A wooden tray filled with blue and white rice, seashells, and small beads. There is a small shark figurine and a brush on the rice. At the top left, three penguin figurines stand on a white cloud-shaped base. A chick figurine is among the penguins. The tray contains decorated letters and a stone with writing.
A wooden tray filled with blue and white rice, seashells, and small beads. There is a small shark figurine and a brush on the rice. At the top left, three penguin figurines stand on a white cloud-shaped base. A chick figurine is among the penguins. The tray contains decorated letters and a stone with writing.

Ocean Play

Dive into hands-on ocean play ideas designed to spark curiosity, creativity and connection with the natural world.

Explore Ocean Products
A graphic of a scoop filled with small round objects, with a few objects spilling out, surrounded by sparkles. Below the graphic, the text reads 'SENSORY PLAY' with an arrow pointing right.
An illustration of a potion bottle with bubbles, a starfish, and a plant, labeled 'Potions' with a right arrow.
Sign with a blue outline and a light blue background, featuring an icon of an open book with a sprouting plant inside, three stars, and the word "BOOKS" with an arrow pointing right.
Sign with a leaf illustration, stars, and dots, labeled 'NATURE PLAY' with an arrow pointing to the right.
Illustration of craft supplies including scissors, glue, and thread with stars in a blue and white theme, and the word 'CRAFT' with a right arrow symbol.
Illustration of a camera with a photograph, indicating a community gallery sign.

Easy Ocean Play Invitations

A small rectangular pond with blue water, decorated with colorful plastic plants, floating seashells, a toy clownfish, and a bottle of liquid soap inside. Outside the pond, there are grass and gravel ground surfaces.

Ocean Clean Up

Learn about why its important to keep our oceans clean. Simply fill a tray with water, blue food colouring and a bit of corn starch. Hide ocean animals and ‘rubbish’.

Child arranging colorful plastic sea creature figurines on a blue felt surface with toy sea animals and plants, on a wooden base.

Pasta Coral Reef

A young child playing with a magnetic fishing game in a room filled with colorful wooden toys and decorations, including trees, rainbows, and a water pond in the background.

You just need: coloured pasta, playdough, ocean animals. Perfect for building hand muscles for prewriting strength.

Ocean Sensory Tray

Kids love scooping and pouring. Use a blue sensory base and some ocean themed items for a simple, calming activity.

More Ocean Play Ideas

Ocean Play Essentials

Whale Sensory Tray Whale Sensory Tray
Whale Sensory Tray
$32.99

Dive into sensory play with our Whale Sensory Tray 🐋 — a versatile 3D printed play base perfect for ocean-themed activities, fizzy potions, playdough setups and loose-part exploration. It’s a simple way to boost creativity, fine motor skills and calm, screen-free learning at home or in early learning environments.

🌊 Encourages imaginative play & sensory exploration

🎨 Works with fizz, water, rice or playdough

👶 Hands-on learning for toddlers and kids

🇦🇺 Designed by Liz & proudly made in Australia

Tray only — items shown for play inspiration. Add ocean animals, shells or sensory bases to make learning extra fun!

Only 1 available
Ocean Sensory Kit
Ocean Sensory Kit
$24.99

Bring the wonders of the ocean into your home with a ready-to-play sensory kit that encourages calm, creativity and hours of imaginative, screen-free play.

✔ Ready to pour and play with minimal setup

✔ Encourages imaginative, open-ended play

✔ Supports fine motor skills and sensory exploration\

✔ Handmade in Australia

Rockpool Sensory Tray Rockpool Sensory Tray Rockpool Sensory Tray Rockpool Sensory Tray
Sale
Rockpool Sensory Tray
from $19.99

Bring the magic of the seaside into play with our Rockpool. Featuring a beautifully textured rockpool base, this piece invites children to explore coastal environments through imaginative, hands-on sensory play. Thoughtfully designed to reflect the wonder of real rockpools found along our shores.

✔️ Perfect for fizz, water or sensory bases

✔️ Even upside down as a sand island or pond in small world play

✔️ Made in Australia by Naturally Playful

Ocean Potion Play Fizz Powder Ocean Potion Play Fizz Powder
Ocean Potion Play Fizz Powder
$13.99

A simple activity with BIG play value

For this easy low prep activity, just add water to create magical bubbling potion play kids will come back to again and again.

  • Encourages imaginative play

  • Supports fine motor development 🖐️

  • Great for sensory exploration

  • Encourages experimenting and creative thinking

Adult supervision required. Recommended for ages 3+.

🙋‍♀️ Made by Liz

🍃 Non-toxic

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Books To Explore Together

Children's book titled 'The Snail and the Whale' resting on a decorative bowl filled with green and yellow shredded paper, a gray plastic whale figurine, a blue pair of scissors, and a measuring tape.

The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

A children's educational book about sea turtles, surrounded by colorful felt craft sea creatures and plants on a blue felt mat.

The Big Book of the Blue by Yuval Zommer

Colorful illustration of people at the beach enjoying the ocean, with some swimming, children playing and a woman sitting under an umbrella, birds flying overhead, and purple mountains in the background.
Colorful illustration of people at the beach enjoying the ocean, with some swimming, children playing and a woman sitting under an umbrella, birds flying overhead, and purple mountains in the background.

