Material Name: Thermic Bottles – Montessori Thermic Bottles
Curriculum Area: Sensorial (Thermic Sense)
Purpose & Developmental Benefits
The Thermic Bottles help children discriminate differences in temperature—warm, hot, cool, and cold—through tactile exploration. Children use their hands to feel and compare the temperatures of the bottles, refining sensory awareness and expanding vocabulary related to thermal sensations. This material plays an important role in helping children form abstract concepts of temperature through direct, hands-on experience.
Skills Developed
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Discriminating and comparing temperature through the tactile sense
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Refining thermal sensitivity in the hands
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Expanding sensory vocabulary (warm, cool, hot, cold)
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Developing concentration and observational skills
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Indirect preparation for basic scientific concepts related to heat and temperature
Recommended Age
Material & Construction
The standard Nienhuis set consists of eight identical metal bottles (four pairs), made of chrome-plated copper for excellent heat conduction. Each bottle has a screw-top lid and is stored in a wooden tray or box.
All bottles are visually identical to ensure that matching is done solely through the thermic sense, not by sight.
Classroom & Home Use
Used in the Sensorial area under Thermic Sense. The teacher or adult prepares water at different, safe temperatures and fills each pair of bottles accordingly. Children hold the bottles with both hands (or one hand at a time), feel and compare the temperatures, then match bottles with the same temperature. As proficiency develops, children may arrange the bottles in a gradation from warmest to coldest.
At home, an adult should always prepare the bottles using safe, child-appropriate temperatures (never too hot) and guide the child to work slowly and attentively.
