Cardboard Classroom Aquarium & Egg Carton Sea Creatures!

If you stick with Joel Henriques, artist and creator of the site, Made by Joel, it doesn't matter if a family vacation to the beach this summer {or even the aquarium} is in the cards. You can bring the ocean and its abundance of sea life to you with this adorable cardboard wall aquarium craft!

Supplies You'll Need

• Recycled cardboard box
• Xacto knife
• Thread
• Buttons
• Sea creature crafts!

The project seems simple enough. Joel liked the feel of an "open" aquarium, deciding to cut both the front and back portions of the box to leave a cardboard 'frame'. You, of course, could opt to leave the back flap and paint it to reflect an ocean/aquarium scene, even gluing actual sand {or brown sugar!} or aquarium rocks to the bottom and sides, adding a sand castle or treasure box, etc.

On the top, using the Xacto knife, cut several slits lengthwise through which to hang your sea creature 'puppets'. The fish and other animals can be hung from the slits at different heights using the buttons and thread, and danced across the aquarium during play! Joel provides a free printable to help you recreate the animals in his craft, but you could also consider creating your own. We love these egg carton sea creature crafts we found from Sherri Osborn at About.com's Family Crafts section...

• Oyster: Egg Carton Sea Creature
• Octopus: Egg Carton Sea Creature
• Star Fish: Egg Carton Sea Creature
• Jellyfish: Egg Carton Sea Creature
• Fish: Egg Carton Sea Creature
• Crab: Egg Carton Sea Creature

Your kiddos will get lots of use out of this DIY aquarium {without the mess, of course!}. Be sure to head on over to Made by Joel for more pictures and get crafting!