drops some of theirs into the cup, counting in secret.
3. Turn back and say: "Odd or even, whatever you put in, I'll turn it into the other."
4. Drop in some of yours one at a time, counting to yourself: always one, three or five.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/odd-or-even-coin-trick

Say: “Numbers have moods: some are odd and some are even. I can change a number's mood without ever knowing what the number is.”

🪙 The Ten Coin Jump

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 8 to 13

You need: coin

1. Lay ten coins in a straight row, a finger's width apart.
2. Set the challenge: five piles of two, and each move jumps one coin over exactly two others.
3. Let your friend try for a while.
4. Then show them.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/ten-coin-jump-trick

Say: “Ten coins, five piles, one rule: jump exactly two. I'll give you a minute… No? Watch closely, then.”

3️⃣ The Answer Is Always 3

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Say: think of any number, nice and small, between 1 and 10.
2. Say: double it.
3. Say: add 6.
4. Say: cut it in half.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/think-of-a-number-trick

Say: “Don't tell me anything. Just think the numbers really, really loudly. Louder. I'm nearly there. Hold still…”

🔮 The Magic Number 1089

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: paper, pencil, envelope

1. Ask your friend to write any three-digit number on the paper with the pencil.
2. Tell them the first and last digits must be at least 2 apart.
3. Ask them to write it backwards underneath, then take the smaller from the bigger.
4. If their answer has only two digits, like 99, write it as 099.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/1089-math-trick

Say: “I've been practising seeing into the future, but so far it only works with numbers. I looked this morning and wrote down what I saw. That was before you'd even thought of a number.”

🎲 The X-Ray Dice

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: dice

1. Turn away and ask your friend to stack three dice into a tower, any way they like.
2. Turn back and look at the number on the very top.
3. Take it away from 21 in your head.
4. Hold your hand over the tower, close your eyes, and say the number.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/dice-magic-trick

Say: “I have X-ray eyes. They don't work on people, or walls, or homework. Only dice. It's a very specific superpower and I'm making the most of it.”

🐘 The Grey Elephant Prediction

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Say: think of a number from 1 to 10, and keep it to yourself.
2. Say: multiply it by 9.
3. Say: if that's two digits, add the two digits together.
4. Say: take away 5.

…and 5 more on peabody.kids/magic/elephant-in-denmark-trick

Say: “Say the last line like you're reading it off a photograph only you can see. Slowly. Then say nothing at all and let them work out what just happened.”

🧮 The Calculator Prediction

Apprentice · 3 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: calculator

1. Type 12345679 into the calculator.
2. Hand it over and ask for their favourite digit, from 1 to 9.
3. In your head, multiply their digit by 9.
4. Say: now multiply by sixty-three.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/calculator-magic-trick

Say: “Your favourite number is more powerful than you think. Give it one little push and it takes over the whole calculator. Ready? Press it.”

🎂 The Birthday Mind Reader

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 8 to 13

You need: calculator

1. Ask them to key the day of their birthday into the calculator.
2. Times it by 5, then add 6.
3. Times that by 4, then add 9.
4. Times that by 5, then add the number of their birthday month.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/birthday-mind-reader-trick

Say: “I'm not going to ask you when your birthday is. I'm going to ask you to do some sums, which is much worse, and then I'm going to tell you.”

🗂️ The Secret Number Cards

Apprentice · 10 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: index card, marker

1. Write the six six index card out with the marker, each starting 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32.
2. Hand all six six index card over and ask them to think of a number from 1 to 60.
3. Ask them to give back every card their number is on.
4. Add up the first number on each one and say the total out loud.

Say: “Six cards. Think of a number, don't tell me, and give me back the ones it's hiding on. That's all I need. Numbers aren't very good at hiding, it turns out.”

📅 The Lightning Calendar

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 8 to 13

You need: paper, marker

1. Draw a month on the paper with the marker: seven across, the dates in rows.
2. Ask somebody to ring any block of nine dates, three across and three down.
3. Glance at it, find the middle number, and times it by nine in your head.
4. Say the total out loud and let them add the nine up to check.

