Water Pollution Activities for Kids - Activities on Pollution Ocean Sensory Bin

These Water Pollution Activities are so simple and easy to do. Plus, it’s a great way to give your child hands-on learning with creativity and science as well. This water pollution activity is a great way to encourage kids to be more aware of their environment.

You’ve probably talked to your children a lot about all the different ways that people pollute, but this pollution activity is a simple way to actually show them first hand with real connections to nature on how pollution affects our environment.

How to Teach Pollution in a Fun Way

Water Pollution Activities

While it’s no fun knowing that there’s a lot of pollution in the world, the fun part of this activity can actually be that you’re going to teach your child what to not do as a lesson learned from all those who have polluted before.

Activities on Pollution

What you will need to make your Pollution in the Ocean Sensory Bin in this picture below. However, I have it displayed to print out towards the bottom of the page. Have Fun!

Basically, you can grab anything in your home that you have on hand to add to your sensory bin…there’s really no wrong additions here. But you can see what we used in this list below.

Pollution in the Ocean Sensory Bin

Container (Any size would work)
Vegetable Oil
Cocoa
Coffee Grounds
Dawn Dish Soap
Cotton Balls
Toothbrush & Sponge
Tweezers
Ocean Life Plastic Toys (Assorted)
Sand, Rocks, Seashells
Garbage (Plastic Bags, Pop Wrappers, Bottlecaps, Fishing String, Straw, Feathers, Cardboard, Plastic Lids, Balloons, Etc.

How to Teach Water Pollution

Start out by adding in all the things that actually belong in the water, as shown below.

Place sand, rocks, seashells, and the ocean life toys in the container. I only placed the sand to one side, but you can do whatever you’d like. There is no wrong way!

Let your child play with the ocean animals and objects, move them around. The point is to let them use their senses during this time as well.

Next, start to slowly add in the water. They can still be feeling and touching things at this point in time.

Fill up the container slowly with water and show the children how clean the water is and how you can see all the sea life.

Your sensory bin may be a little watery and messy, but that’s fine. Let them have fun with it. Sensory activities are the best!

Now, it’s time to add in the “dark” color to your sensory bin.

Next, take about 1/3 cup of oil and add 1 Tablespoon of cocoa to it and mix it well. With a spoon or dropper have your child drop it into the water. The water is now polluted with oil.

Talk to your child about oil and different spills that can cause pollution into the water.

You can also have them write down the changes they see because of the pollution.

Next, grab some plastic and other foreign objects that aren’t natural to the water.

Add them in and let your child look at their sensory bin now.

Now, add all the garbage.

This is what pollution looks like.

The good news? You can also show them how to start cleaning up the pollution as well.

Pollution Activities

Have them wrap some of the sea life up in it to show what happens in real life. and then they can draw or write down more changes they see.

Using a toothbrush or sponge and some Dawn soap, your child can scrub away at the objects to get them clean again.

Have your child take one sea animal out and begin to clean the garbage and oil off.
Once their animal is all cleaned, they can lay them on a paper towel to dry.