Easy Glow in the Dark Beads Sensory Bottle
It’s easy to make and so fun to play with! My children think it’s awesome, but I have no doubt that I would love it even more than them.
Watching a sensory bottle is relaxing. It helps calm my son down before bed time.
To create this effect, I added corn syrup to the jar. It makes the glowing drops slowly sink down.
It was fun for them to watch the colorful beads swirl inside the bottle. A small amount of glitter added to the overall look.
Supplies Needed:
- Water bottles –
- Glow in the dark beads
- Neon glitter
- Corn syrup
- Water
How to make - Put the corn sugar and hot water into a bowl with a whisk; if they don’t combine easily, place them in a pan over low heat and whisk constantly until they’re mixed.
- Adding just a small amount of fine neon glitter will not cause any issues. However, adding too much may result in some of the glitter sticking to the surface. Add a tiny sprinkling of each color.
- Put the mixture into your bottle.
- Put the glow in the dark balls inside the jar, close the lid and shake up.
The glowing glass bottles should last about an hour after being submerged in water. If they start floating right away, you may have added too much corn syrup. You can test if the liquid is ready by dropping one bead into your mouth. If it dissolves immediately, then you’re good. Otherwise, wait another 10 minutes before trying again.
If the bubbles rise to the surface, then you need to increase the volume of the liquid.
Mine sometimes sink to the bottom and others rise to the top. I’ve found that adding a bit too much corn starch helps them stay afloat for longer periods of time.
For related reading, check out these sensory play activities for kids.
We once had a sensory water fountain that was illuminated by a black-lightsource. When you turned the lights on, the water would sparkle and glimmer. Then when you turned them off again, the water became dark but the sparkling effect remained.
If you shine a blacklight on this image, you’ll see that there are lots of different colors. But they’re not bright enough for us to notice them individually.
They really enjoy using it at night too!
We’re sure to enjoy this glow in dark sensory water for a long time to keep.
Here are some other awesome glow in the bottle products!
Super Simple Glow in the Dark Water Bead Sensory Bottle | Preschool Inspirations
Glow in the Dark Ocean Bottle | Sunny Day Family
Cool Glow In the Dark Chalk Sensory Bottle | Sugar Aunts
Glow in the Dark Loom Band Sensory Bottle | Rhythms of Play
Glow in the Dark ABC I-Spy Sensory Bottle | Where Imagination Grows
Glow Sticks Sensory Bottle | Teaching Mama
Glow in the Dark Bottle Sets for Sensory Play
Want to know where to start when shopping for glow in the dark bottle ideas? Try these ten ideas!
Sensory bottles are always popular among parents and teachers alike.
The kids enjoy making their own personalized bottle labels for the different types of water they drink, the custom designs allow parents to choose from a variety of themes and interests, and the plastic containers themselves are simply fun.
Learning with Sensory Bottles
There’s no harm in having fun.
However, if you’d like to learn more about sensory bottles, here are a few things you might want to know:
- Volume
- Measurement
- Oral language skills
- Following directions
- Cause and effect
- Colors
These glowing sensory bottles would be fun for a sleep-over party, a space themed party, or maybe even closer to Halloween.
It doesn’t really matter when we make these, but they’re always fun to make.
More Glow in the Dark Activities
If you’ve made your own glow in the bottle idea, here are some other ways to use them.
You could read these books without any light at all.
Magnetic Tiles and Glow Sticks
Glowing Galaxy Space Activity
Day and Night Art for Preschoolers
Glow in the Dark Puffy Paint Moon from No Time for Flash Cards
How to Make Glowy Bubbles from Cheap Fun for Kids
Glow in the dark slime made from pumpkin and princesses!
Glow in the Dark Materials
If you want to be creative and create your own version of the glowing sensory bottles, check out the following materials.
If you click on any of these links and buy something, I might earn a commission from them.
- Glow sticks
- Mini flashlights
- Glowing paint
- Neon food coloring
- Glowing insects
- Neon confetti
- Glowing pony beads
- Neon paint markers
- Chalk made from glow in the dark paint
- Blacklight flashlight
- Glowing Stars
