Recycled Earth Day Ocean Craft

Earth Day is such an important day. It’s a great opportunity to teach little ones about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. As the Earth’s population grows, it is even more important to share this knowledge and way of life with our youth. I was inspired to make this project with my niece recently when she asked why we have two garbage cans in our kitchen. I explained that one is for trash and one is for recycling. But, I thought it would make more of an impact to show her the importance of recycling, reducing, and reusing. Now, let’s learn how to make this Recycled Earth Day Ocean Craft!

Recycled Earth Day Ocean Craft

Check out our printable Earth Day mazes, too!

Supplies:

• 1 Empty Water Bottle.
• Food Coloring (Optional). 
• Glitter.
• Cooking Oil.
• Water.
• Small Sea Life Animals.
• Heavy Duty Glue.

This is a great project to make for classroom discovery centers. You can make them with your class and teach them about the sea life and the impact recycling can make on the Earth. Begin by removing the label from the empty water bottle. I used a little peanut butter to remove the adhesive from the bottle.

Now, fill the bottle about 3/4 full with water. Then, add a few drops of food coloring to the bottle. This is an optional step, but it makes it look prettier.

Next, add some glitter to the bottle. I explained that the glitter was like some of the trash we see on the beach.

Now, add a few tablespoons of cooking oil to the bottle. The oil won’t mix with the water.  But the sea animals are covered in trash and oil, and it’s very hard to clean it off, even in the water.

Finally, add a bead of heavy duty adhesive to the rim of the bottle cap and secure it on the bottle. Allow it to dry completely before letting the little ones play with the bottle.

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed making this fun Recycled Earth Day Ocean Craft and learning about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling!