There was a tv game show for kids in the early where they went down path and at one point had to put their hands something guess what it there jail etc?

You are likely thinking of the game show Legends of the Hidden Temple, which aired on Nickelodeon from 1993 to 1995. The show featured teams of kids competing in a series of challenges in a fictional temple, including a challenge where they had to put their hands into a hole in a wall and guess what was inside.