Say: “Ring any nine you like. Go on, make it a hard one. ...One hundred and thirty-five. Take your time checking, I'll wait.”

🤝 The Secret Partner Code

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Agree the code: the object right after a black one is the answer.
2. Leave the room while everyone agrees on an object.
3. Come back.
4. Say no to each one until they point at something black.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/secret-partner-code-trick

Say: “My partner and I have been doing this for years. We don't even have to speak. Go on, pick anything in the room, and don't let me hear you.”

🕐 The Magic Clock

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: paper, marker

1. Draw a clock face on the paper with the marker and put it where they can reach.
2. Ask them to think of an hour and to count up silently from it as you tap.
3. Tap any numbers you like for the first seven taps, counting out loud.
4. On the eighth tap go to 12, then work backwards: 11, 10, 9.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/magic-clock-trick

Say: “Think of an hour. Any hour. Don't say it. Now count along with me in your head, starting from your number, and shout when we get to twenty.”

🧮 The Nine Times Fingers

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 7 to 11

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Hold up both hands, palms towards you, all ten fingers up.
2. Ask somebody for any number from 1 to 10.
3. Count from your left pinkie to the fourth finger, and fold that one down.
4. Count the fingers left of the fold: 3.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/nine-times-finger-trick

Say: “My fingers have the whole nine times table hidden in them. Give me any number from one to ten, and my hands will tell me the answer.”

✊ The Knuckle Calendar

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 10

You need: nothing but your hands

1. Make two fists and put them side by side, knuckles up.
2. Practise first: say January on the first knuckle, February in the dip after it.
3. Keep going along the knuckles and dips.
4. Knuckle months have 31 days.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/knuckle-calendar-trick

Say: “My knuckles are a calendar. I had them made specially. Name any month, any month at all, and they'll tell me how long it is.”

📖 The Book Test

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 10 to 13

You need: book, paper, pencil, envelope

1. Put the sealed the envelope where everyone can see it, and hand over the book.
2. Ask them to write any three-digit number whose first digit is at least 2 bigger than its last.
3. Ask them to write it backwards underneath and take the smaller from the bigger.
4. Now write that answer backwards underneath it, and add the two together.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/book-test-trick

Say: “Books remember everyone who has read them. This one remembered you were coming, and it told me which word you would choose. I wrote it down this morning.”

🔢 The Instant Magic Square

Conjurer · 20 minutes · ages 10 to 13

You need: paper, pencil

1. Ask for any number from 30 to 99.
2. Draw a grid four boxes across and four boxes down on the paper.
3. Top row: their number minus 20, then 1, 12, 7.
4. Second row: 11, 8, their number minus 21, then 2.

…and 3 more on peabody.kids/magic/magic-square-trick

Say: “Every number has a magic square hiding inside it. Most people never find theirs. Give me yours, and I'll draw it out for you before you can count to twenty.”

🔢 The Missing Digit

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 9 to 13

You need: paper, pencil

1. Turn your back.
2. Ask them to add up its digits, then take that total away from the big number.
3. They can use the calculator for the take-away if they like.
4. Ask them to cross out any one digit of the answer, except a 0.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/missing-digit-trick

Say: “Numbers leave footprints. You can cross one out, but the others still remember where it was standing.”

📝 The Answer in Advance

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 8 to 13

You need: paper, pencil

1. Ask a friend to write any four-digit number at the top of a sheet of paper.
2. On the other sheet write your answer: their number take away 2, with a 2 in front.
3. Fold it up and give it to somebody to hold.
4. A second friend writes another four-digit number under the first.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/answer-in-advance-trick

Say: “I'm going to write down the answer to a sum that nobody has written yet. Then you three can write it. Let's see if the future gets it right.”

⚫ Pepper Scatter

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: bowl, water, pepper, dish soap

1. Fill the bowl with the water and shake the pepper all over the top.
2. Ask your friend to touch the middle of the water with one finger.
3. Nothing happens.
4. Touch the middle with the finger that has the dish soap on it.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/pepper-and-soap-trick

Say: “Pepper, pepper, run away! There's a magician here today! Go on. Try it yourself first. It won't listen to you.”

