Supplementary Sea Life Activities

Note: Please do not take any materials from real-world places. Taking seashells, rocks and plants home from beaches harms the local ecosystems, and those items could potentially harbour life (especially shells). Always respect your environment and use alternative materials, such as fake shells, for crafts. 

Marine Crafts

• Deep Sea Treasure Chest
• Artificial Ocean
• Sea Urchin
• Swimming Octopus
• Wiggly Jellyfish

Craft: Deep Sea Treasure Chest

Store your treasures in a fancy sunken chest! 

Materials

• Empty egg carton 
• Cotton balls
• Acrylic paint (Gold/Silver, and Brown or your favourite colour)
• Hot glue gun with sticks or white craft glue
• Seashells, rocks and/or sea glass 
• Permanent makers, glitter, rhinestones, sand, etc. for decorating

Instructions

1. Paint the egg carton brown, or your favourite colour. 
2. Decorate your chest with your chosen items, such as rhinestones, sand and glitter. 
   • Optional: add a title for your treasure or your name. 
3. Make sure to let your treasure chest dry. 
4. Carefully, use the hot glue gun to make the raised metal bindings commonly found on treasure chests, such as nails and metal edges. 
5. Paint the metal bindings of the chest in gold or silver paint. 
6. Let dry again! 
7. Glue the cotton balls in each hole and place your collection on top of them. 

Craft: Artificial Ocean

Materials

• Two Ziploc bags of the same size 
• Fish foam shapes
• White or pastel-coloured plastic beads
• Blue hair gel or aloe vera
• Small seashells
• Clear packaging tape 
• Glitter, confetti, or fake leaves/stems for seaweed (optional) 

Instructions

1. In one of the bags, fill it with the blue hair gel/aloe vera and flatten it so it is about 1 cm.
2. Inside the bag, place your fish, seashells and plastic beads (for bubbles). 
3. Optional: add extra items! 
4. Squeeze as much air out of the bag, without squeezing out the fake-water. 
5. Seal the end of the with packing tape. Then, place the first bag within a second bag, seal-side down, and seal the second bag. This helps prevent spillage. 

Craft: Sea Urchin

Materials

• Three 2-inch styrofoam balls
• Toothpicks (25 per sea urchin) 
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Glitter glue
• Paper plates/newspaper 

Instructions

1. Protect your station with a newspaper and pour your paint onto the paper plates.
2. Paint the styrofoam ball any colour you like. Then, paint the glitter glue over the top of it (we recommend using the same colour).
   1. Use an old or terrible brush for painting the glitter glue, as this can and will ruin your paintbrush. 
3. Let the urchin dry while you paint your toothpicks in the same process. 
4. After everything has dried, insert the toothpicks to make a spiny sea urchin. 

Craft: Swimming Octopus

Materials

• Paper plate 
• Black permanent marker
• Acrylic paint or washable markers
• Crepe paper or streamers
• Scissors
• White craft glue 

Instructions

1. Cut the paper plate into a teardrop shape by cutting off the rim except for one side, which you cut into a triangle. 
2. Paint or colour the body. 
3. After the plate is dry, draw the eyes and smile on with the black permanent marker. 
4. Cut 8 streamer pieces of equal length, as octopi have 8 tentacles. 
   1. These can be the same colour as the body or a creative rainbow! 
5. Glue the streamers to the point of the teardrop.
6. Optional: At the top of the head, punch a hole and hang it with a string. 

Craft: Wiggly Jellyfish

Materials

• String
• Black permanent marker
• Rubber band
• Two clear or white trash bags
• Scissors
• Fish foam shapes (optional) 

Instructions

1. Scrunch one trash bag into a ball and place it into the top left corner of the other. Wrap the rubber band around the bottom of the second bag to form the head. 
2. Use the scissors to cut the rest of the outside trash bag into strips for the tentacles. 
3. At the back of the head, make two small holes with your scissors and tie the string through them both. You can hang it by this string. 
4. Optional: draw a face or squiggly designs on the head. 
5. Optional: place fish foam shapes into the tentacles. 

Recipes For You To Enjoy

• Crunchy Sea Chips
• By The Seashore Fruit Smoothie
• Pineapple Fruit Dip
• Sea Foam Spritzer
• Lemon Bay Drink
• Blue Lagoon Milkshake 

Recipe: Crunchy Sea Chips

Makes 24 "chips." 

