Jovian Planet Sensory Bottle

Please read the procedure before beginning! After reading, please watch the video. Some activities require more time and cleanup than others. You also have the choice of performing these activities in a way that suits your needs.

Not for children under 3 years. Adult supervision required. Follow approved procedures.

Materials

· Plastic Cup

· Water (not included)

· Ball Bottle

· Collapsible Funnel

· Food Coloring

· Mica Powder

Procedure

1. Fill the plastic cup with water.

2. Remove the cap from the ball bottle. Place the neck of the funnel into the neck of the ball bottle.

3. Pour water from the plastic cup into the funnel until the ball bottle is almost full.

4. Remove the funnel from the ball bottle, and carefully add the food coloring to the bottle.

5. Add the mica powder to the ball bottle and replace the lid.

6. Shake and spin the ball bottle and set it down to watch how the mica powder moves through the water. What does this remind you of?

The Science Behind It

Explore this fun sensory activity right in your own hands. Now you have made a Jovian planet. Jovian meaning gas giant planets. There are 8 planets and half of them are gas giants, meaning made out of gas entirely. The other half are terrestrial planets, meaning land. This activity explores the gas planets. The gas giants are all made up of gas. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and they immense in size compared to our terrestrial planets such as Earth.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and you can actually see it on a bright night with no clouds. See if you can find it!

Saturn is the 2nd largest planet and it is named for the Roman god of wealth. It is known for its ring system, which is made from ice and rocks.

Uranus was the first planet to be found by way of looking through a telescope. This planet has 27 moons! How many does Earth have? Imagine what that would look like standing (if you could) on the surface, which there is none.

Neptune is the furthest planet away from the sun in this solar system and is made of ice.

This activity is great for sensory exploring and using your fingers for kinesthetic learning. This is a safe method of allowing children to use their senses to make sense of their world. Use this as a method for de-escalation and teach about the planets at the same time!