Create an ocean sensory bin that kids LOVE to play with! Encourage creativity, exploration, fine motor skills, and more with this fun summer activity.
Summer is such a fun time to be a kid!
There’s so much freedom to play with toys, ride bikes, play games, go the beach, and do all the things.
All of that free time is fun at first, but can quickly turn into a chorus of “I’m bored” and “there’s nothing to do…”
A fun way to remedy this is to create an engaging ocean sensory bin!
Try masking mermaid slime,
What is a Sensory Bin?
Sensory bins are a great way for kids to use their senses, get creative, and have fun playing.
While sensory exploration looks like just fun, there are so many benefits to these sensory tubs.
Sensory Bin Benefits
Sensory bins help foster:
- creativity
- imagination
- social skills
- fine motor skills
- using their senses of touch, sight, smell, and sound
- pretend play
- problem solving
- calmness
- taking turns
- math skills
- and so much more!
Ocean Sensory Bin
I created an ocean sensory bin with water beads that kept my kids busy for over an hour!
Our ocean animal craft and paper lantern fish are more great summer activities for the kiddos.
If you haven’t tried playing with water beads yet, they’re pretty amazing.
When just out of the package, they are tiny and look almost like small beads.
After you let them soak in water, however, they swell up much bigger and are so soft and squishy.
While kids of all ages love to play with water beads, so do adults!
Every time after I soak them, I find myself running my hands through the bowl or bin of them.
It is just so satisfying and is truly a treat for the senses!
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Ocean Themed Sensory Bin Supplies
- Water beads
- Blue food coloring
- Ocean animal plastic toys
- Seashells
- Ocean or nautical toys (that can get wet)
Soak the Water Beads
First, you’ll need to soak those tiny hard water beads to get them big, soft, and squishy.
Make sure to follow the directions on the packaging, since each brand might be a little different .
Add 10-15 drops of blue food coloring to the water, then stir completely.
The water beads will absorb the water as well as the blue color!
Transfer the Water Beads
Once the water beads are larger and soft, place them in a medium-sized plastic tub.
Be sure to add a little water to keep the beads wet and squishy.
Any tub or container will work- a plastic tub with a lid, a plastic tub for washing dishes, a big bowl, etc.
I prefer a plastic container with a lid so I cans just pop the lid back on when the kids are done playing and save our ocean sensory bin for another day!
Make sure to watch your kids when they are playing with water beads. They are very fun but small and can be a choking hazard if kids aren’t supervised.
Add the Ocean and Nautical Elements
Now for the fun part!
It’s time to add all of the little animals and nautical elements to our ocean themed sensory bin.
Add plastic ocean animal toys, sea shells, and anything else that goes in the ocean and is safe to play with.
Keep in mind the ages of the kids who will be playing, and get appropriate-sized items to ensure the kids can’t choke if they were to put the items in their mouths.
Safety reminder: Always watch your kids when they are playing to make sure they are playing safely and not putting water beads or toys in their mouths!
Ocean Sensory Exploration Items
Here’s a list of ideas of ocean and nautical items for you to include in your ocean exploration bins:
- toy fish
- sharks
- whales
- seals
- crabs
- lobster
- octopus
- rays
- starfish
- seahorses
- penguins
- seashells
- small boats or ships
- coral
- sand dollars
- sand
- river rocks or smooth stones
- buried treasure or treasure chest
- fake plants (like for an aquarium)
- small net
- scooping and sifting toys
- small measuring cups / small scoops
Now just sit back and watch the kids play and have fun with their new ocean sensory bin!
Go ahead and play too… you know you want to.
Trust me, it’s highly addicting and very calming and relaxing!
I included our new bin in our end of summer party I threw for the kids.
We all had such a fun afternoon!
End of Summer Party for Kids
The kids loved all the choices and freedom they had at our summer party.
As summer came to a close, I wanted to thow them one last summer party so we could just play and have fun before going back to our busy schedules.
I wanted the party to be engaging for the kids, so I decided to put the fun completely in their hands.
Since our party was outdoors and by the pool, I focused on games and activities that had to do with water.
These activities were placed all around the table, and the kids could choose which ones they wanted to do.
They LOVED it!
Water Balloons
I filled up a bunch of water balloons beforehand, then stored them in a large bucket.
Be sure to add water to the inside of the bucket.
This helps the water balloons not to pop.
I also filled a pail with water balloon slingshots, which were a hit with the kids too!
Bubbles
Kids and bubbles go hand in hand, so of course there were bubbles at our summer party.
Extra Floaties
Backup floaties are a must when inviting friends over, just in case they forgot theirs or one pops.
Even better when they’re ocean-themed like these cute ones!
Bouncy Balls
The kids loved playing with a big bucket of colorful bouncy balls.
They were quick to claim their favorite colors- luckily I bought plenty.
Ocean Themed Sensory Bin
Of course we included our new favorite summer activity!
Summer Snacks
When the kids got hungry, I had some treats for them- ice cold lemonade, fresh fruit, giant colorful suckers, and my personal favorite- snowcones!
I should have made my famous mermaid drink for the occasion. It’s always such a hit!
Snowcones
I pulled out my favorite snowcone maker and our yummy homemade snowcone syrup, then we cooled off with our tasty treats.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and try making an under the sea sensory bin.
Your kids will thank you!
This article was updated in Jun 2025 and was originally posted in August 2016.
