Ocean/Sea Themed Activity Ideas For Kids
- Eniokos
- Jul 23
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 18
Here are some easy and fun ideas for doing ocean/sea themed activities with preschool and primary school kids.
Ocean/Sea Themed STEM Activities (3 Ideas)
Oil Spill Experiment
Idea:
To make children aware of the dangers of human activities on oceans. Start with a discussion on what is an oil spill. An oil spill is the accidental release of oil (petroleum) products into a body of water, either by an oil tanker ship, offshore oil rig, pipelines and even recreational vehicles, etc. There are a number of possible causes of oil spills including structural failures, equipment malfunctions, collisions, carelessness of people, natural disasters (such as storms), and sadly, deliberate acts by people through terrorism, vandalism or illegal dumping. Demonstrate the harmful effect of oil spill on marine life and bird feathers.
Materials Required:
A shallow bowl or dish
Water
Oil (vegetable oil or baby oil would work too)
Food coloring
Spoons
Paper towels
Cotton balls
Syringe or pipettes
Sponges
Craft sticks
Procedure:
The first part of our experiment will demonstrate what happens when oil and water mix. Take a shallow dish or bowl and fill it about half way with water. Then the child will add some oil to their water and observe what happens to the oil. They will discover that oil floats on the water and slowly spreads across the surface of the water creating a thin layer called an oil slick. The thin layer will be shiny and will have a rainbow effect. Now the water is polluted. The oceans are not still water, so give that water a stir and watch what happens too!
The 2nd part of the experiment is observing the effect how oil affects marine birds. For this experiment you can take a feather and dip it in water. How does the water affect the feather? Now take a feather and dip it in the oil water. What is the difference? Now imagine a bird, who is covered in feathers, how it would become extremely heavy. Not only can the oil stop them from flying, it can make it difficult for the birds to stay afloat when coated with heavy oil.
The 3rd part is the clean up of the oil spill. First try absorbent skimmers like sponges, make up remover pads, paper towels, etc. Record the effectiveness of each type. Are they only picking up the oil, or are they soaking up a lot of water as well? Now try physical skimmers such as syringes, pipettes, and spoons. How effective are they at picking up the oil? Now add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid. Immediately you would see the oil forms big droplets and moves to the edges of your bowl. Now try again to use a skimmer to pick up the oil. Record all your observations.
Ocean Theme Sensory Bin
Idea :
Ocean theme sensory bin offers young children a world of hands-on learning about the beloved real life topic of the ocean! Older children also often enjoy water table activities, so this ocean themed sensory activity can be used at home for all ages! Begin by asking the children what questions they have about the ocean or something that they want to learn more about. Devote time to learning about aquatic animals, and their special characteristics. Help children identify what they might see at the ocean shore such as sea shells, seaweed, or sand.
Materials Required :
A rectangular tub, Sand, glass pebbles, rocks, ocean animal toys, sea shells etc. , water, watercolor paint if blue water is needed.
Procedure:
Set up all the readily available material from your home in a tub. Introduce the sensory tub to your child. Your child should be able to recognize and identify different kinds of common ocean animals, share a few details about various ocean creatures, recognize that some animals are large predators (sharks and killer whales) while others are bottom feeders, compare animals that live in the ocean/those that don’t, etc.
Try this ocean themed quiz and get a FREE e-book with explanations on the questions.
Coral Reef Bleaching Experiment
Idea:
This experiment introduces coral bleaching and how it can have a negative impact on coral reef ecosystems. Discuss with your child focusing on how other environments are changing and what impact this has on the organisms that live there. introducing global warming and its causes to students. Explain that most of this excess heat is absorbed by the ocean, which results in increased ocean temperatures. Describe the process of coral bleaching (process of corals appearing white, due to the loss of the algae living inside of them) and the environmental conditions that cause it, including increased ocean temperatures. Explain that corals can recover from coral bleaching if the stressful environmental condition is removed; however, sometimes corals can die as a result of bleaching events.
Materials required:
Equipment:
Aluminum foil
2 small glass jars or clear drinking glasses
A pen, marker or pencil
Tape
Two small bowls
Measuring cups
A chopstick or popsicle stick (optional)
Ingredients:
1 egg or real seashells
2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of vinegar
Water
Procedure:
See this link:
Use tape and a pen to label your glass jars (or drinking glasses). Label the first jar Salt Water and the other jar Vinegar.
Crack the egg into a bowl. Try to keep the two halves of the shell as intact as possible. Put the egg in the fridge to use later for cooking or baking. You can use seashells instead of eggs.
Add one half of the eggshell to the Salt Water jar and the other half to the Vinegar jar. Or Add one seashell to salt water jar and another to the vinegar jar.
Add 1 cup of water to a bowl, then add 2 tsp of salt to the water. Stir until the salt is dissolved. Carefully pour this into the Salt Water jar. The eggshell (seashell) should be completely covered in water.
Add 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of water to a bowl. Stir the mixture, then pour it into the Vinegar jar. Be sure to completely cover the eggshell or seashell.
Store the two jars in a safe location. You’ll want to keep them in a place where you can watch for any changes, but where the jar won’t accidentally be knocked over or disturbed.
Now, it’s time to wait. It will take up to 24 hours to notice any differences in the eggshells or seashells
After 24 hours, observe the eggshells (seashells). Do you notice any difference between the eggshell pieces in the Salt Water and Vinegar jars? Gently touch the eggshells with a finger or blunt chopstick. Do the shells feel different?
Leave the shells for another 24 hours and repeat your observations.
Try leaving the shells even longer. Wait 24 more hours and check again: Have the eggshells changed even more?
When you mixed the salt with the water, you created a slightly basic solution that had a pH and salt level similar to seawater. When you mixed vinegar with water, you created an acidic liquid.
It took time for the acidity to affect the eggshells, which are made of calcium carbonate. At first, the eggshells looked the same. Then, you probably noticed that the shell in the Vinegar jar started to float, and there were lots of bubbles on the surface. These bubbles were the result of a chemical reaction between the vinegar and the calcium carbonate in the eggshell, which created small amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.
As you observed, the eggshells in the Vinegar jar became weaker over time due to the acidity of the vinegar, and they began to dissolve. Meanwhile, the eggshell in the Salt Water jar stayed strong.
Just like the eggshells you used in your experiment, many animals in the ocean have shells made from calcium carbonate. Coral, crabs, mussels and other creatures use calcium from seawater to create their protective shells and skeletons.
Over time, our oceans are becoming more acidic due to human use of fossil fuels, which are energy sources like coal, petroleum oil and natural gas. When we burn fossil fuels to power our cars, homes and factories, large amounts of carbon dioxide gas are released into the atmosphere. This pollutes the air and eventually dissolves into the oceans, where it lowers the pH of the water.
Ocean acidity puts animals with shells and skeletons at risk, which has the potential to affect the entire ocean ecosystem. About 25% of all ocean species depend on coral reefs as their main habitat and food source. Without coral reef structures, many other species would become endangered or even extinct.
Ocean/Sea Themed Craft Activities for Kids (3 Ideas)
Paper Plate Pufferfish
Source:
Visit the link above for the detailed description of the activity.
SUMMARY:
Materials needed:
A white paper plate, tempera paint, paintbrushes, cotton swabs, scissors, glue, scraps of construction paper, and a marker or crayons.
Method:
First, cut out a circle from the paper plate. Next, paint the paper plate with tempera paint using a paintbrush. Then, use cotton swabs to add dots of color to the paper plate, and cut some construction paper to make the fish’s eyes.
Once the paint is dried, glue on two scraps of construction paper for the fish’s fins. Finally, use a marker or crayons to add details like scales and a mouth. Your pretty pufferfish is now complete.
Paper Plate Swimming Jellyfish
Source : -
Visit the link above for the detailed description of the activity.
Materials needed:
paper plate
small piece of cardboard
blue paint
pink paint
paintbrush
colorful yarn
googly eyes stickers
adhesive jumbo craft stick or simple jumbo craft stick
craft knife (Adult use only!)
glue
Scissors
Method:
1. Gather your materials. Draw the shape of a jellyfish body on your small piece of cardboard and cut it out. Paint the piece with your pink paint, or whatever color you want your jellyfish to be. Set it aside to dry.
2. Paint the top of your paper plate (the side you eat on) with blue paint and paint your adhesive jumbo craft stick with blue paint. Set them aside to dry. (NOTE: If you don’t have adhesive craft sticks you can just use a regular jumbo craft stick and glue.)
3. When your paper plate is dry, have an adult use a craft knife to cut a slit in the paper plate about 2/3 down the plate. This is the slit for your jellyfish.
4. Turn your jellyfish body over and add a line of tacky glue at the bottom. Cut several strands of colorful yarn and place them down on the tacky glue. These are your jellyfish tentacles. Turn your swimming jellyfish craft over and place two googly eye stickers on it. Let the jellyfish craft dry completely before playing with it.
5. To make your jellyfish swim, place the craft down inside the slit in your paper plate. Hold the stick from behind the paper plate with one hand while stabilizing the paper plate with your other hand. When you move around the craft stick behind the paper plate your jellyfish swims around and around.
Egg Carton Turtle
Source :-
Visit the link above for the detailed description of the activity.
Materials needed : -
Egg carton
Scissors
Paintbrush
Green paint
Glue
Crafting pompoms
Green Felt or craft foam or cardstock paper
Googly eyes
Method :-
1. Help your child cut turtle “shells” from an egg carton and paint them green.
2. Cut four legs and a triangle tail from the green felt or craft foam or cardstock paper. You can use white one and paint it green.
3. Glue the legs and tail to the underside of the turtle shell.
4. Add a pompom for the head.
5. Decorate the shell using the embellishments you’ve collected or draw on it with a marker.
6. Glue the googly eyes onto the pompom head. You can draw on a mouth with black permanent marker if you’d like!
Exploring ocean life doesn’t have to mean visiting the sea. With simple materials and a bit of curiosity, your child can experience the wonders of coral reefs, saltwater science, and marine-inspired art right from home.
If you try any of these activities, we’d love to hear how it went! You can tag us or leave a comment below. Looking for more theme-based learning ideas? Sign up to our newsletter by filling out the form below!
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