Children learn not just visually, but love to manipulate things with their hands and learn by touch. A fun project, which would be great tied to a trip to a tide pool, or even a place that has a “touch tank” like the Environmental Discovery Center, is to create your own starfish that feels like the real thing. First, cut out a simple starfish shape out of sandpaper (smaller children will need help with this step). Then let your child paint the starfish. Let dry and glue onto a piece of sturdy construction paper. The resulting starfish will feel just as rough as the real ones and will remind your child that many animals feel differently. You can compare the roughness of the sea star to the prickliness of a sea urchin, to the smooth shell of a crab. Challenge your child to think about why the animals are made this way - Does their exterior protect them? Make them blend into their surroundings? Help them catch food?