DIY Terrarium

This mini-world is a fun STEAM project to make & maintain
A closed terrarium is a mini ecosystem that makes it's own rain to keep the plants watered & healthy

Materials
2 gal. clear plastic soda/water bottle Small pebbles to cover about 3' of the bottom 1"/2 of the bottle Activated Charcoal -small bag to cover about 2" over the pebbles You can buy activated charcoal in pet stores 
Potting soil to fill bottom half of bottle to to 
A few small plants. We used little ferns & a strawberry begonia
Optional-a little moss, a twig, tiny plastic/ceramic toy Tape-Patterned Washi tape adds a nice touch 
Small ball to seal top- a ping pong or plastic golf ball

Instructions
Plastic Bottle Terrarium
1. Wash & remove labels from a 2 gal. clear soda /water bottle
2. Have a grown up carefully cut the bottle in 1/2 for you
3. Fill the bottom 1/2 of the bottle in layers.
4. First put in about 1" of small rocks or gravel.
5. Then put about 2" of activated charcoal over the rocks.
6. Fill the rest of the bottom 1/2 of the bottle with damp potting soil
7. Gently insert a few small plants. We used wood fern, asparagus fern & strawberry begonia. And added small plastic toys.
8. Connect the bottom of the bottle to the top with tape. We used a We used a cute washi tape for this terrariium
9. Decorate a ping pong ball or small fishing float to cover the top
10. Glue the ball or float to the top to seal terrarium
11. Set the terrarium in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight