Glow-in-the-Dark Jellyfish

Age range: 2+ with parental assistance

Time to complete: 45 minutes - 2 hours

Supplies needed*

  • plastic cup or paper plate

  • white yarn

  • glow-in-the-dark fabric paint
    (regular paint will be fine, but will not glow)

  • zip-top bags

  • skewer

  • paint brush or sponge

  • scissors

Supplies needed

Directions

1. Using the skewer, poke a hole through the cup, then string it with some yarn.

2. Place some cut up white yarn in the zip lock bag and squirt some paint in it. Then squish it up evenly. Let dry.

Before taking this step, protect the surface of your space with some newspaper or other disposable paper.
This step WILL take time, move on to step 4 an then take a break.

3. Using the paintbrush or sponge, paint the cup. Let dry.

4. Tie the dry painted yarn to the cup.  Let dry. This may take a while.

5. Let it soak up some light then see it glow in the dark!

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*Alternative Supplies: If you do not have all of the above supplies, don’t worry. Creativity means working with what you’ve got. The key items could be substituted with whatever you have on hand, here are some guidelines in what to look for:

If you don’t have plastic cups: look for something somewhat stiff that you can poke a hole in like paper plates, or cardboard, like from a snack box. You want to be able to attach something beneath it and hang it up.

If you don’t have white yarn: look for something flexible to put through the hole at the top so you can hang your jellyfish and show it off. Several threads or fishing line would work great, though if you have a small child, do that step for them. For the tentacles, you can use any number of things from construction paper, streamers, ribbon, look for something visible from a distance, that is colorful or can take color well.

If you don’t have glow-in-the-dark fabric paint: any paint will work, provided it is safe for small hands to handle, but if it’s not marketed as glow-in-the-dark, don’t expect it to. Keep in mind, the wetter you make your yarn, the longer it will take to dry. Alternatively, you can color with markers, chalk, and if you’re not using yarn and are using paper, crayon and color pencils will also work.

If you don’t have a skewer: a parent or guardian can cut a hole with a utility knife.