Recycled Tide Pool

Celebrate summer with this beachy craft! Create your own tide pool using recycled materials and the Kid Made Modern Aquatic Craft Kit. Create your own critters to live and play in your tide pool - the options are endless!

Supplies:

-Cardboard

-Cardboard tubes (at least 4!)

-Brown construction paper

-Kid Made Modern washable paints

-Paint brushes

-Aquatic Craft Kit

-Scissors

-Hot glue gun

Steps:

Step 1: Cut out the shape of your tide pool from cardboard. You can make this any shape you like - it does not need to be a perfect circle. Our pool was about 10 inches across, but you can make yours larger or smaller if you like! Paint your cardboard shape with blue paint.

Step 2: Rip your brown paper into pieces and crumble each piece into a ball. These balls of paper will become a ring of rocks around the edge of your tide pool! Use your hot glue gun (always ask an adult for help with this!) to glue the paper rocks around the edge of your cardboard shape.

Step 3: Open your Aquatic Craft Kit and find the sequins and beads. Glue some of the sequins and beads onto the rocks and into your tide pool. You can use as many or as few of them as you like! You can also let some of the sequins overlap.

Step 4: Create ANEMONES! To create the sea anemones for your tide pool, first cut a toilet paper tube in half. Next make vertical cuts on one side of the tube that go about half way down the length of the tube. Cut every ½ inch or so the whole way around. Fold out these cut sections to look like the arms of an anemone! Paint them (we used pink!).

Step 5: Create SEAWEED and SEA STARS! To create the sea weed, cut the green pipe cleaners from your aquatic craft kit in half or into thirds. Take three of the pipe cleaner pieces and line up the ends. Gently twist the ends together a few times and then separate the pipe cleaners and bend them into a shape you like. To create the sea stars, draw a star shape onto the back of the glitter paper. Cut out these star shapes and glue googly eyes onto the front!

Step 6: Create an OCTOPUS! To create the octopus, round off one end of a toilet paper tube with your scissors. Cut the other side into strips just like you did for the anemones - the cuts should go about half way up the tube. Use your fingers to curl each of the cut strips upward, creating the legs of your octopus. Use your hot glue gun to glue the opening at the top (where the head will be) closed. Paint your octopus (we used orange!) and glue on some googly eyes!

Step 7: Create a HERMIT CRAB! To create the hermit crab, begin by rounding off both ends of a toilet paper tube with your scissors. Glue one end together with hot glue (like you did the octopus head) and leave the other open. Paint the tube any color you like (we used yellow!). Take a large pom pom from the aquatic craft kit and glue it into the open end of the tube. Cut three pipe cleaners in half. Glue two of the pipe cleaner pieces at the top of the pom pom and glue eyes at the top. Bend the other four pieces at angles and glue them to the sides of the pom pom to create legs! Cut one more tiny piece of pipe cleaner and bend it into the shape of a mouth.

Step 8: Assemble your tide pool. The final step is to use your hot glue gun to glue your anemones, seaweed, sea stars and any other ocean life you want to create to your tide pool. I glued them around the edge to leave space in the middle for the octopus and crab. You can choose to glue down the crab and octopus or leave them unattached so that you can play with them!

And here's how to add a little STEAM!

An ecosystem is the scientific term used to describe a group of animals and their environment. Tide pools are a really unique and interesting aquatic ecosystem. Here are some ways you can learn more about tide pool ecosystems:

-Ask an adult to help you research information about tides. Learn why the water in the ocean moves in and out each day and how tide pools are created!

-Use the internet or books from the library to find facts about the plants and animals you created for your tide pool! Find other animals you could create and see if you can make them using the leftover materials in your Aquatic Craft Kit.

-Are you going to the beach this summer? Make a checklist of tide pool organisms and take it with you. If you spot one on the beach check it off your list!

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Shop Our Aquatic Craft Kit Here!