Fourth Grade STEM Activities for Kids (236 results)

Program Your Own COVID-19 or Flu Simulator with Scratch

STEM Activity

31 reviews

Are you curious about how public health officials think about and model how diseases like flu and COVID-19 move from one person to another? In this activity, you will use the kid-friendly programming language Scratch to write a simulation that uses bouncing dots to represent healthy and sick people. The simulation will show how we can take measures to slow the spread of a transmissible disease. Read more

Soil Science: Study Microorganisms in Winogradsky Columns

STEM Activity

9 reviews

Our planet recycles and reuses everything on it that is needed to support life. It is an amazing, giant recycling system called the biogeochemical cycle. You can actually model this on a small scale by using a plastic bottle and mud to build what is called a Winogradsky column. In this activity, you will build your own Winogradsky columns and investigate how including different nutrients can affect which soil microorganisms flourish and which fail. Read more

The Ambiguous Cylinder Illusion

STEM Activity

21 reviews

Is it a circle? Is it a square? Or is it both? Make your own 3D printed "ambiguous cylinder" illusion in this fun activity. Read more

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

213 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

The Bouba-Kiki Effect

STEM Activity

19 reviews

If you had to name some shapes "Bouba" and others "Kiki," which name would you give a pointy shape? How about a rounded shape? Would your friends have the same answers? In this activity, you will investigate the Bouba-Kiki effect to learn more about the human brain's fascinating connection between shapes and sounds. Read more

The Impossible Arrow Illusion

STEM Activity

33 reviews

Make your own 3D printed "impossible arrow" illusion in this fun activity. No matter how many times you spin the arrow around, it always seems to point in the same direction—but its reflection in a mirror points the other way! How does it work? Try it and find out! Read more

The Trick to Beating a Carnival Game

STEM Activity

15 reviews

Have you ever played a game at a carnival, trying to win a stuffed animal or other prize? It might look easy, until you try it. Why are those "simple" games at the fairs and carnivals so hard? Is it really lack of skill or coordination or do those concessionaires use some basic laws of science to help them set up the games in their favor? In this science activity, you will investigate how physics can help you win — or lose — at the classic game of trying to knock over a pyramid of… Read more

Train Wheel Science

STEM Activity

28 reviews

Have you ever watched a train roll by? If so, you might have wondered how the train is able to stay on its tracks. The secret lies in the train's wheels. Although they seem cylindrical at first glance, when looking more closely you will notice that they have a slightly semi-conical shape. (Of course, never get close to a working train!) This special geometry is what keeps trains on the tracks. In this activity you will put different wheel shapes to the test to find out why the conical wheel is… Read more

What Are the Chances?

STEM Activity

43 reviews

Have you ever heard anyone say the chance of something happening is "50-50"? What does that actually mean? This phrase has something to do with probability. Probability tells you how likely it is that an event will occur. This means that for certain events you can actually calculate how likely it is that they will happen. In this activity, you will do these calculations and then test if your calculations hold true for reality! Read more

A Magnifying Discovery

STEM Activity

7 reviews

Have you ever looked through a magnifying lens? Why does an object look different when you look at it through the magnifying lens? Even though the object appears to get larger or smaller, it really stays the same size. Each lens has its own unique power of magnification; how powerful is your lens? Read more

A Really Long Straw

STEM Activity

17 reviews

Have you ever used a crazy straw? Some spiral their way up. Others have fancy colors or decorations. Some are thin and others are wide. But just about all of them leave you sipping your drink from about the same distance. Why? Wouldn't it be fun to poke your head out of an upstairs window and secretly take a sip from a drink way below? Would it even be possible? With this activity, you'll see if you can set your own record for the longest working straw! Read more

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