If you are looking for a fun way to store souvenirs, check out this Seashell Craft with Water Bottle STEM Activity.
If your family is traveling to the beach this summer and collecting seashells, or you happen to already have small seashells on hand, I have a neat activity to work on together.
This water bottle craft is an easy way to store shells as well as a STEM craft that creates a simple science experiment about mixtures.
If you would like to make this Seashell Craft with Water Bottle with your children, you will need the following:
Beads or confetti
Glitter
Water
Blue Food Coloring
Canola Oil
Optional: Magic Marker and Masking Tape
Tip: Most of these items can be found at a dollar store or craft store. We purchased a small bag of decorator sand and small seashells.
Directions:
First clean the top of the water bottle and remove the label. Then have your child choose the seashells, beads, and other materials that they would like to add to the craft.
Tip: Older children can do this activity on their own, however younger children will need to be supervised.
I also suggest keeping paper towels nearby to clean up any spills and wearing an oversized shirt or apron to protect clothing.
Next, pour the sand into the bottle covering the bottom and then add the beads and seashells. We also added star beads because they reminded us of sea life and chose transparent colored beads because they looked like sea glass.
It is then time to add the glitter to the bottle and pour oil until it is about half full. Then fill the rest of the bottle up with water. Once filled, add a drop of blue food coloring.
FYI, It is fun to see the drop of food coloring as it drifts down through the oil to the water.
As it disperses you can watch as it changes the water blue.
When all the parts are added to the water bottle place the lid on tightly. If you have younger children, I suggest wrapping the top with either masking tape or duct tape to prevent the mixture from being opened.
My daughter also colored the top with a blue magic marker. Once the bottle is finished, it is time to start shaking it up.
As it all moves together hold it up to the light, it almost looks like a lava lamp with waves crashing on the beach.
This STEM activity is unique because it is a functional souvenir and displays how mixtures like oil and water as well as water and sand combine and separate out. In addition, this activity shows how combining water and food coloring makes a solution.
My daughter and I had a lot of fun with the Seashell Craft, and I hope that it also serves as an example of a way to create and save great memories made together as a family.
Carlee @ FLL
Comments