A quintessential treasure hunt—there’s nothing quite like it! A common theme of epic adventure movies and endless folklore, treasure hunting can become a pastime for you and your kids too! It’s super simple to equip your children with just what they need for such an adventure—a metal detector! You can take a detector virtually anywhere which is a huge advantage as it keeps your child active and outdoors while they’re at the beach, a campground, play area, a school after hours, or the forest.
If you need any further convincing, consider the educational aspect as children naturally learn what resources exist in their environment. Your child may discover iron ore or even a meteorite! Depending on your location, you may even find your treasure hunter has become a reputable gold digger. This hobby encourages them to use their imagination too as they unearth an old piece of jewelry or coin and consider the origin story of each treasure.
We garnered a few things to keep in mind during your hunt for the best metal detector for kids:
- Consider an ergonomic, lightweight design.
- Your kids will want to be assured they’re using a useful detector with the necessary features and sensitivity for unearthing legit discoveries.
- Finally, we provide three entry level choices below at various price points to ensure that budget doesn’t get in the way of some memorable family bonding and fun treasure hunts!
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1. National Geographic Junior Metal Detector
- FIND BURIED TREASURE – The 7.5” waterproof dual coil has adjustable sensitivity to help avoid false positives. The detector will beep and flash an LED light when it locates metal and has a detecting depth of up to 6 inches deep for small coins and metal objects.
- GREAT FOR KIDS – A telescoping arm provides length adjustment while a padded arm strap and comfort grip make this metal detector easy to use for kids of all sizes. Makes a great outdoor gift for boys and girls!
- LIGHTWEIGHT AND PORTABLE – The detector weighs just 1.4 lb (0.6kg). With the coil folded and arm support removed, it measures just 24-inches, and extends up to 39 inches long. Use at home, or pack it up for easy travel to any of your favorite treasure hunting spots!
- FULL-COLOR LEARNING GUIDE – Learn the history of metal detectors, how the coils on your detector work to find metal buried underground, and much more in our detailed learning guide.
- HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATIONAL TOYS - National Geographic is proud to make the highest quality hands-on science toys, and all our products are backed by exceptional service.
This is our pick for best metal detector for kids for the price. National Geographic has designed a whole set of STEM products that immerse kids in hands-on learning. Metal detectors feature a coil, and the larger the coil the deeper it can detect metals. This junior metal detector is an entry level model but has an impressive 7.5″ waterproof dual coil that can search for treasures in river beds and tide pools or in the ground up to 6 inches deep! It also has adjustable sensitivity which helps eliminate false positives that metal detectors pick up from the air such as electromagnetic sources like power lines. It is a lightweight and adjustable metal detector with a telescoping arm and comfort grip that make this metal detector easy to use for kids as young as 8 and is great for older kids too! It folds up easy for storage and to tote around to adventures of all sizes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROFl8dtGVaA
2. Sun POW High Accuracy Metal Detector for Adults & Kids
- DISC Mode & Unique Audio : OT-MD03 metal detector can detect metals including iron, aluminum, gold, bronze, silver and their articles in ALL METAL Mode. You can distinguish the metal type by unique audio and ignore junk metal by setting DISC range to improve the detection efficiency. 2 9V alkaline batteries are required.
- LCD Control Box : Turning off the light reduces your power consumption and makes the product last longer. The large LCD display can clearly shows the mode, sensitivity level, battery status, volume, and target depth. More accurate than pointer metal detector.
- Pinpoint Function & High Depth: After confirming the approximate range of the target in ALL METAL Mode, you can use P / P function to accurately locate the target. The volume level and display icon can determine depth of the target. The depth of detection up to 8 inches in PINPOINT FUNCTION mode.
- 10 Inch Waterproof Coil : 10inch coil has higher sensitivity. Waterproof stem and coils enables you to detect to under water, Perfect for outdoor, like beach, stream, yard. (Note: the control box is not waterproof).
- You Will Get: 1x Metal Detector, 1x Shovel, 1x Carrying Bag, 1x User Manual. Any problems or questions, contact us any time, we will help you solve in t
This is an excellent metal detector and it is our choice for best metal detector for kids regardless of cost. With features such as DISC adjustable discrimination mode, the user can choose a certain metal type (gold, silver, copper, bronze, silver) and help reduce the discovery of trash or junk metals. It also has a 10″ waterproof coil that has excellent sensitivity and allows for a truly waterproof search. One feature that reviewers rave about is how it can detect metals up to 8 inches deep using its Pinpoint Mode. This is a great product for children and adults to enjoy together as it is suitable for all users with an adjustable stem of 33″ to 40.6.” It has an intuitive LCD display box that helps easily switch between features and modes. And with its light, it can even be used for nighttime hunts! It also comes with a nice carrying bag so you can easily pack it along on your next trip.
3. Best Cheap Metal Detector for Kids—Bounty Hunter BHJS Junior Metal Detector
- 3 target ID categories
- Graphic target depth indicator
- Discrimination control to eliminate unwanted items
- Battery life indicator
- Lightweight ergonomic des
The Bounty Hunter Junior is a great entry level detector and its affordable price point makes it our pick for best cheap kids metal detector. It features a legit looking control box with a target indicator that increases in volume as kids get closer to their targets—coins up to 5 inches deep or larger objects with a depth of up to 3 feet. It even has some metal discrimination capability and can distinguish against iron and most other junk metals. It has a 6.5″ water resistant coil making it great for the beach and shallow water, but not one you want to submerge in the ocean. The Bounty Hunter is also sized perfectly for your littlest children—even a well-supervised 4 year old can get in on the hunt!
Questions and Answers
Are metal detectors safe for kids to use?
Today’s metal detectors are made with safe materials and do not emit anything harmful to your children. You will want to talk with your teens and older children about what to do if they find a weapon made of metal or anything sharp. And of course, always supervise young children when using a metal detector.
What types of metal do metal detectors detect?
Metal detectors not only detect all types of metal such as copper, brass, nickel, iron, and even gold, many of them have discrimination features that help distinguish between various metal targets and alloys and reduce the chance that you’ll waste time digging up junk metals such as aluminum cans. It is truly a fun and educational hobby.
Are there any limitations to using metal detectors?
Have a good and informative conversation with your child about trespassing laws and entering private property with a metal detector. There are also county and state laws you should research in regards to which public parks or lands are permissible for detecting and what to do if you find an artifact or item with a high value. This is a great opportunity to practice integrity and caring well for our neighbors!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMkrVJmoWmo
