Starry Water Play
Coloured water, floating stars, and bio glitter
The Set Up
A clear tub, big enough for several artists to reach in at once. Fill with water and add liquid watercolour in deep blue, purple, or teal. A few drops is enough. The water stays translucent so you can see everything floating through it. This is EC liquid watercolour again, brilliant for this because the colour is intense and it rinses out of clothes far better than food dye.
Float glow-in-the-dark plastic stars across the surface. They bob around on the water like little constellations drifting past. Add a sprinkle of bio glitter for sparkle; we use bio glitter specifically because it breaks down properly and doesn't leave microplastics in the water or on the artists' hands. Silver and gold are the dreamiest I think!
Offer cups, small jugs, brass goblets, funnels, tongs, and ladles for scooping and pouring. Set the tub on the floor or a low table, outdoors or with a splash mat underneath if inside.
The Making
Water play is endlessly absorbing. Pouring colour from one cup to another, watching the bio glitter swirl, chasing stars around the surface with a ladle. We had one artist spend her entire session carefully scooping single stars out of the water, lining them up on a tea towel to "dry", and then tipping them back in and starting again. That was the whole play and it was perfect!
The colour-mixing moment is gorgeous. Start with just blue water, then invite artists to add drops of purple or teal with pipettes and watch the colour spread and shift through the tub. The way coloured water moves through coloured water is its own kind of magic, and there's real colour theory happening in front of them in three dimensions.
Variations
Run this in a shallow mirror tray on a low table. The reflection under the stars doubles the whole effect and it feels gorgeously magical.
Try ice cubes with tiny glow stars frozen inside them. Drop them into the coloured water and watch the stars appear as the ice melts. A good one for a warm day.
Materials
Clear tub or large shallow container
Water
EC liquid watercolour in deep blue, purple, or teal
Glow-in-the-dark plastic stars
Bio glitter in silver and gold (breaks down properly, won't pollute)
Small cups, jugs, brass goblets, funnels, tongs, ladles
Pipettes / droppers for adding extra colour
Mirror tray (for variation)
Ice-cube trays (for variation)
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Starry Water Play
Coloured water, floating stars, and bio glitter
Bookmark
Sensory Play
The Set Up
A clear tub, big enough for several artists to reach in at once. Fill with water and add liquid watercolour in deep blue, purple, or teal. A few drops is enough. The water stays translucent so you can see everything floating through it. This is EC liquid watercolour again, brilliant for this because the colour is intense and it rinses out of clothes far better than food dye.
Float glow-in-the-dark plastic stars across the surface. They bob around on the water like little constellations drifting past. Add a sprinkle of bio glitter for sparkle; we use bio glitter specifically because it breaks down properly and doesn't leave microplastics in the water or on the artists' hands. Silver and gold are the dreamiest I think!
Offer cups, small jugs, brass goblets, funnels, tongs, and ladles for scooping and pouring. Set the tub on the floor or a low table, outdoors or with a splash mat underneath if inside.
The Making
Water play is endlessly absorbing. Pouring colour from one cup to another, watching the bio glitter swirl, chasing stars around the surface with a ladle. We had one artist spend her entire session carefully scooping single stars out of the water, lining them up on a tea towel to "dry", and then tipping them back in and starting again. That was the whole play and it was perfect!
The colour-mixing moment is gorgeous. Start with just blue water, then invite artists to add drops of purple or teal with pipettes and watch the colour spread and shift through the tub. The way coloured water moves through coloured water is its own kind of magic, and there's real colour theory happening in front of them in three dimensions.
Variations
Run this in a shallow mirror tray on a low table. The reflection under the stars doubles the whole effect and it feels gorgeously magical.
Try ice cubes with tiny glow stars frozen inside them. Drop them into the coloured water and watch the stars appear as the ice melts. A good one for a warm day.
Materials
Clear tub or large shallow container
Water
EC liquid watercolour in deep blue, purple, or teal
Glow-in-the-dark plastic stars
Bio glitter in silver and gold (breaks down properly, won't pollute)
Small cups, jugs, brass goblets, funnels, tongs, ladles
Pipettes / droppers for adding extra colour
Mirror tray (for variation)
Ice-cube trays (for variation)
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Thoughts?
Would love to hear if youv'e tried this or have any ideas on how to make it even better!
