We ran this activity with the 3rd grade classrooms at Natchaug Elementary School

image of three 3rd graders inside a classroom looking at/holding water bottles filled halfway with water and vegetable oil dyed blue. The water sits at the bottom of the bottle and the vegetable oil sits on top.

Presentation and class discussion

  • we asked the students to name some animals that lived in the ocean
  • then we discussed the different layers of the ocean
  • we also talked about and gave examples of the types of animals that lived in each of the layers

Ocean in a bottle class activity

  • after teaching and discussing, we did an “ocean in a bottle” craft with them
  • it allowed the kids to learn about density, liquid layers, and water currents
  • the kids loved doing the craft since it made them feel like real scientists

Ocean in a bottle activity directions