Chemistry STEM Activities for Kids (84 results)

How Heavy Is Your Air?

STEM Activity

2 reviews

If you’ve ever accidentally let go of a Helium balloon while outside, then you know that some gases are less dense than others. In the case of your Helium balloon, it most likely floated away before you could catch it, because Helium is much lighter (or less dense) than the air in our environment. We don’t often think about gases having density, but they do! In this activity you’re going to explore the different densities of some common household gases, including the air that… Read more

How to Help Pass Gas

STEM Activity

1 review

Has your stomach ever ached so bad you felt as if it was blown up like a balloon—maybe after the big Thanksgiving meal? You may have had a large amount of gas trapped in your stomach and intestines. But where does the gas come from that makes you feel so uncomfortable, and how does it disappear again? In this activity, you will blow some bubbles to investigate how a specific medicine can help you feel better, so next time your tummy hurts because you are bloated, you will know how to cure… Read more

Marble Race – In Liquid!

STEM Activity

11 reviews

Have you ever tried to squeeze honey or syrup out of a bottle at breakfast on a cold winter morning? Do you notice that it's harder to do that than on a hot summer day? As the liquid gets colder, its viscosity, or resistance to flow, increases. Viscosity is a properly of liquids that can be hugely important in wildly different applications – from how the syrup flows out of your bottle, to how blood flows through the human body, to how lava flows out of a volcano. In this project you will… Read more

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

212 reviews

Did you know that the seaweed you've seen in the ocean or even eaten as a snack is inspiring innovators to imagine new materials? Large brown algae, like kelp, contains polymers—long chains of molecules—that are more environmentally friendly than the ones in most plastics. These natural polymers (alginates) could eventually be used to create sustainable everyday objects. Try your hand at using a bit of chemistry to turn biodegradable polymers from algae into your own custom… Read more

Measure Surface Tension with a Penny

STEM Activity

17 reviews

Have you ever noticed how, on a rainy day, water forms droplets on a window? Why does it do that instead of just spreading out evenly over the whole surface? And what could that possibly have to do with washing the dishes or doing laundry? It all has to do with something called surface tension. Try this activity to learn more! Read more

No Stain, No Pain!

STEM Activity

31 reviews

It’s happened to most of us; you wear a brand new shirt to school or work, and in the middle of lunch, get a giant ketchup stain right in the middle of the shirt. Or maybe peanut butter. Or maybe spaghetti sauce. Whatever the stain is, it’s always ugly, and can be tricky to remove. Did you know that there are many different kinds of stains, and each requires different types of cleaning to get the stain out? If you try to clean a mustard stain using shower cleaner – you… Read more

Puffing Up Marshmallows

STEM Activity

6 reviews

With the peak of camping season behind us, any leftover marshmallows can be offered up to science exploration! Did you realize that this sticky, tasty treat is nothing more than air trapped in a stretchy substance? Have you ever tried to expand a marshmallow without getting your hands all sticky? How did you do it? And how big did it get? Blowing up marshmallows is what this activity is about. You might not “see” a gas like air, but could it help puff up a marshmallow? Be ready to… Read more

Separate Liquids with Salt!

STEM Activity

9 reviews

You probably know that some liquids, such as oil and water, do not mix together. If you pour them into the same container, they will form two separate liquid layers on top of each other. Other liquids, for example rubbing alcohol and water, can be mixed with each other. But did you know that once both of these liquids have mixed, you can separate them again into two different layers? How can you do that? The answer might surprise you: with salt! In this activity, you will find out how this… Read more

Shattering Sugar – Make Your Own Hollywood Sugar Glass

STEM Activity

4 reviews

You’re watching an action movie, and suddenly the hero dives through a glass window! Or a car window shatters as the hero navigates an exciting car chase! The glass looks so real, but believe it or not, Hollywood movie sets rarely use real glass for those scenes. Can you guess what they use instead? If you guessed candy…you’re right! Instead of using real glass, which is expensive and difficult to replace for multiple shots, Hollywood movie sets use Sugar Glass! This cheap,… Read more

Spot the Fat in Your Snack

STEM Activity

16 reviews

Do you love potato chips? If you do, you are not alone. Potato chips are a very popular snack food. In fact, many people eat more than one bag of chips per month. When eating potato chips, have you ever noticed that your hands get really greasy? Maybe you have heard people telling you not to eat potato chips because they are bad for you and contain too much fat. But is this really true? Do this activity and find out by making the fats in potato chips visible. Read more

Springtime Science: Exploring the Pigments in Red Flowers

STEM Activity

6 reviews

In the springtime it can be easy to spot flowers in a dazzling array of colors at flower gardens and in plant nurseries. And with Mother’s Day just around the corner, stunning flower bouquets are even more readily available in stores. Have you ever wondered what pigments make a flower appear a certain color to us? For example, what pigments make a rose be a deep, rich shade of red? Do different flowers use the same pigments? In this activity you’ll get… Read more

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