Celebrate Earth Day every day! Combine a Planet Earth craft with some science for the perfect STEAM activity this season. This Earth Day coffee filter craft is excellent for even non-crafty kiddos. Make the earth with just a coffee filter and washable markers. Perfect for a weather theme or ocean unit too!
Find out how coffee filters and washable markers from the Dollar Store (or supermarket) transform into a heartwarming Earth Day craft for kids of all ages. We have over 35 easy Earth Day activities to teach kids about Earth Day, and caring for our planet.
How Much Of The Earth Is Ocean?
Can you believe the ocean covers 71% of the Earth and makes up 99% of the living space on this planet! WOW! That’s a fun fact for kids.
Did you know that only 1% of all this water is freshwater? Make sure to check out our Ocean activities, too!
Earth Day Coffee Filter Craft
Supplies:
- Coffee Filters
- Washable Markers
- Glue Sticks
- Gallon Size Zipper Bag OR Metal Baking Sheet Pan
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Water Spray Bottle
- Printable Backdrop
How To Make A Coffee Filter Earth
STEP 1. Flatten a round coffee filter and draw the Earth with the ocean and continents using blue and green markers.
This might be a great time to share some facts such as the Earth is 70% ocean. You can also review the different continents and oceans!
CHECK OUT: Ocean Mapping Activity
STEP 2. Place the colored coffee filters on a gallon size zipper bag or metal baking sheet pan and then mist with a water spray bottle.
STEP 3. Watch the magic as the colors blend and the Earth comes to life! Set aside to dry.
STEP 4. Download our free printable background HERE. Go ahead and color it in if you like!
STEP 5. Cut out a heart to add to the center of your Earth if desired. Glue it to the center of the Earth. Then glue the Earth to the center of the printable!
Optional Heart Add On: If you want to make a coffee filter heart to go in the center of your earth, choose pinks, reds, purples, or any color you want. Then color in a heart on a separate coffee filter and cut and paste onto the earth. Or you can skip the coffee filter heart and cut out hearts from red construction paper, tissue paper or use stickers!
Your Earth Day craft is finished and ready to enjoy!
Learn About Solubility With Coffee Filters
Make an easy Earth Day craft with coffee filters and markers. No coloring skills are needed; simply add water to the coffee filter, and the colors beautifully blend together.
Why do the colors on your coffee filter earth blend together? It’s all about solubility! If something is soluble, it will dissolve in that liquid (or solvent). The ink used in these washable markers dissolves in water, of course!
The water (solvent) dissolves the marker ink (solute) in our coffee filter earth. For this to happen, the molecules in both the water and the ink must be attracted to each other.
When you add drops of water to the designs on the paper, the ink should spread out and run through the paper with the water.
Note: Permanent markers do not dissolve in water but in alcohol. You can see this in action here with our tie-dye Valentine cards.
More Fun Coffee Filter Crafts
There are all kinds of fun crafts you can do with coffee filters. We love coffee filter crafts because they are easy to do with preschoolers to elementary kiddos. Here are a few of our favorites…
- Coffee Filter Flowers
- Coffee Filter Rainbow
- Coffee Filter Turkey
- Coffee Filter Apple
- Coffee Filter Christmas Tree
- Coffee Filter Snowflakes
More Fun Earth Day Activities
Find even more hands-on Earth Day activities here.
- Earth Day Oobleck
- Earth Day Milk and Vinegar Experiment
- Homemade Seed Bombs
- DIY Birdseed Ornaments
- Black Glue Earth Art
- Earth Day Coloring Page
Printable Earth Day STEM Activities Pack
Celebrate Earth Day with STEM! 220+ Pages of Earth Day science activities and STEM projects for kids that are easy to set up and fit into your available time, even if it’s limited!
STEAM Mini Pack added three hands-on activities for acid rain, stormwater runoff, and carbon footprints!
- Printable Earth Day theme STEM activities that are simple but engaging for home or classroom. Perfect for K-3/4 and beyond but easily adaptable to many skill levels.
- Dive into simple background science explanations to share with kids while they explore hands-on and playful experiments, projects, and activities such as cleaning up oil spills, exploring water filters, and more!
- Engaging Earth Day Engineers pack with theme activities, journal pages, and design process steps! Learn about the design process and think like an engineer while you design and build a better recycling can and more!
- Easy to gather supplies makes these STEM activities ideal when you have limited resources available. Specialty activities include growing a grass head, making an insect hotel, DIY birdseed ornaments, and more!
- Additional STEM activities also Include a recycle sort, brick building ideas, puzzles, and screen-free coding activities.
- Earth Day Bingo Activity Pack is included as well.
