Ocean in a Bottle

Whether or not you and your child live near the beach, you can bring the wonder and science of blue waves within the plastic confines of a simple soda bottle. The perfect start to either a science lesson or a creative DIY gift, this ocean in a bottle will provide tons of entertainment and education.

What You Need:

• Two-liter soda bottle
• Water
• Blue food coloring
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• Foil
• Styrofoam scraps
• Coins

What You Do:

1. Have your child fill the soda bottle with water. Make sure there are about seven inches between the water and the top of the bottle.
2. Help her add several drops of blue food coloring. Encourage her to experiment with the color. Does she want a deep blue shade for her ocean or a more transparent teal?
3. Let her gently shake the bottle to mix the food coloring in with the water.
4. Have her pour 2 1/2 cups of vegetable oil into the bottle.
5. Help her use her hands to shape the Styrofoam scraps into tiny boats.
6. Let her drop the boats into the bottle. Do her homemade boats float just like real ones?
7. Take a handful of coins and ask your child whether she thinks they will float like the boats or sink. Then let her find out for herself.
8. What else belongs in the ocean? Have your child use the foil to create people, ocean creatures or even a tiny submarine. Let her put her creations in the bottle along with the Styrofoam boats and coins..
9. Help her screw the cap on the bottle nice and tight.
10. Have her gently flip the bottle over.
11. Did any of her boats, coins or other ocean objects change position?
12. Let her turn the ocean in a bottle on its side. Where are all the objects now?
13. Show your child how to make miniature waves by tilting the entire bottle back and forth.

Encourage your child to add some more decorative elements to her ocean in a bottle! Maybe her ocean habitat needs some fake plants or a sandy floor.