Today, for book Number 29 Down and Out Down Under of the Geronimo Stilton series, we’re making an edible coral reef. The Geronimo Stilton books are for ages 7 to 10 years old and are full of mouse fun and adventure.
In the Geronimo Stilton series book Down and Out Down Under, Geronimo is off to learn on adventure to Australia.
And when you think of Australia you may immediately picture cute koalas and terrifying crocodiles but another famous and very important part of Australia is The Great Barrier Reef.
The idea for creating this fun hands-on coral reef is from our latest read which is Down and Out Down Under (Geronimo Stilton #29).
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and is teeming with incredible life, color, and beauty.
The story covers a lot of topics of interest in Australia.
This fun book mentions land animals, Uluru, Aborigines, topography, and the Great Barrier Reef .
Great Barrier Reef Resources
Today’s hands-on activity is fun, colorful, and a great way to teach all ages about the life that is in the Great Barrier Reef.
If you want to make an impact, hands-on activities are always the best way to fully immerse your kids into your topic.
This hands-on fun activity also appeals to all 5 senses and will make certain that your kids do not forget while they learned anytime soon.
Besides Down and Out Down Under (Geronimo Stilton #29) here are a few beautifully illustrated spines you may want to add to your library.
They are great basics that give great bites of information about the ocean, reefs, ocean animals and plants, and more.
- Ocean Anatomy . I am such a big fan of the illustrations in these books but also how much information is contained in each topic. This one covers everything from why the ocean is blue and salty to tides, animal life, and even a section on The Great Barrier Reef specifically!
I am such a big fan of the illustrations in these books but also how much information is contained in each topic.
This one covers everything from why the ocean is blue and salty to tides, animal life, and even a section on The Great Barrier Reef specifically
Facts About the Great Barrier Reef
:Next, here are a few facts to share about the The Great Barrier Reef.
- The Great Barrier Reef, located off of the eastern coast of Australia, is the longest coral reef in the world.
- It is home to 1500 species of tropical fish and 400 finds of hard and soft coral
- The reef serves as a protective habitat for many other forms of marine life.
- One of the threats to reefs is coral bleaching.
- Crown-of-thorns starfish is one of the predators to the reef which feeds on the soft coral polyps.
- A coral reef is a fragile ecosystem which requires very specific conditions. The water must be warm (between 69-84 F) and relatively shallow (to depths of 60-100 ft).
- Coral reefs exist in shallow waters because they depend on photosynthesis for food production. Photosynthesis is the chemical process by which plants capture sunlight and convert it, along with water and carbon dioxide into energy.
While your child designs their own little slice of sea life you can talk about the various life that lives here, what is being done to preserve it and where its located.
Next, look at how to make this fun hands-on edible coral reef.
How to Make an Edible Reef
Here is a list of some things we used. Your list can vary depending on what you use for plants and animals
- One half sheet cake or a boxed cake mix
- Vanilla wafers
- Assorted candy – airheads, licorice whips, swedish fish, cookies, sprinkles and white chocolate pretzels
- Icing in various colors or food coloring for your own icing
Bake your cake according to package directions and allow to cool completely.
Flip pan to carefully remove cake and cut ⅓ of the cake off.
Flip over the two pieces and stack the smaller one on top of the other.
And because reefs have overhangs and caves, you can make some nooks and caves by digging out some of the cake.
Add a little food coloring to the frosting and stir. Use any shade you like to create your base.
Carefully ice all over the cake making different blobs and creating different textures creating the base mound of your coral.
You want it to look like big rocks.
Cut up airheads, licorice ropes and other candies to create colorful coral and push in all over the cake.
Broken white chocolate pretzels make nice coral.
Use the heat from your hands to soften Airheads or other taffy and make some fan coral for your reef.
Also, you could create a makeshift piping bag by putting warm wax into a sandwich bag, cut off a small corner and squeeze to make coral shapes onto wax paper.
Allow to cool and harden then remove carefully from waxed paper.
Finally, add in some fun sea creatures and you can add some fun decorations.
These are from obviously these are not edible.
Be sure to wash them well before using to disinfect them and keep your cake safe.
And you’ll love these other Geronimo Stilton.
Other Geronimo Stilton Resources:
- Geronimo Stilton Field Trip to Niagara Falls Summary And Fun Corn Craft
- Geronimo Stilton Adventures The Journey Through Time #2: Back in Time (Colosseum Craft)
- The Race Against Time Geronimo Stilton Activities: Fun Edible Spine
- Geronimo Stilton Adventure The Journey Through Time #2: Back in Time (Mayan Craft)
- Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid Barbie Mummy
- Easy and Fun Who Is Geronimo Stilton Rodent Notebooking Page
Too, you’ll love the ocean and coral reef resources I have here.
Love this – so colourful! Our daughter loved the Geronimo Stilton books when she was around 8-9 years old. Even better – they were fun to read with her, unlike some other book series that wore thin very quickly! I have to admit that Thea Stilton was even more popular in our house though!
It’s such a fun series and so many books. We are making our way too through Thea Stilton. Glad to have you stop by.