Magic Beach by Alison Lester

Community Inspiration Gallery

A wooden box filled with colorful small pebbles, decorated with playful sea animal figurines such as a whale, dolphin, octopus, and crab. A large illustrated card featuring a whale hangs from a divided compartment and a beached whale figure inside the box.
A person's hand holding a small glass container with a tiny black seahorse illustration. Behind is a colorful educational book page about seahorses, showing images of seahorses and text.
Young child with blond curly hair and pacifier in mouth playing with a sensory water table filled with blue and green beads, artificial plants, small toys, and a sponge.
Child's toy sandbox filled with small pastel-colored rice or beads, decorated with plastic sea creature figurines, plastic cubes, and paper plant cutouts.
A circular tabletop display with artificial sand, small plants, plastic baby turtles, and decorative blue glass stones.

Easy Ocean Craft Activities

Colorful plastic sea creature decorations and shells on a wooden display, with a child's hand pointing at them.

Recycled Coral Reef

Simply paint, cut up and glue together some recycled cardboard tubes, egg cartons and bottle caps to create a reef diaorama.

Children assembling a colorful Christmas-themed jigsaw puzzle featuring various animals and holiday decorations on a light green surface.

DIY Puzzle

Get the kids to draw a picture or do a ocean theme colouring in. Then simply cut it into a puzzle (simple strips for younger ones).

Children's educational and craft materials featuring a turtle-themed activity, including paper turtle cutouts, small turtle figurines, colored beads, markers, a page from a book about a turtle, and a sheet with turtle illustrations on a patterned surface.

Sea Turtle Craft

Simply cut out some flippers and a head and glue to a paper plate. Decorate with scrap paper or fabric. Get the template here.

Nature Play

Nature play encourages curiosity, creativity and connection with the world around us. Exploring outdoors, investigating natural specimens and engaging the senses helps children build confidence, emotional regulation and a lifelong appreciation for nature.

Child dressed as Superman holding a large blue kite with a fishing pole handle on a sandy beach, with ocean waves, a few people in the distance, and a blue sky with clouds.
A person's hand holding a small transparent box with a black seahorse illustration inside, with a background of a colorful illustrated book page featuring seahorses and ocean water.
A person holding a small shallow plastic container with a tiny scorpion inside. The person is sitting on a surface with shells and starfish, and there are some decorative purple flowers nearby.
A person holding a clear plastic container with a small starfish inside.
Close-up of a seafood platter featuring lobster claws, shells, and a seafood salad with a green garnish on top, served in a white dish on a brown surface.

Sensory Play

Sensory play supports fine motor skills, emotional regulation, language development and imaginative exploration through tactile, open-ended play.

A young girl with red hair wearing a black shirt with colorful flower and paintbrush patterns looks down at a sensory bin filled with blue gravel, seashells, rocks, twigs, moss, and decorative glass pieces.
A child's hand and arm reaching for miniature ocean animals on a green textured surface inside a wooden tray, with seashells, rocks, and a small green plant, on a table with colorful, ocean-themed tablecloth.
Sea life sensory activity with shells, starfish, coral, and marine animal figurines, along with a wooden key and themed book on ocean animals, all set on a colorful quilted blanket.
View of marine-themed decorations including silhouettes of a whale, shell, seahorse, starfish, octopus, and other sea creatures, illuminated by blue and yellow lighting with bubbles and water effects.
A child's hand reaching into a blue whale-shaped sensory bin filled with blue and white rice, with a wooden whale toy and seashells nearby, and a small brown bear figurine in the background.

Try This Messy Play

A sandbox with toy sea creatures and colored sand, with people playing and cleaning the toys.

Simply colour shaving foam by mixing it with a drop of food colouring.

A round white bowl filled with green, yellow, and blue rubber toy noodles, a gray toy whale on top, and a children's book titled 'The Snail and the Whale' partially visible at the bottom left. Blue scissors and a ruler are on the white surface surrounding the bowl.

Colour spaghetti by adding food colouring whist it cooks for the perfect scissor skills activity.

A young girl with blonde hair and a purple checkered shirt playing with a sensory bin filled with blue and white shredded paper, plastic sea animals, and sea-themed toys.
A young girl with blonde hair and a purple checkered shirt playing with a sensory bin filled with blue and white shredded paper, plastic sea animals, and sea-themed toys.

Add some magnets to a sensory base and go fishing with a paperclip tied to some wool.

Potion Play

Calming hands-on play filled with fizzing, pouring & discovery.

A child's hand reaches into a container of colorful water with floating toy fish and beads, creating a sensory experience.
A child's hand holding a small container of clear liquid over a sandbox with a toy purple crab, pieces of clear ice, and a wooden spoon. There are bottles and containers, including a squeeze bottle and a small dropper bottle, on the sand. A blue curtain or fabric is visible in the background.
Child playing with colorful glass flakes and a bubble wand on the sandy beach, with the ocean and sky in the background.
Close-up of a variety of shells, a wooden cup, and a plastic lizard figurine on a surface with foam and bubbly water.
Shop Potion Play
An informational poster titled 'Why This Play Matters' with four icons representing different benefits of play: fine motor skills, imaginative play, cognitive development, and nature connection, surrounded by seashells, coral, and a turtle toy.
An informational poster titled 'Why This Play Matters' with four icons representing different benefits of play: fine motor skills, imaginative play, cognitive development, and nature connection, surrounded by seashells, coral, and a turtle toy.
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