Did you know that the tides are caused by the moon!  Neat!  Something in outer space affects our oceans.

Use slinkies to make waves.  Observe the crests and troughs.

Have the students make sailboats and have a boat racing contest.  Sailboat races

Make wave bottles:  Fill a 2 liter bottle half full of rubbing alcohol.  Add blue food coloring.  Fill will paint thinner until it reaches the top of the bottle.  Cap the bottle tightly and wrap with waterproof tape to prevent leaking.  Place the bottle on its side and rock gently.  You will see the crests and troughs of the waves.  Alternative:  use baby oil and water.

Floating Eggs - an experiment with buoyancy

Materials:

• 1 raw chicken egg for each group
• 2 large jars and a popsicle stick for each group
• 1 box of table salt for each group
• 1 pitcher of water for each group

• Fill the first jar about 2/3 full of water
• Fill the second jar about 2/3 full of water and add about 3T of salt.  Stir until the salt is dissolved.  Keep adding salt and stirring until no more will dissolve.
• Place a raw egg into each jar.
• Have the students record their observations

Discover how fresh water floats on top of salt water.  Get two jars and fill them 1/2 full with water.  Add about 3T of salt to one jar.  Stir until the salt is dissolved.  Keep adding salt and stirring until no more will dissolve.  To the fresh water, add blue food coloring.   Pour the fresh water on top of the salt water.  You will be able to see the blue water (fresh water) floating on top of the salt water.

Mapping the Ocean Floor Activity

 Materials: air dry clay or plaster of Paris,  metric ruler, bamboo skewers, shoebox, marker, tape, pencil, cardboard
Students will use the clay or plaster of Paris to create a model of the ocean floor in the bottom of their shoebox.  They can include features such as guyot, trench, continental ridge, etc. On the lid of the box, make a grid.  Points on the grid should be 4 cm apart.  Using an ice pick, punch holes in the marks through the cardboard box. Put the lid back on the box.  Students insert the bamboo skewers into the holes on the grid and read the highs and lows of the ocean.  They can plot their data on a graph.

The Unseen Ocean Floor - another neat activity

Using sonar lesson

Make a miniature deep sea vent

Ocean Planet Oceanographic Facts

Water Pressure Lesson Plan

Water Density and Salinity Lab (this says for Jr. High, but can be adapted)

Ocean Morse Code

Create a Sea Floor Diagram - edible art activity

Properties of Water activities

Waters of the Earth 

Back to Under the Sea  ~  Fishy Links - Ocean Life Links ~ Teacher's Guide

Fishy Tales - Student Storybooks for Under the Sea ~  Fishy Fun

Dauphin Island Sea Lab

  © 2001 S. Seagraves

Be sure to visit our classroom web site for more thematic units, lesson plans and online activities

 Mrs. Seagraves' QUEST Class