Today we’re making a jellyfish lights crafts. Also, look at my page Oceans Unit Study and Lapbook.
Learn how to make this easy jellyfish lights craft with just a few inexpensive supplies and learn a lot about the life and characteristics of the fascinating jellyfish at the same time.
This is a great way to incorporate a hands-on activity that is fun and themed for summer learning into your day.
Your jellyfish can be as small or large as you like.
Upcycle empty fruit cups or use large plastic clear bowls from the party section to create an entire swarm.
Then use your child’s creation to teach them how to identify the anatomy, learn jellyfish vocabulary, and terminology, as well as create an adorable ocean craft for decoration.
Hands-On Activities-Easy Jellyfish Lights Craft
Ocean Anatomy was the perfect book for our easy jellyfish lights craft.
There is so much to learn in just a few pages.
You can reference it for the life cycle of a jellyfish, the anatomy of a jellyfish, facts, and a quick blurb on 5 different types of jellyfish.
The watercolor illustrations and tidbits of information are wonderful for reference.
- Look at this beautiful Watercolor Jellyfish Art Project.
- Make these fun Jellyfish in a Jar to observe their movement.
- This stunning wooden Jellyfish Puzzle would make a wonderful hands-on activity as well as a keepsake for the whole family, especially middle to high school ages.
- Younger children will enjoy making this Paper Plate Jellyfish.
- How about a sweet and easy Paper Bag Jellyfish craft?
- These Free Printable Jellyfish Clip cards are perfect for preschoolers learning to count and identify numbers.
- Jellyfish Lacing Craft is ideal for building fine motor skills.
- Build your own jellyfish with these PlusPlus interlocking blocks.
- Head to your local aquarium to see some jellyfish in person or check out the live Jelly Cam at the Monterey Bay Aquarium while you put together your craft.
Jellyfish Facts
- A group of jellyfish is known as a swarm or a bloom, which can contain millions of jellyfish and spread out over 10 square miles.
- Jellyfish are not really fish or made of jelly, they are made of 95% water and classified as invertebrates from the phylum Cnidaria.
- There are at least 2000 different species of jellyfish and they come in a wide range of shapes and colors like pink, white, yellow, orange, green, and blue, as well as multicolored.
- They have no brain and no heart.
- Jellyfish eat and poop from the same spot.
- While some are tiny, the lion’s mane jellyfish can stretch its tentacles as long as 120 feet.
Challenge your child to create more than one jellyfish species.
Get creative using other craft supplies to make each one as unique as their real counterparts.
I was able to find everything I used at Dollar Tree, but you may already have most of it around the house.
More Ocean Themed Activities
- Free Coral Reef Printable Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Unit Study Ideas
- How Do Sharks Float STEM Activity Free Shark Unit Study & Notebooking Pages
- Kids Hands-on Egg Carton Sea Turtle Life Cycle Activity
- Free Ocean Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
- Easy Salt water Density Ocean Science Experiments
- Make an Edible Coral Reef
- Aquarium Jar Craft
- Beware of Ocean Pollution
And add Blow Painting Coral Reef Hands-On Activity.
Moreover, look at some of these books and fun resources to learn about jellyfish.
7 Books and Resources about Jellyfish
Add some of these books and resources to your study of jellyfish.
With their undulating umbrella-shaped bells and sprawling tentacles, they are compelling and gorgeous, strange and dangerous. In many places they’re also vastly increasing in number, and these population blooms may be an ominous indicator of the rising temperatures and toxicity of the oceans.
Beautiful and translucent, jellyfish can be deadly but some are perfectly harmless. Learn about the physical traits of jellyfish, how they move, where they are found, and their hunting and sleeping habits.
Describes the life cycle of a female moon jellyfish as she escapes the many hazards of the sea to develop from planula to polyp to ephyra to a young adult ready to lay her own fertilized eggs.
SIMPLE DESIGN - FUELS CREATIVITY: One shape, endless possibility! Every brick easily connects to the next. Create colorful flat mosaics or work in 3-D to make more intricate builds. Mix and match any Plus-Plus set to bring more ideas to life!
CHALLENGE GAME - Wooden jigsaw puzzles with uniquely shaped pieces are actually more challenging than traditional woodcut puzzles. It is absolutely going to be a great adventure!
Describes the general characteristics and functions of a variety of jellyfish with emphasis on the ones to avoid.
Once, the ocean was full of friends. Then a little jellyfish notices that things are changing--friends are disappearing! He sets out to discover the truth and learns that everyone has a part to play in protecting the careful balance of the ocean. "Bloom" refers to a substantial increase in jellyfish population that can be caused by climate change and pollution. In this beautifully illustrated, timely, and topical tale, the jellyfish band together to deliver an important message.
Finally, look how to make this fun jellyfish light craft.
Easy Jellyfish Light Craft
You will need:
- Push light (or battery-operated tea light)
- Clear plastic bowls or cups
- Tissue paper
- Ribbon
- Hot glue gun/ stick
- school glue
You want to make sure that your light fits inside of your bowl.
The tea lights fit everything, but they put out less light than the little tap light I used (from Dollar Tree).
First, place your bowl upside down and paint the outside with a full coat of watered-down school glue or use mod podge.
Cover with tissue paper in whatever color you like and press firmly into the glue. You can add multiple layers, but I like the translucent look.
“Paint” another coat of glue all over the top of the tissue paper to seal it well. Press the paper until it is mostly smooth. Allow it to dry.
Once it is completely dry you can rip off or cut the excess tissue paper left on the edges.
Flip the bowl over and glue the light into place on the inside.
I used a generous amount of hot glue and only secured the back so that I could twist off the front to change out the batteries.
You could also secure your light with adhesive velcro strips for easy removal.
Cut 2 or more types of ribbon to the same length, ruffled or shimmer ribbon is fun with the lights and resembles the tentacles more.
Hot glue the ribbon just inside the edge of the bowl all the way around.
If you want to, add a little detail to the body with markers or watercolor paint.
Finally, to hang your jellyfish, make a little loop on top with some of your leftover ribbons and secure it with hot glue.
How fun and simple was this easy jellyfish lights craft?
