SWIMMING JELLYFISH ACTIVITY

Swim along through the ocean blue with your own jolly jellyfish!

Materials

• Paper Plate
• Cardstock
• Paintbrush
• Paint
• Popsicle Stick
• Markers
• Scissors
• Yarn
• Glue

Directions:

• Draw your jellyfish’s body on a piece of cardstock. Use the scissors to cut it out
• On one side, use the markers to draw your jellyfish’s face
• Choose which colours of yarn you would like to use. Use the scissors to cut multiple pieces of yarn (we used a total of 25 pieces of yarn for our jellyfish). Once you have all of your pieces of yarn cut, you may want to line them up to trim them so they are approximately the same length
• Turn your jellyfish over and apply glue near the bottom. Lay the strips of yarn over the glue. Press down firmly so they attach
• Once all of your yarn is attached, leave your jellyfish to dry
• Using the scissors, carefully cut a slit in the middle of the plate, about ¾ of the way down. You do not want to cut all the way across the bottom of the plate, as you still want your plate to be in one piece (in our picture, we cut a straight line between the ridges along the outer edge of the plate). This will allow your jellyfish to move back and forth across the plate
• Use blue paint to paint one side of your popsicle stick, and one side of your plate. Leave both to dry
• Once they’re dry, use tape to attach the popsicle stick to the back of your jellyfish so that the blue side is facing forward
• Slide the popsicle stick in through the slit in your paper plate, so that the popsicle stick is on the back side of your plate, and the jellyfish and yarn are on the front side
• Move the popsicle stick back and forth and up and down to let your jellyfish swim through the ocean!

How does this spark creative learning?

Kindergarten:
Practice making pretty patterns with yarn! Choose 2-3 colours, decide which order you’d like them to go in, and make them repeat as you add beautiful colours to your jellyfish!

Grade 1:
Have you ever compared yourself to a jellyfish? We might need similar things, but the way we get them is very different! What can we sense? How do we move? What tools and tricks can we use? Explore and compare the different ways that people and jellyfish get what they need to survive!

Grade 2:  
Imagine a day in the life of a jellyfish! Explore what it would be like to be one of these gelatinous gems as you research to learn fascinating facts about how they move, eat, and communicate! Quiz your friends and family to share your newfound knowledge!

Grade 3:
Did you know that jellyfish can make a tasty treat? There are places in the world that have been eating jellyfish for over 1000 years! Research to discover where jellyfish are commonly eaten. Later, practice locating those countries on a map or globe!

Grade 4:
What’s on the menu for a hungry jellyfish? Research to learn the kinds of things that jellyfish eat, as well as any predators they have to avoid. Expand your ocean by designing a complete food chain for a jellyfish and creating a representation of each organism in this food chain!

Grade 5:
Jellyfish’s umbrella-shaped bells pulsate to provide propulsion and help them move! Are there any modes of transportation that humans use which are powered by propulsion? Identify the simple machines present in these modes of transportation which work together with propulsion to help us go go go!

Stay tuned for more resources to help spark kids’ creative learning!

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