We’ve put 7 of our sensory discovery bottles together in one place, along with a printable apothecary jar label sheet.
They make for a fantastic Halloween craft activity to do with kids and it doubles as a DIY decoration!
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Of course, if you’re looking for more of an apothecary jar look, just swap out the sensory bottle for a glass jar.
With our over a decade of teaching Marine Biology, you’ll find all sorts of cool tidbits in each post that makes each sensory bottle a learning activity too.
Hey, when you’re passionate about something, you want to share it, right?
Speaking of, we’re so passionate about sharing ocean science that not only do we create fun activities like these, but we write ocean-themed children’s books too! So for MORE Halloween fun, definitely check out our Halloween-ocean-themed children’s book Shalloween on Amazon.

Yep, it’s an undersea Halloween tale of cute sea creatures with Halloween names (vampire squid, ghost crabs, and yes, hagfish to name a few).
We think you’ll love how the main character, Ray (a flashlight fish), shines his light on what he thought were spooky monsters.
(And check out our other ocean-themed books too! Lots more ocean fun here on our Amazon author page.)

Now for a few tips on the apothecary bottles:
- Most of them are easy to make with just a few supplies, but they are definitely designed for adults to do together with kiddos.
- The dollar store is a great place to find items, and you may even have some items in your home already.
- A couple of the apothecary bottles have glow-in-the-dark paint that looks super cool under a black light.
- (FYI, we weren’t impressed with the glow in just plain darkness with the paint we used.)
- You’ll find that none of the sensory bottles include glitter.
- Why not? We prefer not to use glitter because it easily gets into the environment — especially when washed down the drain or used outside.
- Animals mistake it for food, causing all sorts of trouble for them and the whole food web.
Ok, here we go…Have fun!
Below is the printable apothecary label sheet for all projects. Click on each sensory bottle below to go to the instructions.

2. Fish Eggs

3. Fish Scales


5. Squid Eyes

6. Mermaid Hair

7. Octopus Arms

We hope you enjoy the Halloween fun, and best fishes for a Happy Halloween!

Disclaimer: All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.