How to Make Discovery Bottles

Energize classroom learning with discovery bottles.

Discovery bottles are fun ways for children to learn in the classroom. Primarily used for science, discovery bottles can be applied to many subjects. These learning tools, which are ideal for students in pre-kindergarten to second grade classrooms, help facilitate learning by using both the visual and tactual senses. Discovery bottles are easy and inexpensive to make. The materials needed to make these bottles are likely in your house. If not, they can be found in any grocery or 99-cent stores.

Things You'll Need

• Three 16 oz. clear plastic bottles
• Vegetable oil
• Blue food coloring
• Glitter
• Inexpensive items that float, like a pieces of a plastic straw
• Inexpensive items that sink, like marbles
• Water
• Three bottle caps

Instructions

The Wave Bottle

1. Fill an empty plastic bottle about a quarter of the way with vegetable oil. Fill three quarters of the bottle with water so the liquid has room to move when shaken. Add five to seven drops of blue food coloring to the liquid.

2. Apply glue inside the bottle cap, where the twisting grooves are. Twist the cap closed as you normally would. Wrap masking tape around the cap.

3. Put the bottle in a cabinet so it is out of the reach of the students and let it dry overnight.

4. Watch the children shake the bottle and see waves being made by the combination of the blue water and the buoyancy of the vegetable oil.

The Glitter Bottle

1. Fill an empty plastic bottle one quarter of the way with glitter and two-thirds with water. Leave enough room in the bottle so the liquid can move effectively.

2. Close the bottle by putting glue inside the bottle cap where the twisting grooves are and twisting the cap as usual. Wrap masking tape around the cap. Place the finished bottle in a cabinet, out of the reach of children, so it can dry overnight.

3. Shake the bottle. The glitter should look like a sparkly snowstorm when shaken.

Sink or Float Bottle

1. Place items that are heavy enough to sink in water, like marbles, in an empty plastic bottle.

2. Place items in the bottle that will float, like straws that have been cut into little pieces.

3. Fill the bottle with water. Put glue inside the bottle cap where the twisting grooves are and twist the cap closed as usual, then wrap masking tape around it. Put this bottle in a cabinet out of the reach of children so it can dry.

4. Shake the bottle vertically, horizontally and upside-down. Children should be able to see which items float to the surface and which items sink.

Tips & Warnings

• You can make discovery bottles with bottles of various shapes and sizes for added variety. Make sure the bottles are not too big for the children to handle.

References

• Kinder Friends: Discovery Bottles
• Teachers.net: Discovery Bottles