Ocean Waves, Tides & Currents - Summer Science for Kids!
- Amy Wung Tsao
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
Quick links if you’re too busy to scroll:
Ocean Water Science Videos for Kids:
What are Waves? from SciShow Kids
Why is the Ocean Salty? from Mystery Science
Ocean Water Science Books for Kids:
Tuck Me In! by Nathan Pyle
Ocean Water Science Activities for Kids:
Experiment with Beach Erosion and Save the Lighthouse! from Around the Kampfire
What are Ocean Currents and How Do They Work? from Nanogirl
Keep reading to learn more about adding some fun ocean waves & tides science for kids to your next summer beach trip!
Ocean Waves, Tides, and Currents - Summer Science for Kids
“The sea, once it casts its spell,
holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
~ oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau
Watching the ocean waves on the beach can inspire so much curiosity! Why is that water so salty? Where do those waves even come from? Where do ocean currents come from? And why are there high tides and low tides?
Each of the videos, books, and activities below touch on a different aspect of the ocean water - its saltiness, how waves, currents, and tides work, and how waves cause beach erosion!
(Just a reminder - I am never paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.)
Ocean Water Science Videos for Kids
from Mystery Science
I didn’t actually know the answer to this question before! Do beach waves come from whales splashing in the water, or boats zooming around? Yes, but it’s mostly from wind. And it turns out that waves can travel all the way from one side of the world to the other. So even if it’s not windy on the beach you’re at, you can see waves that started somewhere windy far away!
from SciShow Kids
This video touches on all sorts of ocean facts - how wind causes ocean waves, how the Moon’s gravity causes high tide and low tides, and how those tides and waves cause shells and other treasures to wash up on shore. Watch this video with your kid before your next beach trip, and they’ll definitely look at the ocean waves and tide lines differently!
from Mystery Science
Turns out the answer is related to the water cycle! Rain water has absolutely no salt, but when rain lands on the ground it absorbs some salt from the rocks and soil. Then all that salt flows into the ocean, where it stays! (If you’re a teacher, this video aligns to NGSS standards 2-ESS2-3, 2-PS1-4.)
Ocean Tides Science Book for Kids
by Nathan Pyle
This book went straight onto my shortlist of absolutely favorite kids’ STEM books! It’s bedtime at the beach, so the Moon “tucks in” the beach by pulling the ocean up higher - in other words high tide! But, that pulls the ocean blanket lower on the beach on the opposite side - in other words low tide! Such a sweet and silly way to show kids just how ocean tides work.
Bonus fun fact - You may recognize the author from the popular webcomic Strange Planet. While there are no Strange Planet aliens in this book, there is t
Ocean Water Science Activities for Kids
from Nanogirl
Besides waves and tides, there’s another kind of movement in the ocean - ocean currents! But what causes them? This is a really simple experiment that you could play along at home with just a bit of food coloring, cold water, and warm water in a plastic tub. The way the colored water mixes demonstrates so much! Your kids will get hands-on experience with how warm water at the Equator and cold water at the North and South Poles interact, creating ocean currents.
Experiment with Beach Erosion and Save the Lighthouse! from Around the Kampfire Even if you’re not going to the beach this summer, here’s an experiment that still gives kids a really hands on way to how ocean waves change a beach over time. (In other words, erosion.) Adding a lighthouse to your model of the beach really makes the effects of erosion concrete for kids.
I hope you found a fun, easy way to add some learning to your next beach trip!
For more summer STEM fun, sign up to get my monthly emails and then check out these other summer STEM posts!
Beach Sand Science for Kids
Summer STEM Activities Round-Up
The Science of Sink or Float
Until next time, keep lighting sparks of curiosity!
Amy Wung Tsao
Comments