When it comes to fun kids summer activities, you just can’t beat outdoor water play ideas.
You can easily mix the fun of water with learning in this fun STEM activity, where the kids will be learning while making a DIY water wall that can be used all summer.
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The kids will have fun creating their very own water wall for hours of water play this summer.
For more fun ideas, check out these backyard summer activities.
DIY Water Wall
Materials Needed:
- Large basin or shallow storage container to hold water
- Plenty of plastic bottles, milk jugs, etc.
- Wire Ties
(sometimes called cable ties)
- Scissors
We built our water wall on the fence that surrounds our outdoor play area. If you don’t have a fence, the back of a few old lawn chairs with fabric/plastic strip backs you can hook things to might work.
I put our plastic storage container at the bottom of the fence and explained to the kids that we were going to use our recyclables to make waterfalls, all directing the water back into the plastic storage container at the bottom.
I used scissors to cut the bottom off of each bottle and milk jug. Then they took turns deciding which plastic bottle to add where, using the wire ties to secure them into place on the fence.
We experimented with how each bottle needed to be angled, pouring water into the top container and seeing how it flowed so we could angle the next container just right to catch it.
We also decided to try using a hollow pool noodle, sticking the mouth of one of our water bottles into its end.
When it was finished they had tons of fun filling the top containers and watching the water flow!
For a bit of added fun I brought out some water, mixed with pink and blue food coloring, and let them watch the colored water go through the maze of bottles and mix at the end.
This simple water wall activity kept them busy for almost 2 hours!
If you look closely enough at that last picture you’ll notice a few Squinkies that came out to play. The kids had a blast pouring the Squinkies down the water wall along with the water. For a while it was a giant Squinkies water slide!
If you are able to set up the water wall on a fence you can leave it up for easy water play all summer long.
For more summer fun:
- 20 Ways Kids Can Stay Cool with Ice
- Backyard Summer Camp Ideas
- Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder (perfect for getting kids to carry and drink more water this summer)
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Susie@homemaker-mom says
O my gosh that is so cool! I love it.
OneMommy says
Thanks! They’ve had fun with it!
Yuliya says
Oooh! I love this idea! My son would have so much fun playing in the water like this! I can’t wait to set this up for him!
Pinned ๐
OneMommy says
I hope you both enjoy it as much as we did!
Dianna @ The Kennedy Adventures says
That looks like so much fun! Too bad we don’t have a fence!
Thanks for linking up with The Thoughtful Spot!
OneMommy says
You might be able to hook it to the back of some old chairs, swing set, etc. ๐
Caroline (Becomimg a SAHM) says
This is seriously cool! Fantastic idea and I am now trying to work out how we can rig something up in our garden! Fab idea, thanks for sharing! #outdoorplayparty
OneMommy says
Doing it in the garden would be great — the plants would get plenty of water afterwards!
Kierna says
Great simple idea & yet I can tell they had so much fun with it, thanks for being the first to join in the Outdoor Play Party.
OneMommy says
Sometimes simple is best! ๐
Emma @ P is for Preschooler says
This looks so fun! Such a perfect summer project!
WildFamilyFun says
What a lovely idea, I could see children playing for hours with this.
Very simple but lots of fun.
OneMommy says
It has gotten a lot of play so far!
Coombemill says
Great idea and one so easy to create, something similar with balls would be fun too
Michelle L says
What a great way to transform a boring fence! Now it’s probably their favorite thing in the yard. Love it!
OneMommy says
It definitely gets some attention! ๐
Kristine Foley - The Foley Fam says
Love it and can’t wait to see M&M’s faces when we do this! Thanks for sharing on Sunday FUNday! Featuring you at this weekend’s party!
OneMommy says
Thanks so much! Hope they have fun with it!
Deceptively Educational says
I have GOT to make one of these water walls with my kids. They would absolutely love it! Yours looks simple enough – thanks for the instructions! And thanks for sharing this at the After School Linky Party!
Leila - Mud Mud Marvellous Mud says
These are brilliant aren’t they. Keeps them entertained for hours! Thanks so much for sharing at the Outdoor Play Party ๐
Pam says
This is such a fun idea! Thank you so much for linking it up to Dare to Share this week, you are today’s Dare to Share Feature of the Day.
Carrie says
Oh, such fun!! Another great summer idea we need to try. Thanks for sharing at Sharing Saturday!