After a bit of experimenting we found a way to make our own glow-in-the-dark sand! My girls have been having so much fun with this stuff, and it costs mere pennies to make. Are you ready for the recipe?
You can buy glow-in-the-dark sand, but it is pretty pricey. Why not make your own? The process is fun and easy. This sand is great for sensory play, arts and crafts, & all sorts of other activities, too!
Glowing Sand Recipe
Materials
- Epsom salt
- Zip-seal bags
- Glow-in-the-dark and/or fluorescent paint.
- A blacklight (optional but recommended for best results)
Method
- Place the desired amount of salt into a zip-seal bag, using one bag for each color of sand that you wish to make.
- Add a spoon or two of glowing paint to each bag.
- Seal the bag(s) and mix until all of the salt crystals are saturated in color. Add more paint if needed.
- Once the salt crystals are fully saturated you can leave the salt to dry right inside the bags.
- Opening the bags will help the salt to dry faster. You could also lay the salt out on cookie sheets for faster drying if desired.
- After a few hours of drying time you will be left with beautiful, glowing sand!
- The salt may clump together a bit as it dries but will easily break apart once it is handled.
- Once the salt is dry pour it into a sensory bin or storage container, and the fun can begin!
Add buckets, shovels, kitchen gadgets, cars, and toys to extend the fun.
Glow-in-the-Dark Sand Art
Extend the fun even further by making glow-in-the-dark sand art!
Materials
- Clear containers with lids
- Glow-in-the-dark sand
- A funnel
- Have kids fill empty jars or similar with varying colors of glowing sand, rotating between colors often.
- Once full seal the containers, and then step back & marvel at the beautiful, glowing creations!
A Few Tips:
- You can use any salt for this, but epsom salt is good for the skin and is a fine grain salt, making it perfect for making play sand.
- Adding water to the sand produces amazing melting effects and is a fun way to explore the science of salt and water.
- The glow in the dark paint that we use can be found online here. We also used some of our favorite fluorescent paint so that we could make a complete rainbow of glowing sand colors. If you use fluorescent paint you will need a blacklight. This is the one we currently have.
- To achieve the best effect I do recommend using a blacklight for this activity. You can use a traditional fixture like this one or give these super cool UV-flashlights a try!
Storage: Store your glow-in-the-dark play sand in a zip-seal bag or sand storage bin between play times, and it can be used again & again!
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