Ingredients

• 6 mini bagels
• 1/2 cup coloured sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. 
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
3. Slice the bagels in half lengthwise, then slice the halves lengthwise a second time to make thin circles. Place bagels on the cookie sheet. 
4. In a bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar and mix. 
5. Melt the butter (place in a bowl for 30 seconds inside a microwave).
6. Using a small spatula or pastry brush, brush the tops of each bagel with the butter and sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly across the surface. 
7. Bake bagels for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. 
8. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a cooking rack for another 10 minutes. As they cool, the chips will become crispier. 

Chips can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. 

Recipe: By The Seashore Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 to 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup raspberries 
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 kiwi, sliced

Instructions

1. Beginning with the yogurt and juice, add all ingredients to a blender.
2. Cover and blend. 
3. Pour into 4 cups or bowls and if desired, garnish with extra fruit, ice cream, whipped cream or a tropical umbrella. 

Recipe: Pineapple Fruit Dip

Makes 3 cups. 

Ingredients 

• 1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese
• 1 cup of strawberry yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

Instructions

1. Leave your cream cheese on the counter for a few minutes or place it in the microwave to soften it. If microwaving, do so in a microwave-safe bowl. 
2. In a bowl or electric mixer, beat cream cheese, yogurt, honey and vanilla until light and fluffy.  
3. Fold in pineapple pieces—remember to drain the pineapple first! 
4. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and store in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. 

We recommend serving this with the Crunchy Sea Chips, mini carrots, pretzels, celery sticks or chips.

Recipe: Sea Foam Spritzer

Makes 8 servings. 

Ingredients 

• 1 liter lemon-lime soda, chilled
• 1 pint of raspberry or lemon sherbet
• 1 can whipped cream topping
• Fresh raspberries or blueberries

Instructions

1. In 8 glasses of soda, add two scoops of sherbert. 
2. Fill the glass with lemon-lime soda. 
3. Garnish with whipped cream topping and fresh berries. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Lemon Bay Drink

Ingredients

• 6 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 quarts apple juice, chilled
• Blueberries for garnish
• (optional) Blue food colouring
• Pineapple or Strawberry pieces for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large punch bowl or pitcher, combine the sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. 
2. Now, add your apple juice.
3. Stir in 2 to 4 cups of ice.
4. Optional: add blue food colouring. 
5. Garnish with fruit as desired. Serve immediately. 

Recipe: Blue Lagoon Milkshake

Makes 2 servings. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (for garnish)
• 2 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries
• 1 1/4 cups apple juice or white grape juice
• 1 cup of vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients, but the blueberries, in a blender. 
2. Top with fresh blueberries and whipped topping. 
3. Serve. 

Explore New Activities!

• Catching Merfolk
• Gone Fishing
• Feeding Frenzy
• Sinking Treasure
• Sink the Ship
• Shark Attack

Game: Catching Merfolk

Materials

• 6 or more players
• Swimming pool

Instructions

1. One half of the group is merfolk, and the other is humans.
   1. For an extra challenge, choose only one or two players to be human. The other players will be merfolk. Or, choose one or two players to be merfolk and the others human. The ratio is up to you.
2. Merfolk cannot leave the water, whereas humans can walk on land or swim. Designate one corner of the pool as a safe spot for merfolk to rest. 
3. To catch a merfolk, a human must tag them and bring them back to land. Other merfolk are able to tag the caught merfolk to free them. If caught, a merfolk becomes a human.
4. To catch a human, the merfolk must tag them and bring them to the safe spot. Other humans are allowed to tag the human to free them. If caught, a human becomes a merfolk.  
5. The game ends once all players are either merfolk or human. 

Game: Gone Fishing

Materials

• 10 or more players
• Swimming pool or field

Instructions

1. Select one player to be the fisherman. 
   1. The fisherman stands or treads water in the middle of the pool. 
   2. Alternatively, this game can be played in a field and the "middle" labelled with a set of cones. 
2. The other players are fish, and line up on any end. 
3. When they are ready, the fisherman shouts, "I am going fishing!" and all of the fish must try to swim/run to the other end without being caught. 
   1. The fisherman "catches" fish by tagging them. 
4. Anyone who is caught joins hands with each other to become the fisherman's net and stands in the middle of the pool/field. 
5. The net is not allowed to move, but the fisherman can still move freely. When more players are caught, they can become a new net or form onto the existing one. 
6. The game ends when the last player is caught or if the last player manages to survive three rounds by themself without being caught. (The player can voluntarily surrender if they so choose.) 

