Shoe Box Aquarium for Kids

If you've got a shoe box you're well on your way to making some child very happy. Kids that are fascinated with fish, the ocean, shells and sand, will love making this fun and easy shoe box aquarium with few supplies.

If the shoe box has a detached lid, simply remove it, but if the lid's attached, cut it off of the box. Paint the outside of the box, or cover it in paper or fabric. Kids can now paint the inside of the box, glue blue paper inside, or even use blue fabric to decorate the inside of the box, making it look like water. As a matter of fact, you can even purchase paper that has an ocean image, in the scrapbook paper section of your local craft store. The metallic types of paper will sparkle, adding a little something extra to the aquarium.

With the box standing on one long side, which will become its bottom, the entire inside of the box should be covered in the paper, except for the new bottom. If possible, use dark blue paint or paper for the back and light blue paper or paint for the sides and top. On the bottom of the box glue a piece of flat Styrofoam. Cover the Styrofoam with glue and sprinkle on sand. Dump out any excess sand.

Purchase small plastic fish, rubber fish, fish stickers or similar fish items. Use toothpicks or craft sticks to attach the fish. Paint the toothpicks blue and glue on the fish novelties. You can use shark novelties, dolphins, octopus, or other sea creatures. Cut the sticks to different lengths so that they all won't be the exact same height.

Place a dab of glue on the end of the stick and push it down into the Styrofoam. Place some of the sea creatures near the front of the box, and some towards the rear. Put some of them on the sides, and some of them way up in the air.

Cover the bottom of the box, where the Styrofoam is, with sand, shells, starfish, and similar items. It will be slightly difficult to keep the sand in its place unless you place a piece of cardboard, or something similar, up against the bottom edge of the box, to keep the sand from spilling out temporarily. Make sure you have the Styrofoam covered well.