➡️ The Arrow Flip

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 5 to 9

You need: glass, water, paper, marker

1. Draw a big fat arrow on the paper with the marker, pointing right.
2. Stand it up against something, and put the empty the glass in front of it.
3. Point out that the arrow still points right.
4. Pour the water in until it's higher than the arrow.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/arrow-flip-trick

Say: “Arrows are very easily confused. This one has had a long day. Watch me turn it round without touching it. Flip-flop!”

🫗 The Water Vanish

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: glass, water, coin, saucer

1. Put the coin on the table and stand the empty the glass on top of it.
2. Ask everyone to crouch down and look through the side.
3. Fill the glass with the water, right to the top.
4. Lay the saucer over the mouth of the glass like a little lid.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/disappearing-coin-water-trick

Say: “This is invisibility water. I keep it in a glass because it's the only thing that can hold it. Anything underneath disappears. Watch the coin.”

🫧 The Glowing Potion

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: glass, water, tonic water, UV light

1. Pour the water into one glass and the tonic water into the other.
2. Put them side by side and ask which one looks magic.
3. Ask a grown-up to turn the lights off or pull the curtains.
4. A grown-up shines the UV light on both glasses, pointing it down at the table.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/glowing-water-trick

Say: “One of these is swamp water from a wizard's garden. The other came out of the tap. I can't tell them apart either, so let's ask the light.”

🪄 Secret Message Ink

Apprentice · 10 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: white paper, baking soda, water, cotton swab, grape juice, paintbrush

1. Mix the baking soda and the water in a cup, about the same amount of each.
2. Write your message on the white paper with the cotton swab dipped in the mix.
3. Leave it flat until it's completely dry.
4. Hold it up and say it's a letter from a wizard, written in invisible ink.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/invisible-ink-for-kids

Say: “This came through the letterbox this morning with no stamp on it. It's blank, which is how ghosts write. Luckily I've got the potion that reads ghost handwriting.”

🥛 The Upside-Down Water Card

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: glass, water, index card

1. Fill the glass right up to the top with the water.
2. Lay the index card flat over the top and press it down.
3. Hold the index card in place and turn the glass upside down over a tray.
4. Take your hand away.

Say: “Water falls down. Everybody knows that. It's one of the few things you can really count on. Except, as it turns out, when I ask it not to.”

🎈 The Balloon Static Wand

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: balloon, paper strip

1. Ask a grown-up to blow the balloon up and tie it.
2. Tear six paper strip into little pieces and scatter them on the table.
3. Rub the balloon on your hair, hard, for about ten seconds.
4. Hold the balloon just above the pieces and lift it slowly.

Say: “This is a wand. I know it doesn't look like one. Wands come in all sorts these days. Watch what happens when I tell these bits of paper to stand up.”

🌈 The Colour-Changing Potion

Conjurer · 10 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: grape juice, baking soda, glass, water

1. Stir a spoon of the baking soda into the empty two glasses before anyone is watching.
2. Mix the grape juice with a little the water in the other two glasses and show it round.
3. Say the magic word and pour the purple potion into the prepared two glasses.
4. Hold it up.

Say: “Purple. We're all agreed it's purple? Good, because in about four seconds it won't be, and I want witnesses.”

🥚 The Obedient Egg

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: egg, glass, water, salt

1. Fill the glass with the water and lower the egg in.
2. Order the egg to rise.
3. Stir several big spoons of the salt into the water, round and round.
4. Ask the egg again.

Say: “Eggs are stubborn. This one and I have an arrangement. Rise. ...Rise. Hmm. He's new. Let me have a word with the water instead.”

📎 The Floating Paperclip

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: paperclips, bowl, water, dish soap

1. Fill the bowl with the water and let it go completely still.
2. Bend one two paperclips into a little cradle to lower the other one with.
3. Lay the second two paperclips flat on the surface and slide the cradle away.
4. Dip one finger in the dish soap and touch the edge of the water.

Say: “Metal sinks. This is not a trick metal paperclip, you can check it, and it is definitely going to sink. Unless I ask the water very politely to help.”

