life science

Your kids will love this fun blow painting coral reef hands-on activity. Also, grab more ideas on my Coral Reef page.

Too, June 1st marks World Reef Day, a day that is a call for everyone to reflect on our beautiful coral reefs as well as come to action to protect and preserve them.

Even if you have never visited them in person, you have surely seen their beauty in pictures or videos.

I have a beautiful craft project to share with you which is coral reef blow painting.

It is a unique and fun activity for the kids to make and is a beautiful piece of artwork to hang up in your home as well.

This project is so fun you will probably want to make one yourself.

Coral reefs are important to us because:

• they hold an abundance of life,
• reefs protect coastlines from storms and erosion,
• provide jobs for the community around them,
• they are a source of food and medicine,
• and are a source of recreation for those who wish to appreciate them up close.

10 World Coral Reef Day Facts

Next, look at some facts to remember on world coral reef day.

1. The NOAA estimates that over 75% of the world’s reefs are currently threatened, and within the next 10 years, 90% of reefs will be threatened by human activities.
2. The biggest threat to coral is climate change.
3. Corals are animals, not plants, and are the cousins of marine animals like jellyfish and sea anemones.
4. Corals can move. Adult coral is attached to the ocean floor but larval or baby coral can swim to find a spot to set down anchor.
5. Coral supports 25% of ocean life, it is much like an underwater forest.
6. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system on Earth.
7. Like trees, coral has growth rings inside that can help determine the age of the coral.
8. There are over 800 different types of hard coral around the world.
9. Coral reefs only grow up to a certain water depth which is about 200 to 300 feet.
10. Corals eat 2 different ways- either by capturing zooplankton that floats near their polyp tentacles or by their symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae.

Then look at ways to protect coral reefs.

4 Ways Kids Can Preserve Coral Reefs

1. Choose Reef Friendly Sun Protection.

Many sunscreens hurt the coral reefs causing coral bleaching and stopping its development.

Instead of using sunscreen made with toxic chemicals, focus on practicing sun management cover-up, avoiding the sun during peak hours.

And opt for non-nano mineral-based sunscreen on exposed areas. These sunscreens are made with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide.

2. Recycle And Dispose Of Trash Properly.

You may think tossing just one water bottle from the boat isn’t a big deal, but imagine millions of people doing that, or carelessly leaving trash on the beach.

These actions have big impacts on marine life including corals.

3. Research When Purchasing Aquarium Fish.  

Avoid buying living coral instead look for imitation corals, if you purchase a marine aquarium fish, make sure that it has been collected in a sustainable way.

4. Spread the Word.

Especially if you live anywhere near these precious coral reefs, you can work together with local groups to educate everyone on how important and precious they are.

You can find a lot of information online but here are a few books that I highly recommend you use for ocean studies; they both contain a good amount of information on coral reefs as well as the marine animals that make their home there.

More Coral Reef Ideas

• Free Coral Reef Printable Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Unit Study Ideas
• Make a Fun Edible Coral Reef
• Reef Grammar Farm
• STEAM Challenge: Create your own coral reef.

Also, look at these resources for studying coral reefs.

Finally, look how to make this blow painting coral reef hands-on activity.

Coral Reef Hands-On Activity

You will need:

• Straws
• Liquid watercolors
• Watercolor paper
• Pipettes or droppers
• Markers
• Baking sheet
• Fine point black pen

Cut straws in half to make it a little easier to blow through and direct your watercolors.

Place a sheet of watercolor paper onto a baking sheet, this can get a little messy.

Using a pipette or small paintbrush drop various sized dots of the liquid watercolor all over the bottom of the page, or you can fill the entire page for a closer up view of the coral reef.

Have your child blow through the straw spreading the watercolor droplets around.

You may wish to repeat and add more “limbs” or new coral once you see the white space.

I like to let some of it dry and do the dots again to create different shades and give it a little depth.

Allow it to dry.

Lightly add a watered-down wash of light blue onto all the white space if you like to create water.

Let your picture dry completely.

Younger children will probably want to stop here, and that is totally fine but challenge your older children to add more detail. To do this they can trace around each dried shape with a fine liner black pen to define them a bit more.

They can also use markers to add some fish in the painting. Use your books or Google for inspiration.

Once completely dry, lay your painted page under a couple heavy books for several hours to press the paper flat.

Create several paintings, each one will be completely unique just like the beautiful coral in the ocean.