Game: Feeding Frenzy

Materials

• 5 or more players
• A field
• Cones to mark a section of the field as the play area (optional) 

Instructions

1. Choose one player to be the whale; the rest will be krill. 
2. The whale stands at the end of the field, with the krill on the opposite end.
3. The krill must stay connected at all times by holding hands or putting their hands on each other's shoulders. 
4. When the signal starts, the whale tries to tag the last krill in the line (on either end). The krill an twist, turn and move faster to get out of the way, but cannot disconnect. 
5. Once the whale catches the last krill, they either becomes a whale or replaces the existing whale. The game ends when all krill are/have been whales (or when everyone is too tired to keep playing). 

Game: Sinking Treasure

Materials

• 6 or more players
• A swimming pool 
• A brightly coloured object that does not float
  • Goggles, water frisbee, etc. 
• Stopwatch
• Pencil and paper to record times

Instructions

• Divide players into teams at the deep end of the pool.
• The person with the stopwatch is responsible for throwing one of the pieces of treasure into the pool and starting the stopwatch. 
• One player from the first team dives in to retrieve the item. Every time they surface, the stopwatch is restarted. Once the item is retrieved, the time is written down. 
• The first person from the next team then retrieves their item. This repeats until all players have gone. 
• Add the scores together; the team with the lowest combined score wins. 

Beach Activities

• Draw pictures, words and puzzles in the sand with a stick. 
• Make a dam (use sand, pebbles and other beach finds). 
• Create a sand sculpture; mould it with your hands or sand buckets. 
• Collect pebbles and seaweed to create a picture on the sand. 
• Have a treasure hunt with your group to find the most interesting treasure that shouldn't be on the beach (such as a forgotten beach towel or a piece of garbage). 
  • Warn kids to look but not touch these treasures! Some beach treasures can be dangerous and should be dealt with by a responsible adult. 
• Dig a hole in the sand and create a boat big enough to sit in, then go on an imaginary adventure. 
• Dig a hole and try to fill it with water. 
• Make a maze for beach creatures to complete. 
• Search for treasures from the sea, such as driftwood, crabs, and seaweed. Be careful not to take them with you!
• Dig a channel to the sea. 

Game: Sink the Ship

Materials

• Shovel or Scissors
• Sand or Cardboard
• Tennis ball
• Two or more players

Instructions

1. This game is the most fun when played at the beach. If you aren't at the beach, cut the ship out of cardboard. 
2. Create a ship and carve sixteen holes in total, in the shape of a triangle in the centre. Five on the bottom, four on the next level, then three, two and one for the point. 
3. Whichever hole your tennis ball lands in is the number of points you get. Five holes are fifteen points, four holes are twenty-five, three holes are thirty-five, two holes are fifty-five, and the top is either seventy-five or one hundred. 
4. Set a time limit or an amount of turns taken. Alternatively, set a point maximum and whoever reaches it first wins. 
5. The goal of the game is to stand five paces back from the ship and sink the ball into the holes. The team with the most points wins. 

Game: Shark Attack

Materials

• Coloured bandanas for all the players (different colours for each team) 
• 10 or more players

Instructions

1. Divide the players into equal teams and hand out bandanas to each player so that each team is visually distinguishable. Everyone tucks their bandanas into their waistband or ties them loosely around their wrist. 
2. Each player is a shark trying to eliminate the threats to them (the other teams). To eliminate a threat, you grab the bandana of another when they're not looking. 
   1. When your bandana is gone, you are out of the game. 
3. The last person left is the winner.

Shake things up with a safe zone, two bandanas or an area with cover. If you choose an area with cover, add some hide-and-seek rules to your game, where everyone has to be silent and strategic when protecting their own territory. 

Earn Our Sea Life Badge

Once you have finished this challenge kit, use code ECK018 for 20% off the Sea Life Patch!