Blog Author: Amy Cowen

Amy Cowen / science writer and social media manager for Science Buddies

Amy Cowen is a writer and Online Community Manager at Science Buddies and produces content for the Science Buddies blog, weekly educator newsletter, and social media channels, including Facebook, X, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Everyday AI: Recipes, Flashcards, and More - Student AI Projects

Explore prompt engineering and AI agents with projects related to food science, money management, and study prep.

Make a Game of It! Explore AI and Machine Learning with Games

Explore game-based AI projects for older students and creative AI-powered game design activities for younger learners.

Ocean Science Projects, Lessons, and Experiments

Explore ocean science, including density, acidification, ocean circulation, the impact of rising temperatures and melting of polar ice, and more.

Boredom Busters: STEM Activities for End-of-Year and Summer Fun

As the end of the school year approaches, these activities can be great fillers in between testing, in odd spaces in your schedule, or just for general end-of-the-year fun. These activities also are perfect for summer STEM in a variety of settings.

Kit Club Brings Coding and Electronics to More Classrooms

This middle school student explored real-world renewable energy with her biofuel project for the science fair.

STEM Career Exploration in Middle School

This middle school teacher begins her science elective with a STEM career discovery project using the Science Buddies Career Discovery Tool.

14 Paper STEM Activities! - Science and Engineering with Simple Materials

14 engaging STEM learning activities that use paper!

Star Wars STEM for May the 4th Be With You -- 40+ Space Science Projects

30+ STEM activities to celebrate May the 4th Be With You (Star Wars Day)

2026 Science Buddies Ball Run Engineering Challenge Rolls to a Close with More than 14,000 Students!

Winners have been announced for the the Rocket Catcher Challenge, the 11th annual Science Buddies Engineering Challenge.

Women in STEM! More than 60 Scientists and Engineers for Women's History Month

Learn more about more than 60 women in science history and explore related science and engineering projects and STEM careers.

Spacecraft Motion Simulator: STEM Project Success Story

These middle school students built a model motion simulator to explore the physics of landing a spacecraft.

A Simple 10-Step Guide to the 2026 Ball Run Challenge--Science Buddies Engineering Challenge

10 steps for doing the 2026 Ball Run Challenge with students.

12 Valentine's Day STEM Activities

Give student science and engineering activities a creative Valentine's Day twist with 12 free STEM activities.

4 Ways to Teach Engineering Design

Four free plug-and-play lessons, videos, and STEM resources to help you teach the engineering design process with tools, examples, and learning aids that suit the needs of your classroom.

Black History Month STEM - Learn More About These 40 Scientists for Black History Month!

Learn more about these 40 African American scientists and engineers.

12 STEM Activities for Lunar New Year - Year of the Horse Science

12 free science and engineering lesson plans and activities to celebrate Lunar New Year with STEM!

10 Reasons to Do the Ball Run Engineering Challenge

Thinking about the 2026 Ball Run Challenge? Here are 10 reasons this free engineering challenge is a great fit for K–12 classrooms and programs. The Science Buddies Engineering Challenge The annual makes it fun for students to try…

13 Activities and Lessons to Teach Potential and Kinetic Energy - STEM Education

13 STEM lessons and activities to teach about kinetic and potential energy.

STEM Calendar for Educators: Month by Month STEM Projects

Calendar of STEM activities to go with holidays and themes all year long!

40 New and Cutting-Edge Science and Engineering Projects in 2025

Browse the cutting-edge science and engineering projects added to our STEM project library in 2025!

Gingerbread STEM!

A curated collection of STEM activities on a gingerbread theme!

25+ Coding Projects for Beginners and Beyond - CSEdWeek Resources

25+ projects and activities for students to learn more about coding and computer programming at all levels.

20+ Next-Level Makerspace STEM Projects - Take your makerspace to the next level!

18 makerspace STEM activities for students ready to take next steps in robotics, circuit building, programming, electronics, and more!

28 Projects to Jump-start Your Makerspace

28 hands-on activities for a maker space that use recylced and craft materials.

15 STEM Kits You'll Feel Good About Giving

15 STEM gifts that make great gifts for hours of STEM fun, learning, and discovery.

Testing the Power of Wind – Sustainability Science for the STEM Fair

Sixth-grade students created a model wind turbine from recycled plastic bottles to explore how the wind turbines they see on the highway generate energy.

Troubleshooting a Science Project That Isn’t Working – STEM Project Troubleshooting Guide

Is your STEM project not working? Follow these 5 troubleshooting steps to fix experiment problems, check your setup, and get back on track.

Teach Chemical Reactions - 20+ Chemistry Lessons and Activities

20+ chemistry lessons, experiments, and activities to teach about chemical reactions

2025 Nobel Science Connections and Projects for K-12 Students

K-12 STEM projects, activities, and lessons that relate to the 2025 Nobel Prizes.

Growing Plants in Microgravity with Arduino – Student STEM Success

This middle school student took on a space-themed STEM challenge by building a clinostat with Arduino to explore plant growth in microgravity.

Chemical Reactions and Spice - STEM Projects for National Chemistry Week 2025

Find science projects and experiments to connect with the theme of 2025 National Chemistry Week, The Hidden Life of Spices

24 Halloween Science Projects and Experiments! - Halloween STEM

Looking for spooky science for Halloween? Try these Halloween-themed STEM projects and experiments for October fun!

Engineering Challenge People's Choice Award Winner - STEM Success Story

Middle school team at Tree of Life International Charter wins $1,000 People's Choice Award for the school in the Rocket Catcher Challenge. Community Support for STEM Learning When students at Tree of Life International Charter School in…

Competitions for Student STEM Projects (2025-2026)

Are you familiar with these National STEM Challenges? Students may be able to enter their science and engineering fair projects in national competitions, too!

Cabbage Chemistry: Students Explore Fermentation with Kimchi - STEM Project Success Story

These middle school students turned an interest in food science into a flavorful science fair project that combined chemistry, fermentation, and teamwork.

19 Fall Science Projects and Autumn STEM Activities

19 free lesson plans and activities to tie science class in with Autumn themes.

Louisiana Teacher Does Rocket Catcher Challenge with More than 500 Students! - Engineering Challenge Success Story

Louisiana STEM teacher did the 2025 Engineering Challenge with 500+ students in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade—and won big!

New Tool Helps Students Choose Coding Projects

A new tool at Science Buddies helps students find a coding or computer science project, whether they are just getting started or have an idea in mind.

Hispanic Scientists and Engineers - Hispanic Heritage Month

Learn more about these Hispanic and Latinx scientists and engineers as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

New Environmental Science and Sustainability Projects for Student STEM

New, cutting-edge student projects support student exploration of real-world environmental science, ecology, and sustainability challenges and solutions.

11 Activities to Teach Water Cycle Science

Teach K-12 students about the water cycle with free hands-on STEM lessons and activities!

Taste Test Science and the Scientific Method--Teacher STEM Success Story

Students visiting this STEM class learned about the scientific method by doing a taste-test experiment with different colored drinks.

How to Use the Science Project Pathways Tool: Schedule and Manage Science Projects!

The Science Project Pathways tool allows teachers to easily create a customized timeline and schedule of assignments for all steps of a science fair project.

Designing Microfluidic Devices for the Science Fair - Student STEM Success

Middle-school student succeeds at the science fair with a cutting-edge medical biotechnology project.

Pocket-Sized Physical Computing Projects with micro:bit STEM

With support for block-based programming and an array of on-board input/output features, pocket-sized micro:bit makes it easy for students to jump in with physical computing projects that enable them to design and code real-world solutions. …