Make one of these fun sensory bottles easily with simple ideas for the whole year. From glittering calm down bottles to hands-on science discovery bottles, we have sensory bottles for every kind of kid. A sensory bottle can be used as a calming tool for anxiety, for sensory processing, learning, exploring, and more! DIY sensory bottles make for simple and fun sensory activities for kids.
HOW TO MAKE A SENSORY BOTTLE
Young kids love these fun sensory bottles and they are easy to make yourself with materials you already have on hand or can grab at the store.
1. CHOOSE A BOTTLE
Start with a bottle. We use our favorite VOSS water bottles for our sensory bottles because they are wonderful to reuse. Of course, definitely use whatever drink bottles, soda bottles you have on hand!
Try to find bottles with different size openings to fit different types of objects.
We haven’t found the need to tape or glue our water bottle caps shut, but it’s an option. Especially if you have kids that may be keen to empty the contents of the bottle. Occasionally, we will use decorative tape to add a pop of color to our theme.
If you want to make a baby sensory baby bottle, use a non-breakable bottle and put less in it so it’s not too heavy!
2. CHOOSE A FILLER
Materials for your sensory bottle could include colored rice, sand, salt, rocks, and of course water.
Want to make your own colored rice, colored salt or colored sand? It is so easy! Check out the recipes below for:
Water has to one of the quickest and easiest fillers to use to make a sensory bottle. Simply, fill the bottle with tap water, and leave enough room at the top for other items you want to add.
3. ADD THEME ITEMS
You will want to add goodies to search for and discover in your sensory bottle. Make it budget friendly by using what you already have on hand or find in nature.
When choosing a theme for your sensory bottle, think about what your child is interested in. It could be Lego, the ocean or even favorite movie characters! Then find things to put in the sensory bottle that relate to that theme.
We also have lots of fun sensory bottle ideas below to celebrate the seasons and holidays!
Want to keep it super simple? Simply, add glitter glue or glitter to water for a mesmerizing sensory glitter bottle like this one here.
21 DIY SENSORY BOTTLES
Click on each sensory bottle idea below for the full supply list and instructions. We have so many fun theme sensory bottles for you to enjoy!
BEACH SENSORY BOTTLE
Do you like to collect treasures on the beach? Why not make a simple beach sensory bottle with all sorts of shells, sea glass, sea weed, and of course beach sand.
STAR WARS SENSORY BOTTLE
Why not make these fun and easy glow in the dark sensory bottles to enjoy. Yes, they glow in the dark just like our Star Wars slime!
OCEAN SENSORY BOTTLE
A beautiful ocean sensory bottle you can make even if you haven’t been to the ocean! This DIY sensory bottle can be made with easy to find items, without a trip to the beach.
EARTH DAY SENSORY BOTTLES
These Earth Day discovery bottles are fun and easy for kids to make and play with too! Sensory or discovery bottles are awesome for little hands.
My son enjoys helping to fill the bottles and they are the perfect opportunity for having great conversations about the Earth, Earth Day, and saving our planet. Also these bottles explore some cool science concepts like magnetism and density.
LEGO SENSORY BOTTLE
Make an interesting LEGO sensory bottle and cool science experiment all in one! What happens to LEGO bricks in different liquids? Do they sink, do they float, do they stand still? LEGO makes an awesome learning tool.
LETTER SENSORY BOTTLE
We all know that writing practice isn’t the most fun task for a kid, but it doesn’t have to be that way with our easy letter sensory bottle!
FOURTH OF JULY SENSORY BOTTLE
Make this patriotic glitter calm-down bottle with red, blue, and silver glitter. I love how quickly you can whip one up and how pretty it looks!Â
GOLD SENSORY BOTTLE
Have you ever wanted to make those cool glitter calm down bottles? We love them! Plus our version is quick and easy as well as frugal!
Glitter bottles are terrific for sensory processing needs, anxiety relief, and well just something fun to shake and look at!
RAINBOW GLITTER BOTTLES
A colorful variation of our calming metallic sensory bottles above, sensory glitter bottles are often made with pricey, colored glitter glue. To make a whole rainbow of colors would have been quite expensive. Our simple substitute makes these DIY sensory bottles much more cost-effective!
NATURE DISCOVERY BOTTLES
Create simple specimen bottles with these nature discovery bottles. Go and explore your backyard or local park to create your own cool science discovery bottles.
BEAD SENSORY BOTTLE
This simple sensory bottle is perfect for an Earth Day theme or spring activity. It’s quick to make, and encourages kids to work on developing their fine motor skills.
SCIENCE SENSORY BOTTLES
The possibilities are endless and there are so many to try! It’s fun to explore simple science concepts in different ways with these easy science discovery bottles. From ocean waves, to magnetic sensory bottles and even sink or float discovery bottles.
MAGNETIC SENSORY BOTTLE
Explore magnetism with this fun and simple to make magnetic sensory bottle.
ST PATRICK’S DAY SENSORY BOTTLES
Create these fun and easy St Patrick’s Day theme sensory bottles to explore science concepts with kids of all ages!
FALL SENSORY BOTTLES
Get out and explore nature this fall and create your own fall sensory bottles out of your nature finds! We gathered items from our own yard {and used a few from a nature hike} to create three simple sensory bottles. Make one or make a few depending on what you find!
HALLOWEEN SENSORY BOTTLE
So simple and fun, create your own Halloween sensory bottle to celebrate this October. Holiday theme sensory bottles are fun for young kids to create and play with. Add materials that kids can use to make their own bottles for an awesome visual sensory experience.
SNOWMAN SENSORY BOTTLE
Enjoy winter activities no matter what your climate looks like. Mid-December here and it’s pretty warm, 60 degrees warm! There is not one flake of snow in the air or in the forecast. So what do you instead of building a real snowman? Build a fun snowman sensory bottle instead!
VALENTINE’S DAY SENSORY BOTTLE
What better way to say Happy Valentine’s Day than with a Valentine sensory bottle. Simple to make, Valentine’s Day sensory bottles are a great activity to do with your kids.
EASTER SENSORY BOTTLE
This easy to make Easter theme sensory bottle is so simple AND beautiful! Only a few supplies and you have a very neat Easter sensory bottle or calm down jar that can really be used any time of the year. Give it a shake and see what happens!
SPRING SENSORY BOTTLE
A simple spring activity, make a fresh flower discovery bottle. We used a bouquet of flowers that was on it’s way out to create this fun flower sensory bottle. Plus, it was a great opportunity to practice fine motor skills.
MORE SENSORY BOTTLES
Here are some quick and easy sensory bottle ideas using exactly what I could scrounge up from around the house. We have had some of the fillers from our previous sensory bins.
SEA ANIMALS SENSORY BOTTLE
Shells, gems, fish, and beads with a colored salt filler. Rice, dyed blue would be great too.
ALPHABET SEARCH AND FIND BOTTLE
Rainbow colored rice and alphabet beads make a simple sensory search. Have your child write the letters as they see them or cross them off a list!
DINOSAUR SENSORY BOTTLE
Colored craft sand or sandbox makes a great filler. I simply added some dinosaur bones from a kit we had been using.
SENSORY BOTTLES ARE FUN TO MAKE ANYTIME!
Click on the image below or on the link for more easy sensory activities for kids.
I loved to see the dinosaur and glitter bottle that you made. I am inspired to make some with my kids with some of our little things that I’ve been saving for some type of activity. This is a good way to use loose game pieces and little toys you don’t know how to organize. 🙂