Make an Ocean in a Bottle & Kid's Co-op Link up Party

I personally love this craft! I made this with my son about 2 years ago, and thought that we would revisit it. The materials are easy to gather, and the bottle takes minutes to put together.

 First we gathered up the materials:

• Oil (I like to keep on hand the cheapest oil I can find at the store specifically for crafts like this, or playdough, etc)
• An empty plastic bottle with cap
• Blue Watercolor (ours is from Discount School Supply), food dye would work fine too
• Glitter
• Other objects that represent the ocean (sand, shells, a shark)
• Funnel
• Liquid measuring cup (only because it is easy to pour from, we didn't use it for measuring)

First, I had my son pour water into the bottle to about the half-way mark, and then I had him put in the watercolor.

 Then I had him add the glitter.

We squeezed the rubber floaty shark in, and then poured some oil in. Next time I will remember not to use ocean creatures that float, and use instead the solid plastic ones that sink to the bottom — that way the sea creatures stay in the ocean part.

Before the oil reached the top, we put the sand and the shells in. 

We then poured oil as high up as it could go to the top and capped it, turning it as tightly as I could. Last time I think I put special glue inside the cap to make sure it stayed sealed. I didn't do that this time, as I felt secure that I screwed the top tight enough that it wouldn't come loose.

Voila! My son had fun putting it up to the light and watching the waves tumble back and forth. Such a gratifying easy craft that I highly recommend!

Things Bode learned:

• Oil and water don't mix
• Oil is actually lighter in weight than water and floats to the top.
• The watercolor mixes with the water and not with the oil, because it is water-based.

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Now onto the Link-up Party! Have a wonderful day!