Halloween Science Connections

By Amy Cowen on October 27, 2014 6:00 AM

As Halloween approaches, there are a number of ways you can tie science in with activities and projects that let kids get hands-on with things slimy, ghoulish, gross, light-up, or glow-in-the-dark. For the trick-or-treat crowd, there are plenty of candy-themed experiments to help kids whittle down—or statistically analyze—some of their All Hallows' Eve loot, too!

Browse the following list of inspired Halloween science activities and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) connections to bring science to life for your kids and students this October:

Boba Spherification: The Science of Juice-filled Caviar: use spherification to make blood red or pumpkin orange juice-filled balls for your Halloween deserts or drinks.
Building a Halloween Brushbot: Family Robotics: this great family robotics activity gets a Halloween boost.
Candy Corn Geodesic Dome: use candy corn-styled gum drops and toothpicks for a fun math activity.
Make an Alka-Seltzer Powered Lava Lamp: create a non-electric (but colorful!) lava lamp and experiment to see how temperature changes how the lamp's colorful blobs behave.
Seeing Tonic Water Glow: Weekly Science Activity: put light energy, ultraviolet light, and visible light on display.
Science Projects that Double as Halloween Costumes: make your own light-up Halloween costume accessories with LEDs and wearable electronics knowhow.
Saved by the Clot: Halloween's emphasis (for some) on blood and gore makes October a great time to explore a sticky topic—blood coagulation!
A Trick of the Eye for Halloween: what happens when you stare too long at a ghost? You might keep seeing it even after you look away!
Electronics and Play Dough: Fun, Tactile Family Science: Halloween-inspired creativity and introductory electronics with circuits, LEDs, and homemade dough.
Slime, Catapults, and Halloween Science: experiment with polymers and colloids to create Halloween slime, or turn the Ping Pong Catapult into a candy or themed ping pong ball launcher as you explore the physics behind a successful catapult.
Spilling Candy: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight: which of the candies from trick-or-treat night can "flow" like water and why?
Glow-in-the-dark Chemistry: your run-of-the-mill glow stick can be a great science conversation starter.
Sounds Like Halloween: conduct a scientific exploration of your scary, eerie, and ghoul-inspired Halloween music playlist!
Vampire Bats and a Bat Detector: are their bats in your neighborhood? With the right tool, you can listen in on the ultrasonic signals.
Good Hand Washing? Turn on the Black Light!: how does your family's hand washing technique hold up? Put it to a black light test and let the germs glow!
Candy Chromatography: one way to use some of the candy loot from the big night!
Camouflage Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight: another candy-based science experiment that uncovers the benefit of camouflage.