35 Best Under the Sea Crafts for Kids

This craft combines art and sensory play by using celery sticks as stamps to create colorful fish scales. Children dip cut celery pieces into various paint colors and stamp them onto a fish template, resulting in a vibrant, rainbow-scaled fish. This activity not only produces beautiful artwork but also introduces kids to the concept of repurposing and using everyday items as art tools.

Dive into a sea of creativity with over 60 free printable under the sea coloring pages, perfect for kids of all ages! This collection features a wide array of marine life, including dolphins, mermaids, sharks, sea turtles, fish, and much more. The designs range from simple illustrations suitable for toddlers and preschoolers to more intricate scenes that older children and even teens will enjoy.

Transform a simple paper plate into a cute jellyfish. This craft encourages creativity and fine motor development. Children paint and decorate a halved paper plate, add glitter or sequins for sparkle, and attach ribbon or yarn tentacles. The result is a colorful jellyfish that can be hung up for display, making it a perfect addition to any under the sea themed activity.

Create an underwater scene using soft pastels and silhouette templates. Children begin by printing free templates featuring ocean creatures like turtles, stingrays, sharks, and mermaids. After cutting out the templates, they secure them onto black paper and use pastels to draw around the edges. Smudging the colors outward with fingers creates a glowing effect, simulating sunlight filtering through water. Once the templates are removed, kids can add details like rocks, coral, and seaweed with black paint.

This sparkling sensory craft doubles as a party favor for an "Under the Sea" themed party. This project guides you through creating sparkly blue slime using glitter glue, baking soda, and contact lens solution. Once the slime is ready, it's layered into clear plastic jars alongside miniature sea creature toys, creating an aquarium-like effect. The jars are then sealed and topped with glitter tape.

Get ready for a fin-tastic adventure with this one. Create a fun headband with colored cardstock and a free printable template. You can choose to color your headbands or use pre-colored pieces. This project makes a great beach craft for kids on vacation and is perfect for Shark Week!

Looking for more shark coloring fun? Get these free printable shark coloring pages!

Using colored cardstock or construction paper, kids can create the octopus's head with expressive eyes and a cute smile. The tentacles are formed by linking paper chains, allowing children to practice their fine motor skills. The free printable template simplifies the process. This under the sea activity is suitable for various age groups.

Turn paper plates into cute pufferfish. Kids start by painting a paper plate in bright colors using a cut-up toilet paper roll. Adding fins, large, expressive eyes, and a circular mouth brings these adorable sea creatures to life.

Transforms simple materials into delightful fish windsocks that dance in the breeze. Kids cut and assemble fish shapes from colored paper. They then attach crepe paper streamers and glue the fish onto blue cardstock. Additional touches like green crepe paper seaweed and sticker bubbles enhance the underwater scene. Once rolled into a cylinder and stapled, these windsocks become cute summer decorations for porches or classrooms.

Using basic materials like colored cardstock, a toilet roll tube, sticker eyes, and glue, children can create a cute little stingray friend. The process involves cutting a circular shape for the body, attaching it to the toilet roll to form the body structure, adding a tail, and decorating with eyes and spots. Once dry, these stingrays are ready for imaginative play or display.

Bring the magic of coral reefs to life with this project. Using an egg carton as a base, children can create colorful coral using tissue paper, loom bands, and pipe cleaners. Adding LED tea lights beneath the tissue paper coral gives the reef a glowing effect, making it a captivating nightlight. This craft is a fun way to teach about the importance of marine habitats.

Introduce children to the fun of color blending using bleeding tissue paper with this art project. Kids begin by printing a seahorse template onto cardstock. They then apply small pieces of bleeding tissue paper onto the template, using water to help the colors bleed and blend, creating a tie-dye effect. After the paper dries, the tissue is removed, revealing a beautifully colored seahorse.

To make this cute orca, paint a paper plate to resemble an orca's distinctive black and white coloring. Then, add fins, eyes, and a smiling mouth using colored paper and glue. This activity is a great way for kids to learn about these majestic marine mammals.

This free printable combines coloring, cutting, and gluing for a fun summer activity for kids. You can choose between male and female diver templates, assemble their snorkelers, and enhance the scene with a watercolor background using shades of blue, green, and yellow. A sprinkle of salt on the wet paint adds a bubbly ocean effect.

This under the sea art project uses a bouncy ball to stamp white paint onto black paper, forming the pufferfish's body. Kids can add yellow paint for extra color, cut out eyes and a mouth from white paper, and attach wax paper fins detailed with a black Sharpie.

Make an adorable underwater scene with a paper plate. Children start by painting the plate blue to represent water. They then glue on colorful Goldfish crackers as fish and add strips of green felt or fabric to mimic seaweed. Optional additions like sand, seashells, or other ocean-themed decorations can enhance the scene. This project is perfect for preschoolers learning about marine life. ​

Dive into some creative fun by decorating starfish cutouts. Using a free printable template, kids can cut out starfish shapes and embellish them with various art materials like paint, glitter, sequins, or even natural elements like sand. This activity can be adapted for different age groups, making it a customizable addition to any under the sea lesson.

This eco-friendly craft transforms recycled materials into a miniature underwater world. Children paint the inside of an egg carton with shades of blue and add glitter for a shimmering sea effect. They then decorate it with handmade fish, seaweed cutouts, shells, pebbles, sand, and gems to create a vibrant ocean scene. This is also a creative way to display beach treasures from summer vacations.

This educational spinner craft helps children explore marine life. By coloring and assembling a spinner featuring animals like whales, fish, sharks, seahorses, and crabs, kids can learn about ocean creatures interactively. The printable offers options for larger or smaller wheels, catering to different age groups and settings. ​

This activity combines oil pastels, watercolors, and salt to create textured underwater scenes. Children draw wavy lines with white oil pastels, apply a watercolor wash in ocean hues, and sprinkle salt to achieve a bubbly effect. After drying, they can add watercolor-painted sea creatures, resulting in a tactile piece of art. ​

Featuring a cute 3D design, this puppet has a movable tail and a little water spout. It's brought to life with a simple craft stick handle. The project includes a printable template available in nine vibrant colors, as well as a black-and-white version for kids who love to color.

Bring the wonders of the deep sea to your backyard! This fun craft is perfect for windy summer days. Using colored cardstock, you can create a tube-shaped squid body, then add a curved top, and attach a raindrop-shaped fin. Crepe paper strips serve as the squid's tentacles.

Explore the depths of the ocean through this dynamic scrape painting technique. Using acrylic paint and a sturdy scraper (think old credit card), you can create swirling underwater scenes that capture the movement of the sea. Once the vibrant background is complete, printable shark silhouettes—available in various swimming poses—can be added to bring the under the sea artwork to life.

This project allows children to explore the vibrant world of coral reefs through sponge painting. By cutting sponges into various coral shapes and using bright acrylic paints, kids can stamp their designs onto light blue construction paper, creating a colorful underwater scene. This hands-on activity provides an opportunity for them to learn about marine ecosystems and the importance of coral reefs.

Bring the ocean to your craft table! Paint a paper plate to resemble ocean waves and use the free printable template to create a dolphin that dives through the surf. The interactive element of the dolphin diving adds a splash of fun, while the craft itself helps develop fine motor skills and encourages imaginative play.

Introduce kids to the art of paper folding and teach them how to fold a simple origami fish with this easy-to-follow tutorial. This under the sea project enhances their fine motor skills and spatial awareness. It's perfect for kids who like paper folding and want to create their own paper fish collection.

This activity combines art and science for a fun, hands-on experience. Children start by drawing a jellyfish outline with glue on cardstock, then sprinkle salt over the glue lines. Once dry, they use liquid watercolors to gently touch the salt, watching the colors spread and blend in mesmerizing patterns. This process not only creates a beautiful, textured jellyfish but also introduces kids to the concept of capillary action in a fun way. ​

Make a calming sensory bottle using a clear bottle, blue glitter glue, and a gray foam shark cutout. Kids can shake the bottle to see the glitter and sharks move, creating a soothing sensory experience. Perfect as a fun addition to an under the sea lesson.

Make a beautiful miniature aquarium using a mason jar, colorful pebbles, plastic plants, and small embellishments. Children will love to design their own underwater scenes. These mini-aquariums make great bedroom decorations, and with the addition of submersible lights, they can serve as fun night lights, too.

This fun craft pairs perfectly with the book "Over In The Ocean." Children can draw and cut a seahorse shape from a paper plate, paint it with bright colors, and decorate it with glitter and a googly eye. This inexpensive and easy craft is great for big groups.

This easy and adorable project is great for young children. Paint a paper plate blue, then cut and attach blue paper for the whale's tail and water spout. Adding a googly eye and drawing a smile with a black marker completes this ocean-themed craft.

Transform everyday materials into a vibrant turtle. To make it, color a coffee filter with washable markers in shades of green and yellow, then lightly mist it with water to blend the colors, creating a beautiful shell effect. Once dry, the coffee filter is glued onto light blue cardstock, and green cardstock is used to add the turtle's head, tail, and flippers. Googly eyes and white buttons can be added for extra detail.