Make your own jam jar aquarium

Have a go at creating your own mini jam jar aquarium.

It’s easy to do and the kids will love how the sea creatures swirl around inside the jar.

Jam jar aquariums make great party decorations for beach parties, mermaid parties and under the sea parties.

Or how about giving them to kids instead or party bags or adding one to their Christmas stockings?
 

Make your own jam jar aquarium

 

What you’ll need to make your jam jar aquarium

 

• A clear jam jar & tight fitting lid
• Miniature plastic sea life plants
• Small handful of white/light grey gravel or small stones
• Blue and white glitter (optional)
• Large glass
• Cold water
• Blue food colouring
• Spoon
• Miniature plastic sea creatures, fish, mermaids etc

 

How to make your jam jar aquarium

1. Add some of the small plants to the jam jar. The number of small plants you add will depend on the size of the jam jar and the size of the plants.
 
2. Add approx 2cm of gravel/small stones to the bottom of the jam jar along with a approx. ½ teaspoon of the glitter if using.

3. Add a few of the sea creatures, fish etc to the jam jar.

4. Fill the large glass with cold water, add a couple of drops of the blue food colouring and mix with the spoon.

5. Once you have the water colour you want, slowly pour the water from the glass into the jam jar. Fill the jam jar almost to the top, just up to the lower rim. Screw on the lid tightly.

6. Your aquarium is ready to go! To create some movement inside the jam jar, just give it a gentle shake and the glitter and sea creatures will swim and swirl around.

7. Store the jam jar aquarium upright when not in use.
 

Tips for your jam jar aquarium

 

• For younger kids, you can always use a clear plastic container with a tight fitting lid instead of a glass jam jar.

  

• You can often find packets of small sea creatures, small plastic plants and stones at the $2 shop, Spotlight, The Warehouse etc.

 

• If the plants are little too big for the jam jar you can trim them down to fit inside.

 

• If you’re having problems with the clarity of the aquarium, distilled or filtered water can sometimes be a little less cloudy than tap water.

 

• You may want to add a few more drops of food colouring to the water to get a deeper blue, or start again if you haven’t quite got the colour you want. You’ll find it’s easier to do the mixing in the glass than in the jam jar.

 

More kids activities articles to enjoy:

• How to make magic mud
• How to make ice chalk paints
• Make your own glitter glue

^{Image source: hellowonderful}