Glow in the Dark Sand Art
Updated: Jul 28, 2020
To me, sand art is kind of a summer staple activity. Kids love it, and there are so many cute creations they can make. In this activity, we decided to try making our own glow sand and were able to use it for a few different craft projects as well as playtime. I love it when you find projects that are multipurpose! 😊
Supplies:
🔲epsom salt
🔲glow in the dark paint (to make your sand glow--if you don't care about that, any paint will do)
🔲ziploc bags
Optional:
🔲sand art bottles/small funnels (I bought mine from Amazon but found much better quality ones at Michael's. More about that later...)
🔲construction paper/cardstock
🔲white glue
🔲black light
To make the sand, pour desired amount of epsom salt into a ziploc bag. (We used one cup of salt per color, and it made a lot, but we were able to use it for multiple projects.) Add a few drops of paint, seal the bag, and begin to knead and squeeze the sand and paint together until the paint is fully incorporated. Add more paint as necessary to reach desired color.
Unzip the bags and leave them out for a couple hours to dry. Alternatively, you can pour the sand onto a cookie sheet or other pan and let it air dry that way.
When your sand is dry, it is ready for use! There are so many ways to play with your glow in the dark sand. Here are some ways we used ours:
Sand Art in a Bottle
Divide your sand into separate cups based on color and use it to fill plastic sand art bottles.
**Full disclosure--I bought a set on Amazon that came with tiny funnels, and I unfortunately wouldn't recommend them. The holes in the bottles were not completely formed, so it made for a much smaller hole to get the sand through. Epsom salt is pretty granular and the pieces vary in size which led to a super frustrating experience trying to get the sand into the containers as it kept getting stuck. I ended up running each color of sand through my food processor to make the granules much smaller, and that worked better. A few days after competing this project, I went to Michael's and found cuter, sturdier, and much better quality sand art bottles there. So, to avoid any frustration, I would strongly suggest checking your sand art bottles to make sure the holes are wide open. AND, I would still suggest running the sand through a blender or food processor to make it easier to work with.
They did turn out cute even with the extra work!
More Sand Art
You can also make art with your glow in the dark sand by making a simple glue design on black cardstock followed by spoonfuls of sand on top.
After you cover your paper with the sand, turn it over and dump it in the yard or garbage can to remove the extra. Set it out to dry for a few hours and you will have a pretty piece of glow in the dark art!
Cool! 😎
Once we were finished making art, we decided to use the remaining sand for play! I set it up in a flat plastic bin and we watched it under the black light for awhile, mixing it and making patterns. The littles wanted to add their Hatchimal figures and have them go to the beach, so they spent a long time playing with that as well. It was great for sensory play—a few scoops or funnels, some figures, and you are good to go!
This glow in the dark sand was easy to make and fun for everyone! And it really GLOWED!
Save your sand by placing it in an airtight container or sealed bag until you are ready to play with it again. Hope you enjoy!
Show us your glow in the dark sand art @little.sunshine.mom!☀️