# Fish Tank Terrarium > Turn an old fish tank or large clear container into a mini garden. Kids layer gravel and potting soil, plant small plants, decorate with shells, rocks and driftwood, then mist the soil and close the lid. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/gardening-with-kids-make-a-fish-tank-terrararium/ - Ages: 3–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids - Skills: nature, plant-care, science, water-cycle, fine-motor - Cautions: ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Fish tank, or any glass or large clear plastic container - Gravel or small stones - Potting soil - 2 piece Small terrarium plants - Accessories: shells, twigs, driftwood, rocks and pebbles - Fairy figurine and mushroom decoration (optional) - Activated charcoal (optional) - Spanish moss (optional) - 1 piece Scoop or small garden trowel (household) - 1 piece Spray bottle with water (household) - 1 piece Large tray or plastic bin to work in (optional) (household) ## Substitutions - Instead of container: Any glass or large clear plastic container (The post says any clear container works.) - Instead of plants: Silk (artificial) plant (We mixed a silk plant with a live one.) ## Safety - Gravel, pebbles, shells and small figurines are choking hazards. Supervise closely, especially with kids who still mouth things. - An adult moves and lifts the tank. Glass tanks are heavy and can break. - Potting soil isn't for touching mouths or eyes. Wash hands well after planting. - Plants aren't for eating. Some houseplants, including crotons, have irritating sap, so wash hands after handling them. ## Before you start - Buy one or two small plants from a garden store. They should be small enough to fit inside the container without touching the sides. - Collect shells, twigs, driftwood, rocks and pebbles for decorating. ## Steps 1. Set out the empty tank, gravel, soil, plants and decorations in a large bin or tray. 2. Pour about 1 inch of gravel into the bottom of the tank for drainage. 3. Spread the gravel out and add a few small stones on top. 4. Optional: add a layer of activated charcoal, then Spanish moss. 5. Scoop potting soil on top of the gravel layer. 6. Take the plants out of their pots and plant them in the soil. 7. Decorate with shells, twigs, driftwood, rocks and pebbles. 8. Add a fairy and a mushroom if you like. 9. Lightly mist the soil with water and put the lid on. 10. Talk about it: What is a terrarium? What do plants need to grow? What is the water cycle? ## Tips - Scooping in the soil was especially fun for my kid. Only when you scoop and pour dirt do you really feel like gardening. - Closed terrariums are easier to care for than open ones. The moisture is trapped inside the container, which keeps the soil from drying out too much. - Creating something with minimal purchase here, folks: we skipped the charcoal and Spanish moss layers and used the colored gravel that came with the fish tank. - You can create many layers, but only 2 are mandatory: gravel and soil. - Pick a plant small enough to fit inside the container without touching the sides. - Let kids create it on their own and personalize it, so they can call it their own. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013) With a nature lover ( who isn't?) in the house, I love every opportunity to instill the habit of loving and caring for plants. Gardening with kids doesn't have to be complicated. This season we have started with a very simple nature activity for the kids - build a simple terrarium in our old fish tank. Before moving on to a grander scale of gardening with kids, we decided to start off simple. Something the kids can create on their own, personalize them and call it their own. How exciting! Here is a easy run down on what we did to create a cute little terrarium. - Fish tank/ any glass or large clear plastic container - Gravel/Small stones - Soil - Plants - Accessories (shells, rocks, wood) We first collected the things we would need to create a terrarium. We purchased a silk plant and a croton plant from a garden store. Mostly moss, fern and lichens make amazing terrarium plants. For a quick reference ake a look here for **plants suitable for terrariums.** **Here** is another list of plants that will thrive in terrariums. With terrariums you can create many layers but just 2 of them are mandatory First we lined up our fish tank with small rocks and gravel to serve as drainage rocks. About an 1 inch of rock will be good. We used the colored gravel which came with the fish tank. After the gravel/pebbles layer it is recommended to have a layer of activated charcoal. Some sources also site that this layer is optional. So we went ahead without this layer. After this you could add the Spanish Moss if you have. But we skipped this part as well. Creating something with minimal purchase here folks.. We simply scooped in our potting soil on top of the gravel layer. This was especially fun for my kid. Only when you scoop and pour dirt do you really feel like gardening. All through this kids activity my 4 year kept reiterating that she was very excited about gardening. Glad to have a nature girl in the house. Then we removed our terrariums plants from the post and planted them. I purchased a silk plant and a "Gold Dust" plant for the terrarium.It is a plant that was small enough to fit inside the container without touching the sides. Here is a great list of plants that would thrive in **terrarariums.** After that my 4 year old went ahead and decorated the rest with shells, twigs, drift wood, rocks and pebbles We even added a cute fairy and a mushroom to add to the terrarium. Our completed terrarium. We later slightly misted the soil with water and put the lid on. Closed terrariums are easier to care for while compared to open terrarium because the moisture is trapped inside the container thus preventing excessive drying of the soil. **Talking Points** What is a terrarium? What to plants need to grow? What is Water Cycle? Thanks for reading.