Seashell Science Center

Young children are naturally fascinated by seashells. I remember walking on the beach as a child and collecting beautiful shells. I loved looking at my collection at the end of a beach day!

I love to start our science center out with a seashell setup. They are inviting, beautiful, and offer so much open-ended learning! It’s also a wonderful way to welcome summer by revisiting it at the end of the school year too.

To set up the center, I display my collection of shells. If you don’t have your own seashells, ask for donations, and you might be surprised how many people will have their own collections to donate! I also add fun tools like magnifying glasses and pan balances. Finally, I display young learner-friendly posters and print off discovery pages so that the center is ready to go!

Check out my Seashell Center on TPT to grab all of these resources in one spot!

Tools to gather for your seashell science center. I linked examples of the tools so you can see what I mean, but any work.

• Child-friendly jumbo magnifying glasses
• Pan balance scale
• Writing materials – add in extra fun with clipboards and fancy pens or pencils
• Seashell learning posters, sorting mats, word wall cards (all included in my resource)
• Shallow art trays for sorting seashells (I found some in the Target dollar spot years ago)
• Thematic books, informational and fiction
• LOTS of seashells!

There are lots of ways that you might utilize a science center in your classroom (or home). I found success with keeping it as a play center station, so it was optional and could be visited by children when they chose to. It was always a super popular center, especially when I switched out the center for a fresh new focus. Seashells were ALWAYS a hit!