Biomes can be confusing for kids because they look a lot like habitats. These sensory bottle biomes helped mine see what makes each biome different and how animals adapt to live there.
Each bottle holds the soil, plants and water of one biome, plus the animals that live there. We made desert, grassland, aquatic and forest bottles.
How to Make a Biome in a Bottle
Animal Habitat Clip Cards
Get the printable4 clear plastic bottles with lids
Small toy animals for each biome
View on AmazonBrown kinetic sand (desert)
View on AmazonDecorative grass and moss (grassland)
Corn syrup, water, blue gel food coloring and shells (aquatic)
Sticks and leaves (forest)
Glue for the lids
View on Amazon
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Sort the animals
Sort your toy animals by where they live. Talk about how each one is adapted to its home.
List each biome’s features
Make a list of the climate, soil and plants in each biome.
Fill the bottles
Add the soil, plants or water for each biome, then add its animals.
Seal the lids
Glue the lids on so the bottles are kid-proof.
Compare
Line the bottles up and talk about how they’re alike and different.
The Four Biomes
Biomes are huge areas defined by climate, soil and plants, not by the animals in them. One biome can hold many ecosystems. Scientists group them into five major types: aquatic, desert, forest, grassland and tundra. We left out tundra because of supplies.
- Desert: Little rain, shallow rocky or sandy soil and few plants. We used kinetic sand and desert animals.
- Grassland: Mostly grass with few trees and moderate rain. We used decorative grass and moss.
- Aquatic: All the water on Earth, fresh and salt. It’s the biggest biome. We used blue corn syrup and water with shells.
- Forest: Lots of trees and the most kinds of living things. Rainforest, temperate and boreal forests are all in this group. We used sticks and leaves.
More sensory bottles
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Keep exploring where animals live with our habitat play dough mats.
The clip cards include
- Animal and habitat matching cards
- Instant PDF download, nothing is shipped
Perfect for
- Biome and habitat units
- Preschool through 2nd grade
- Science centers
Biome in a Bottle FAQ
Fill a clear bottle with the soil, plants or water of one biome, add animals that live there and glue the lid on.
Aquatic, desert, forest, grassland and tundra.
A biome is a huge region defined by climate and plants. A habitat is the specific place one animal lives, and one biome holds many habitats.
About 4 to 10. Older kids can research and label each bottle.
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We love seeing these activities out in the wild: the lumpy letters, the snack breaks, the proud “I made a B!” moments. Leave a star rating, tell other parents what worked (and what totally didn’t), and add a photo of your setup if you’d like.
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