🕳️ The Hole in Your Hand

Apprentice · 1 minute · ages 5 to 9

You need: paper

1. Roll the paper into a tube about as wide as a coin and hold it shut.
2. Hold the tube up to your right eye, like a pirate's telescope.
3. Hold your left hand flat against the side of the tube, halfway along.
4. Keep both eyes open and look at something a long way off.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/hole-in-your-hand-illusion

Say: “I've got a special power. I can put a hole right through your hand without hurting you at all. Want to see? Don't worry. It closes up afterwards.”

📎 The Linking Paper Clips

Apprentice · 2 minutes · ages 5 to 10

You need: paper strip, paperclips

1. Fold the paper strip into an S shape, in three equal parts.
2. Clip the first and second layers together on one side with a paperclip.
3. Clip the second and third layers together on the other side with the next one.
4. Hold the paper strip up and let everybody see that two paperclips are far apart.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/linking-paperclips-trick

Say: “These two have never met. They're about to. Paperclips are terribly friendly once you introduce them properly. Ready? One… two… three!”

🪢 The Instant Knot

Apprentice · 5 minutes · ages 6 to 11

You need: string

1. Lay the string out on the table and explain the challenge.
2. They hold one end in each hand and must tie a knot without letting go.
3. Your turn.
4. Keeping your arms folded, pick up the left end with your right hand.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/instant-knot-trick

Say: “It's easy, this one. You just have to think backwards. Most people try to tie the string. I tie myself first and let the string catch up.”

🚪 Walk Through a Paper

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: index card, scissors

1. Hold up the index card and say you can walk through it.
2. Fold the card in half, the long way.
3. From the folded edge, cut a slit across, stopping just before the open edge.
4. Move along a little and cut from the open edge towards the fold, stopping short again.

…and 4 more on peabody.kids/magic/walk-through-paper-trick

Say: “I can walk through this card. Don't believe me? Watch very carefully, because it only works once per card. Abracadabra-snip-snip!”

🧻 The Torn and Restored Napkin

Wizard · 2 to 4 days · ages 8 to 13

You need: napkin

1. Hide the spare two napkin, rolled tight, in the curl of your fingers.
2. Show the other two napkin on both sides and tear it in half, then in half again.
3. Screw the pieces into a ball about the same size as the hidden one.
4. Bring both hands together, blow hard, and let the balls change places.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/torn-and-restored-napkin-trick

Say: “Napkins are very forgiving. Not people, not plates, but napkins, yes. Watch how forgiving. One, two, three, four pieces. And a bit of breath.”

🔄 The Loop of Mystery

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: paper strip, scissors

1. Ask a grown-up to help you cut three long three paper strip with the scissors.
2. Join the first three paper strip into a loop with no twist at all.
3. Join the second with a half twist, and the third with a full twist.
4. Cut the first loop down the middle, all the way round.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/loop-of-mystery-trick

Say: “Three loops. Same paper, same scissors, same cut, straight down the middle of each one. I'd like you to tell me afterwards which one was the odd one out. I think you'll struggle.”

🧵 The Cut and Restored String

Wizard · 2 to 4 days · ages 8 to 13

You need: string, scissors

1. Hide the little loop of two string in your left fist before you start.
2. Show the long two string and let somebody feel both ends.
3. Lay the middle of two string into your left fist, and bring the hidden loop up instead.
4. Ask a grown-up to hold the scissors with you, and cut the loop.

…and 2 more on peabody.kids/magic/cut-and-restored-string-trick

Say: “One piece of string. Have a good feel of it, both ends. Now I'm going to do something unforgivable to it, and then I'm going to apologise, and string, unlike most things, accepts apologies.”

⛓️ The Escape Loops

Conjurer · 15 minutes · ages 7 to 12

You need: string

1. Tie the ends of one two string round your own wrists, loosely.
2. Loop the second two string through yours before your partner ties it on.
3. Let everyone try to get you apart.
4. Take the middle of your two string and push it under the loop round their wrist.

…and 1 more on peabody.kids/magic/escape-loops-trick

Say: “Great escape artists got out of handcuffs, out of boxes, out of a tank of water. All I'm asking you to get out of is a bit of string, and I don't think you can.”