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Science Projects that Double as Halloween Costumes

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By Amy Cowen on October 21, 2013 10:17 AM

If you are still thinking about what to wear this Halloween, you might find you can combine a science project and your costume needs to good, possibly ghoulish, effect!

My favorite Halloween idea this year is low-tech. I saw a "stick man" figure homemade costume, and I can't get it out of my head for its sheer simplicity—black electrical tape on a white shirt and pants. It is an unusual and fun twist on the classic DIY white tape skeleton costume and perfect for someone who loves to draw.

There are always a few kids at Halloween who explode out of the box with unexpected, cool, and definitely not-off-the-shelf, costumes. These are the ones I remember each year after the school costume parade. My favorite may be the girl who came as a salt shaker. I think another year she was a #2 pencil. In reality, though, these kinds of creative bursts are seemingly few and far between at Halloween, overshadowed by scads and scores of black capes, scream faces, blood-spurting masks, princess dresses, and character costumes from TV and the movies. (How many Harry Potter or Dorothy trick or treaters have you seen?)

If a roll of electrical tape falls in my lap, I may end up with a stick-figure shirt this year. But for you and your students, I want to suggest something much cooler... a science-project turned costume.

Combine your science know-how and your creativity to create an exciting costume this Halloween! The science involved in this LED glove can be applied to other parts of a costume. What will you make and wear?

A Science Project/Halloween Costume Combo

Really, when you think about it, this idea can be chalked up as a two-for-one special. The supplies you buy for the science project will also be used for the Halloween costume. It's a win-win. When you factor in the hands-on science learning that your student (or family) will gain from the science experiment, it's a win-win with interest!

Here are two suggestions for science projects from the Science Buddies library of Project Ideas that can be easily turned into a fun at-home activity that then becomes part of a cool and creative trick-or-treat costume.

LED Dance Glove: This brand new project at Science Buddies is an awesome way for kids to explore a cool new breed of electronics—wearable ones, also called electronic textiles or e-textiles. In the project, students learn how to use conductive thread and insulating fabric paint to turn a set of small LEDs into an awesome light-up glove. An LED glove is perfect for a party, true. But imagine using this idea as part of a costume! You could do gloves, or you could use the technology and wearable circuitry-knowhow to sew up some other light-up costume idea that is completely your own. Think about the possibilities! Forget carrying a regular glow-stick that will fade in a few hours. This Halloween you can make and wear your own glow!
How to Make the Boldest, Brightest Tie-Dye!: Tie-dye may be a classic summer camp or weekend family project, but the process of dyeing different kinds of fibers and exploring how fibers react to dye is a great science activity—one with wearable results. This science experiment can be perfect for a DIY Halloween costume! Whether you are making a groovy costume with 60s flair, prepping your own zombie or mummy rags, or making a groovy fan shirt for a favorite sports team, you can put your science tie-dye tests to use. Make part of the costume from one fiber (like muslin), and part from another (like a polyester-cotton blend), and have fun with the dyeing!

How Creepy is Too Creepy?

Whatever costume you pull together, you probably want to stay out of the "uncanny valley"—or maybe that is exactly where you want to be! Learn more about the uncanny valley and how it plays into how we respond to the characters we see in movies, or maybe the ones we run into on Halloween night, in the "That's Creepy! Exploring the Uncanny Valley" science Project Idea.