You ready for Shark Week? It’s coming…. Dunh duh Dunh duh Dunh duh… You gotta love Discovery Channel’s annual blitz of shark programming. So we’re doing all things Shark this week. First up, Feed the Shark Play Dough. And maybe I’m a big dork, but I seem to find math all around us. Even in sharky play dough, so we’ll do a little geometry too.
Supplies Needed
- Play dough (recipe at the bottom of the post or use your own)
- Black and white paper
- Googly eyes
- Gummy fish
Shark Geometry
When The Babe and I were cutting out some teeth and fins to decorate the shark with, I realized that triangles are an easy way to make the pieces. Not particularly anatomically correct, but easy :) I also realized that certain types of triangles make better dorsal fins than teeth or pectoral fins. (Feel free to insert dorky engineer joke here…) So here’s your geometry lesson for the day:
What are the major types of triangles? You can group them by:
The length of the sides and the size of the angles of the triangles:
- Equilateral – all sides equal, all angles 60°
- Isosceles – two sides equal, two equal angles
- Scalene – no sides equal, no equal angles
Or the type of the angles of the triangles:
- Acute – all angles < 90°
- Right – has a right angle (90°)
- Obtuse – has an angle > 90°
Feed the Shark
Enough math :) It’s time to play! The Babe loved building the shark, digging it’s mouth out and adding the teeth and fins. And then stuffing it with gummy fish. She especially loved turning the shark into a 10 eyed beast with the extra googly eyes while I wasn’t watching!
Shark Play Dough Recipe
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup salt
1 T. cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups water
3 T. vegetable oil
Black food coloring
- Combine dry ingredients in a large pot and stir until well mixed.
- Stir in water and oil until combined. Add black food coloring until a light grey color is achieved.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until dough is thick.
- Remove play dough from the pot and place on a plate or cookie sheet to cool. Cover with a paper towel or dish cloth so it won’t dry out.
- Once dough is cool enough to handle, knead dough until smooth.
- Once dough reaches room temperature, store in an air tight container or zipper bag.
If you like Feed the Shark Play Dough, check out my Muddy Gummy Worm Play Dough too!
