How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds for Discovery Bottles, Art, Literacy, and More

Wondering how to dye pumpkin seeds? We’ve got you covered. Read below about a super simple dyeing method for pumpkin seeds, and how to make them into discovery bottles (and more).

Related: How to Dye Corn Kernels

These colorful, fun discovery bottles were inspired by our pumpkin seed names. I loved loved loved how the dyed pumpkin seeds turned out, and I knew I wanted to do more with them!

Now, of course I didn’t just make these because I loved them. I wanted to explore making these pumpkin discovery bottles because of how much the students loved the dyed pumpkin seeds. They were so incredibly engaged when using the seeds to build their names. So I knew that they would be engaged with another activity that used the colorful seeds.

There’s just something about a rainbow of colors that grabs kids’ interests. So why not run with it to explore a wide variety of early childhood concepts?

How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds

Before you can make colorful pumpkin seed discovery bottles, you need colorful pumpkin seeds. They were easy peasy to make! My son helped me make the first batch, and preschool students are definitely capable of helping with this process. So many great conversations can take place during this time.

Materials to dye pumpkin seeds

Dry pumpkin seeds
Liquid watercolors (my favorites are HERE and HERE)
Containers (I used half-pint Mason jars)

Dyeing pumpkin seeds

Since I didn’t have many colorful pumpkin seeds leftover from last year, the kiddo helped me make some more. He’d been asking me how to dye pumpkin seeds and was thrilled to help. It’s a super easy process, and the seeds didn’t take long to dry.

Place the seeds into a baggie or container. Add a few squirts of liquid watercolors and seal the baggie. Then shake everything up until the pumpkin seeds are colorful. Add more watercolors if need be, and shake again.

Spread the dyed pumpkin seeds out on a tray or a plate to dry. Once they’re dry, the seeds may need to be separated a bit. I had a few that stuck together, but it wasn’t difficult to break them apart.

Fall Discovery Bottles with Dyed Pumpkin Seeds

Now that you know how to dye pumpkin seeds, it’s time to make the sensory bottles. Once again, this isn’t a super difficult undertaking by any means. Get those kids involved in helping put the pumpkin discovery bottles together.

Assemble the discovery bottles

I decided to keep the colors separated to start off with – a rainbow of pumpkin seed discovery bottles! So my son and I scooped the seeds up by color and tossed them into the jars. Then the lids went on, and everything was ready to go!

With younger children, I’d suggest using plastic bottles. They’re not as heavy, and they’re harder to break. Additionally, hot gluing the tops of the bottles is a good idea with little ones.

Using the pumpkin seed discovery bottles

Right now, these discovery bottles are going to be placed in my classroom science center. I’m going to let the children explore them as they are for the moment. They’ll look at the colors and shapes, and I am positive there will be shaking of the jars!

After a week, I’m going to change things up a little bit to “challenge” the kiddos. Here are just a few ways the pumpkin seed jars could be used:

Add some lettered beads into the jars. Have the children see if they can find letters from their names.
Add different materials that are the same colors. The kids can compare and contrast what the materials look like.
Hide small items in the discovery bottles. The children can keep track of what items they find inside.

How would you use these fall discovery bottles at home or in the classroom? What would your kids make now that you know how to dye pumpkin seeds? So many possibilities!

More Dry Ingredient Discovery Bottles

This post is part of Preschool Inspirations’ Sensory Bottles Blog Hops! Check out some more discovery bottles using dry ingredients.

Candy Corn Discovery Bottle | Preschool Inspirations

Alphabet Discovery Bottle | Sugar Aunts

5 Little Pumpkins Discovery Bottle | Modern Preschool

Easy Halloween I Spy Bottle | One Time Through

A Full Week of Pumpkin Lesson Plans

Continue learning about pumpkins with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provide different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.