Set up a simple ocean sensory bin that is science too! I love exploring the ocean and sharing it with my son. We are still in a learn through play stage so we keep the facts light and the play heavy! We will be visiting the ocean soon and have been using ocean theme activities as a way to discuss what we will see and do when we are away! This icy ocean sensory bin activity is a great way to include all that.

Ocean Ice melt Science Activity for Preschool Ocean ActivitiesPin

Fun In The Ocean

Get ready to add this simple ocean ice play activity to your summer activities this season. If you want a hands-on way to explore the ocean through lots of play for toddlers and preschoolers, let’s get started! While you’re at it, make sure to check out these other fun ocean activities.

There is nothing like a sensory bin with water for hours of play and learning! The simple act of melting ice is a great science experiment for preschoolers. This type of play opens up so many avenues for exploring, discovering and learning about the world.

Check our list of ice play activities!

Provide your child with squirt bottles, eye droppers, scoops, and basters and you will also work strengthening those little hands for handwriting down the road!

Lately, we have been enjoying ice towers made from milk cartons! This time I thought I would use some ordinary food storage containers to mold mini oceans.

I froze our items in layers so that there would be lots of fun things to unfreeze. Each layer, I added a different color to go along with the ocean theme. Ours turned out a bit greener than I thought it would!

DIY Sensory Bins

Please note I am sharing Amazon Affiliate links below. I may receive compensation through any purchases made.

Start with the right sensory bin or tub when creating a sensory bin for kids of all ages. With the right size bin, kids will be at ease playing with the contents, and the mess can be kept to a minimum.

Is a sensory table a good choice? A more expensive, heavy-duty sensory table, such as this one, allows one or more kids to stand and play comfortably. This was always my son’s favorite sensory bin, and it works just as well for home use as it does in the classroom. Roll it right outside!

If you need a sensory bin set on a table, make sure the sides are not too tall so kids do not feel like they are struggling to reach into it. Aim for a side height of around 3.25 inches if you can place it on a child-size table. That makes it much better. Under the bed storage bins also work well for this.

Unless you have space restrictions, try to pick a size that gives your kids room to play around without continually knocking the contents out of the bin. These more compact sensory bins with lids are a good alternative. Learn more about sensory bins!

Free Ocean Animals Coloring Printables

How To Make An Icy Ocean Sensory Bin

Also check out our latest ocean sensory bin!

Supplies:

  • Ocean Sea Creatures or Coral Reef Sea Creatures (We were a little flexible with where in the world our ocean was!)
  • Shells
  • Plastic Containers
  • Food Coloring
  • Eyedropper, squeeze bottles, or meat baster

TIP: Make sure to check out the dollar store for fun critters to add!

creatures to put in your icy ocean sensory binPin

HOW TO SET UP YOUR OCEAN ICE MELT

TIP: Make sure to allow plenty of time for the freezing process! Smaller containers will be quicker. If you enjoy ice melting activities we have more than 20 Icy Play Ideas!

STEP 1: Add several of your ocean theme items to the bottom of your container. You will want to decide on how many layers you want to create based on the items you choose.

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STEP 2: Cover the items with a layer of colored water. You can easily stick with the same colored water for each layer or play around with shades of blue and blue-green. Put the container in the freezer.

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STEP 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each container you want to make up.

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STEP 4: Once your icy ocean is frozen, remove the frozen block from the container and place it in a large container. This will help control the mess and turn it into a water sensory bin!

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STEP 5: Set out a bowl of warm water and a choice of “tools” for melting the ice. We always love the classic meat baster from the dollar store. Eyedroppers and squeeze bottles work well too!

Once your icy ocean bricks are fully melted, you’ll notice you have an awesome ocean sensory bin leftover. Your kids will love to explore their “new” ocean. Go ahead and add scoops and pails, a small strainer, ice cube trays, and other fun tools for exploring the water sensory bin.

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TIP: You may want to add a bit of warm water to keep everyone’s hands from freezing. This will definitely create a more enjoyable experience!

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Extend The Ocean Learning

  • Add your favorite ocean books to the activity for more under-the-sea fun.
  • Set up a sink or float experiment with additional items.
  • Build a little boat to float out of tin foil.

More Fun Ocean Theme Sensory Activities

Find more fun sensory bins below and read up on everything you need to know about sensory bins here.

Ocean Sand Sensory Bin

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Ocean Moon Sand Sensory Bin

Moon sand is another great sensory bin filler, and it’s a simple recipe you can make with items from the kitchen cupboard. Make DIY moon sand here.

Ocean Colored Salt Sensory Bin

You can dye your own colored sensory bin fillers with easy recipes! Here we use colored Epsom salt, but you can also dye rice and pasta. Learn how to make colored salt for sensory bins.

colored salt sensory play and ocean sensory binPin
Colored Salt

Ocean Sensory Bottle or Jar

Sensory bottles are a great visual processing item and are often used to create a calming or relaxing experience for kids (and adults). Here are a few ocean sensory bottles to check out.

Ocean Slime

Use our fantastic saline solution slime recipe to make ocean slime filled with plastic ocean animals and small gems. Make several shades of blue and swirl them together.

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Ocean Slime

Printable Ocean Activities Pack

If you want to have all of your printable ocean activities in one convenient place, plus exclusive worksheets with an ocean theme, our 100+ page Ocean STEM Project Pack is what you need!

Check out The Complete Ocean Science and STEM Pack in our SHOP!

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12 Comments

  1. This is another amazing activity, just like pretty much all of your posts are! I am going to feature this for this weeks Kids Learning Printables Linky Party that I co-host on Every Star is Different. Keep up the good work!

    Renae

  2. I love this idea! An easy, great summertime imaginative play idea!! We’ll be making these 🙂

  3. I reeeally love the way the colors in this activity almost look ‘separated, … From here it looks kinda like top layer blue, bottom green. In fact, that’s why I went ahead to read it see how you did that! 😀 My littlest is five now & we’ve still yet to freeze toys or anything but paint (which she’s sick of) — This will go along perfect w/our next set of summer learning activities. I was just wondering WHERE, to find the LINK for post you mention that has your frozen Milk Cartons cuz we’ve run out of milk carton crafts too 😉 THANK YOU Happy Summer

  4. Love this idea but I have a question… does the food coloring stain their fingers (or anything else!) when the ice melts? I’ve been hesitant to try these types of experiments for this reason. Any feedback you have would be most appreciated!

  5. Hi! The food coloring has never stained our fingers. I do not know about clothes though! We make sure we either have it on a surface we don’t care about, take it outside on the grass, or make sure the surface is adequately covered. Placing the ice in a large bin helps collect the water. We have done tons of food coloring ice melts and other projects without much concern for this and I don’t have a very neat little boy, lol!

  6. This is a great idea – we are doing an under the sea (ariel) birthday theme and I’m going to make these and have teams of 3-4 race to see who can unlock their treasure under the sea first!

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