Most children are introduced to marine life studies between 4 and 6 years of age. This is also a perfect time to introduce basic ocean science!
I saw this ocean zone project by KC Edventures and decided to try it out using a slightly modified version.
What you will need:
- Construction or water color paper
- Water colors
- Marker
- Ocean Creature Stickers
- Small plastic sea creatures
- Tape
- String
- Glass mason jar with lid
- Tap water
Directions:
- After teaching your children about the various ocean zones (see below for resources) – cut 5 strips of water color paper and have your child paint each strip the color that he or she feels represents each zone. Allow to dry.
- Once the water color has dried, label each zone with marker and add sea creature stickers to their designated zones.
- Tape each zone to the back of the mason jar.
- Select plastic animals to represent one or two zones (more than that looks cluttered). Tie string around each animal and hang by taping them to the lid (make sure to adjust length of string to represent the correct zone).
- Fill mason jar with water and place lid with hanging animals in jar and cover.
- Enjoy your underwater world!
Additional resources:
http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/ocean-layers.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8101vCjM7nY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VhcHV1uuVo
http://www.ducksters.com/science/ecosystems/marine_biome.php
