Elementary School STEM Activities for Kids (244 results)

Make Your Drawings Float!

STEM Activity

73 reviews

Have you ever wished your drawings would come alive and the stick figures or objects on your paper could move around? What sounds impossible actually is not! In this activity, you will make your drawing move around by letting it float on water. What makes this possible is the interesting chemistry of dry erase markers. These markers are usually used to write on white boards or glass surfaces and can easily be erased to make space for more writing or drawing. It turns out that they are also… Read more

Candy Camouflage

STEM Activity

146 reviews

Have you ever wondered how predators, like wolves, lions, and hawks, are able to find their prey? And what can an animal do to stay off of a hunter's menu? To survive, some animals have developed specific camouflage tactics to fool their predators. One strategy some animals use is to look very similar to other animals that are poisonous or that the predator doesn't like to eat. This camouflage tactic is called mimicry. In this science activity, you will be the hungry predator and you will hunt… Read more

Colorful Patterns in Melting Ice

STEM Activity

118 reviews

Have you ever wondered why ice cubes in your cold drink become gradually smaller, or why their surface becomes smoother as they melt? Does ice always melt this way? In this activity, you will use water balloons to create giant ice balls and observe how they melt. Can you predict the effect a bit of salt will have on your giant ice ball? Read more

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

227 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

Make a Rubber Band Guitar

STEM Activity

174 reviews

Did you know that the modern guitar is an instrument that dates back over 4,000 years? The first guitar music was published in 1546, during a time when guitars still had strings made from animal intestines! While guitars have a long history, they are still extremely popular in modern day music. Have you ever wondered how they make the music you listen to everyday? In this activity we're going to make our own guitars, and experiment with the different sounds we can create. Read more

Make a Straw Siphon

STEM Activity

70 reviews

What's an easy way to move liquid from one place to another? A siphon! With just a little effort to get it started, you can then sit back and watch liquid flow from one container to another, as it seemingly defies gravity by going uphill. Try this activity to make your own simple siphon using straws. Read more

Build a Marble Roller Coaster

STEM Activity

75 reviews

How much energy does a roller coaster need to go through a loop without getting stuck? Build your own marble roller coaster in this project and find out! Read more

Build an Archimedes Screw

STEM Activity

83 reviews

The Archimedes screw is an ancient device used to lift water from one location to another. They are so useful that they are still in widespread use today! After a quick trip to the hardware store, you can build your own Archimedes screw in this fun activity. Read more

Candy Core Samples

STEM Activity

54 reviews

Act like a geologist in this fun activity as you drill "core samples" from candy bars using a straw. Can you identify the type of candy bar just from a sample? Try this activity to find out! Read more

Make a Milk Rainbow

STEM Activity

138 reviews

Have you ever seen a rainbow after a rainfall, or drawn a rainbow for fun? They can be fun to make using colorful markers or other craft supplies. But did you know you can actually make a simple rainbow using milk, liquid detergent (i.e., soap), and food coloring? How the rainbow is created by this mixture might surprise you! In this science activity, you will make your own milk rainbow and explore how detergent and surface tension are involved in its creation. Read more

Solubility Science: How Much is Too Much?

STEM Activity

62 reviews

Have you ever added a spoon of sugar to your tea and wondered why it disappeared? Where did it go? The sugar did not actually disappear—it changed from its solid form into a dissolved form in a process called chemical dissolution. The result is a tea-sugar mixture in which individual sugar molecules become uniformly distributed in the tea. But what happens if you increase the amount of sugar that you add to your tea? Does it still dissolve? In this science activity, you will find out how… Read more

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