Christmas Sensory Bottle with Oil and Water Beads

Let’s make a festive Christmas sensory bottle with oil and water beads. It’s colorful and calming. Plus you can use to it to explore the concept of density. What a fun Christmas science activity!

Christmas Sensory Bottle with Oil and Water Beads

Supplies Needed for the Sensory Bottle

• Water bottle or other clear container
• Water beads (red, green, and blue)
• Mineral oil
• Glue or tape to seal the bottle

How to Make the Sensory Bottle with Oil and Water Beads

Start by hydrating your water beads according to the package instructions. It will probably take a couple hours.

Then, add the water beads to your sensory bottle. For one bottle, I alternated red and green water beads all the way to the top.

For the other one, I added red, green, and blue water beads only about half way up.

Next I filled the bottles with mineral oil. If you don’t fill the bottles all the way full with mineral oil, you will get an air pocket or some air bubbles. Not really a big deal, but a big air pocket does get in the way of seeing the water beads move.

You can glue the lid on or use tape to seal it. Definitely supervise as this would make a mess if it leaked. Also water beads are not safe to eat, so supervision is a must.

Christmas Sensory Bottle Exploration

For the half filled bottle watch the water beads sink in the oil as you turn the bottle over.

Talk about why the water beads sink. Oil is less dense than water, so it will float to the top. The water beads have a greater density than the oil, so they will sink to the bottom.

For the red and green bottle, shine a flashlight through and watch the colors light up.

You can turn this one upside down, too, but the water beads won’t go anywhere if you layered them all the way to the top. You can watch the tiny air bubbles move through the water beads. They will rise to the top. Air is less dense than water and oil.

More Christmas Sensory Activities

• Dream Snow Sensory Bottle
• Snowy Train Sensory Bin inspired by The Polar Express
• Christmas Bow Sticky Wall
• Jingle Bell Drop Painting

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