Projects for Kids-How to Make a Coral Reef
Ever since we did our Australia project, my kids, known as Einstein E and Power P, have been crazy about coral reefs. Thanks to their curiosity, we've learned so many exciting things about these rainforests of the sea.
Interesting facts about coral reefs:
- The algae that usually covers the surface of coral isn't a plant; it's a living organism. To make it easier for kids to understand - Corals are animals, not plants.
- Coral reefs are naturally colourful because of algae, which lives inside of the coral, providing them with food.
- Coral reefs promote better water quality.
- The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world.
- Coral reefs are found in all oceans of the world, except the Arctic Ocean.
For this little project, we upcycled some old boxes, lids, plastic bags, egg cartons, and toilet paper rolls.
Step 1.
Make a list of animals that live in coral reefs. Using books, Power P made quite a long list. However, not all of them were included in this project. This can also be an interesting activity for developing literacy skills in one or more languages. To make this list, Power P was reading books in German and writing in Croatian.
Here are the animals we made and the materials (re)used. If you need detailed instructions to make them, or want to learn a few interesting facts about animals in the coral reefs, click here.
*We found these pieces of information in:
- Erne A. (2015). Wir entdecken Meerestiere. Wieso? Weshalb? Warum? Ravensburger Buchverlag.
and at: