Click here to read Make an Ocean Sensory Bottle with a Whale! on Hands On As We Grow®
All four of my children love to shake up this simple balloon “whale” in an ocean sensory bottle!
It also makes for a simple sink-or-float experiment!
I remember making these ocean sensory bottles in kindergarten while listening to Raffi’s “Baby Beluga” song on a scratchy record player.
Needless to say, this was long before the day that Baby Shark became every child’s favorite sea creature song.
Making these whale in the ocean sensory bottles was an activity I had fond memories of and wanted to share with my own kids.
It was fun then, and it’s still fun now!
Create A Whale Swimming in an Ocean Sensory Bottle
This activity uses some things you likely already have around the house!
I always seem to have a bag of balloons around, and I hold on to every empty 2 liter bottle I get.
There are so many bottle activities out there to use them for!
For this sensory activity, you will need:
- A clean, empty 2 liter bottle
- A balloon
- Water
- A permanent marker
- Sequins, beads, pom poms, or other ocean theme add-ins
- A funnel
- Blue food coloring
- Optional: super glue for the lid
Making the “Whale” for Your Sensory Bottle
To make a whale in an ocean sensory bottle, you’ll start by making the whale!
First, I drew a smiling face on my balloon “whale” with a permanent marker.
I forgot the fins. Luckily, my kids didn’t care that it wasn’t scientifically accurate.
Putting the “Whale” in the Ocean Sensory Bottle
To put the whale in the bottle, I slipped the balloon into the top of my bottle, being careful not to let it fall all the way down inside.
Next I blew a little air into the balloon while it was still hanging inside the lid of the bottle.
Then I pinched it so the air couldn’t escape.
And finally I tied it shut with a knot.
With the balloon secured, I let the whale drop into the bottle!
Making the Deep, Blue Ocean
Now that the tricky part was finished, I called my 2 year old, Clara, in to help with the rest!
I let her pick out the add-ins to put into the ocean sensory bottle.
She chose pom poms and sequins and used a funnel to pour them in.
After that, I had her hold the bottle steady as I poured the water in until it was about a third of the way full.
Be careful not to overfill it, as the “whale” won’t have room to swim in the “ocean” if there’s not enough space left in the sensory bottle.
I then added a few drops of blue food coloring, screwed the lid on tightly, and gave the bottle to Clara to shake and mix it up!
You can also add some super glue or hot glue to secure the lid if you’re worried about finding a blue puddle on the carpet.
Observe the Whale Swimming in an Ocean Sensory Bottle
The bottle was ready to be played with!
I encouraged Clara to shake it and watch the whale swim in the waves.
No matter how much she shook her sensory bottle, the whale continued floating on top of the ocean!
My older kids were excited to give the experiment a try too.
As they played with the bottle, I asked them some science questions:
- Does the whale sink or float?
- What about the sequins?
- Why do you think that is?
This was also a good opportunity to chat about whales.
Just as the balloon “whale” stays at the top of the water, real whales need to come up to the ocean’s surface to breathe.
I don’t know if Clara was as interested in the science behind the whale in the sensory bottle as her older siblings were, but she loved talking to her whale and watching it swim through the sparkling ocean waves!
Is there an activity you did in your childhood that you would like to do with your children?
Tell us in the comments!
And check out this super fun list of classic summer crafts you are sure to have done as a kid to try with your wee ones!
