Wee Steamers: Wilbur the Whale

CATEGORY: Science

GRADE LEVEL: Early Childhood

Whale-y Lotto Fun

Young marine biologists love learning about whales, and a simple lotto game is a great way to start!  Photocopy two sets each of illustrations from Joyce Milton’s Whales: The Gentle Giants. Paste one set onto a small poster board, and create individual cards from the second set, so that children can match cards to the corresponding whale images. A fun way to build matching and classification skills!  

 How Long is a Narwhale?

Children are fascinated by the sheer girth of whales, and this activity can give them a better sense of their length. Find a spacious outdoor area and measure out a 15 – 20-foot line of chalk to depict the length of a narwhal whale. Optional: Help children mark how many child-body lengths equal the length of the narwhal. This activity builds the important math concepts of size, length, comparison, and measurement. https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/stem-narwhal-activities-ocean/

 Ocean Water for Whales

Junior biolobists will love creating a colorful, sensory habitat for whales! A standard “slime” recipe infused with blue food coloring can help children dramatize what it might feel like to be a whale in the deep blue sea! Add some plastic whale toys, figures, and other marine animals. This activity enhances children’s science concepts of touch, texture, marine biology and chemistry (objects blending and changing).  Find the ocean water recipe at https://www.livinglifeandlearning.com/blue-fluffy-slime-whale-theme.html  

What Do Hungry Whales Eat?

Support your young scientists’ natural curiosity in this engaging activity that simulates the way baleen (non-toothed) whales take in food. Find the full activity at https://blog.kaplanco.com/ii/ocean-stem-activity     

 Stuffed Paper Bag Whale

Little artists will love making their own 3-dimensional whale in this hands-on art activity.  Using easy-to-get materials, develop children’s self-creativity and aesthetic sense as they what their own marine animal take shape! https://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/animals/ocean/paper-bag-whale.asp  

  Set Sail with Wilbur the Whale!

Click the CRAFT tab to download our Wilbur the Whale PDF. Your little sailors and mini-marine biologists will have a whale of a time!