DIY Terrarium: Your Own Mini Rainforest

activities

Apr 20

The Rainforest Book has been one of our favorite Earth Month reads and we finally finished it. I learned so much alongside the boys about why rainforests are important, the super cool creatures that call it home, and how we can all take better care of them.

There is an activity at the end to make your own rainforest terrarium, which I casually said “oh maybe we should make that sometime.” Minutes later, I walked past the kitchen to find Weston standing on a counter fishing around for something in the shelves. He darted outside with it and then came in a few minutes later asking me for activated charcoal 😆 needless to say, we made a terrarium with items we found around our house and in case you’re looking for an awesome Earth Day craft with your kiddos here’s how you can, too:

Materials You’ll Need

Large glass container: A jar with a lid works perfectly.
Small rocks or pebbles: To create the base layer.
Activated charcoal: I used food grade, but read they sell it for plants, too
Potting soil
1-3 small tropical plants: Like palms or ferns. We borrowed a baby offshoot from a big fern in our backyard.
Spray bottle: To mist the plants.
Optional: Toy animals that would live in a rainforest.

Step-by-Step Instructions

- Add one inch of rocks
- Add a layer of charcoal
- Add a layer of soil
- Water the soil
- Plant your plant
- Add toy animals - we had fun talking through which animals would be in a rainforest or not
- Mist the plants, put the lid on, and place it in a well-lit space
- Open the lid once every couple of weeks

You’ll be able to see the rainforest water cycle for yourself. You will notice water droplets on the terrarium where the plants have release moisture. The water will drip down the sides into the soil where the plants will absorb the water in their roots, starting the water cycle again.