Physics STEM Activities for Kids (123 results)

Go With the Flow

STEM Activity

26 reviews

Do you ever wonder why we perform tasks in a particular way? Very often, we learn by copying someone and never stop to question if there is a more efficient or easier way to do something. This activity is about the tricky task of pouring from a full container. Could there be an easier way to do it? Read more

Gravity-Defying Water

STEM Activity

3 reviews

Can you turn a cup of water upside-down without the water pouring out? Sounds impossible, right? This project will show you how you can do it using a neat physics trick! Read more

Hanging Around with Sound: Make Your Own Secret Bell!

STEM Activity

6 reviews

Have you ever tried making "walkie-talkies" using a long piece of string and two tin cans? If you have, you know that they work surprisingly well—at longer distances you can hear people better through the cans and string than you can through the air! In this activity we're going to use the same concepts to build a personal bell, one that makes sounds that only you can hear! Read more

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

222 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

Heating with the Greenhouse Effect

STEM Activity

11 reviews

Have you ever thought about where the vegetables you eat are coming from when it is too cold outside to grow them? They might have been shipped from a different country to your home town, or they may have been grown locally in a greenhouse. Greenhouses are huge house-like structures that are usually made mostly of glass. How can they protect plants from the cold? In this activity, you will find out and create some extra heat from the sun. Read more

How Empty Is an Empty Bottle?

STEM Activity

3 reviews

Did you know that airplanes and sound have something in common? Can you guess what it might be? Air pressure! It is fascinating how air—something that is so fluid and invisible—can power an amazing number of fascinating phenomena. In this activity you will use your own breath to blow a small paper ball into an empty bottle. It sounds simple, but is it? Try it out and see for yourself! Read more

How Heavy Is Your Air?

STEM Activity

3 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

Hula Hooping with a Rubber Band

STEM Activity

10 reviews

Are you any good at hula hooping? If not, there is good news: you can do this fun project without any hula hooping experience! You will examine some of the fascinating physics behind hula hooping using just a pencil and a rubber band. