Search

      Buy tickets
      Virtual Art Activities

      Recycled Tide Pool Critters

      Local beaches are teaming with life. Have you ever spent the afternoon peering into tide pools to see what you can find? Hermit crabs, periwinkles and rock crabs are often the easiest to find. The cleaner the beach the more creatures you are likely to see. Learn how to create some tide pool creatures of our own with recycled plastic containers. We can keep plastic out of the sea by reusing and recycling it.

      Supplies
      • Plastic sauce containers
      • Bottle caps
      • Paper tubes
      • Paint
      • Hot glue gun
      • Permanent marker
      Instructions

      Step 1: Paint the inside of your sauce container and set aside to dry.

      Step 2: Create arms, legs, tentacles and other details by cutting shapes from your paper tube. Then paint each piece.

      Step 3: Use a permanent marker to draw details on the different parts of your creature. A swirl on the sauce container can make it into a snail shell. The possibilities are endless!

      Step 4: With help from an adult, use the glue gun to complete your tide pool critter. Make a few and hide them in a “tide pool” of your own to explore with a friend.

      To watch this process, visit youtube.com/PeabodyEssexMuseum


      Show Us!

      Share your recycled tide pool critters with us on social media using #PEMpod or #PeabodyEssex