Super Easy & Fun Gelatin Sensory Play & Exploration

Gelatin is a cool, fun, and exciting sensory play idea for toddlers and preschoolers. Who am I kidding? This sensory activity is worthwhile for adults, too! Gelatin sensory play is easy, versatile, and inexpensive.

Gelatin Sensory Play

I have Asia Citro from Fun at Home with Kids to thank for the inspiration behind this activity. Her book, 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids, is a beautiful addition, both in illustration and layout, to our activity idea books. Asia succinctly outlines more than 150 activities for kids.

“The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge.” ~ Dr. Maria Montessori

The images are extremely well done and the book is easy to follow fully equipped with supply lists. She even has a wonderful gift idea for families the holiday season outlined on her blog.  Disclosure: I received a copy of Asia’s book for review. The opinions of this post are 100% genuine and 100% my own.

Gelatin Sensory Play

The biggest obstacle with using gelatin in sensory play is that the ingredient requires a bit of planning ahead (and by a bit, I mean letting it sit overnight in the refrigerator).

That is seriously the only hard part of this satisfying sensory activity. Take any fun and festive shaped silicone mold and you have yourself easy sensory play for toddlers and preschoolers.

Gelatin Sensory Play Materials

• Gelatin
• Warm Water
• Measuring Cup
• Food coloring
• Turkey Silicone Mold
• Various small household objects, figurines, coins
• Container or dish for the exploring
• Mat for under the container to catch messes

Gelatin Sensory Play Approach

• Mix the warm water and gelatin as instructed on the package
• Add color or leave some clear
• Fill molds with liquid
• Add small objects
• Place in the refrigerator overnight
• Pull out the next morning
• Present to kids
• Let the exploring begin

Gelatin Sensory Play Ideas

• Mix colors
• Experimenting with states of matter by freezing or warming the gelatin
• Experimenting with the ratio of water to gelatin
• Themed objects like all with the sound “b”
• Create a scene with your gelatin mold

Resources from this Article

• Fun at Home with Kids Blog
• Sensory Gifts for Kids
• The Ultimate List of Sensory Tubs
• 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids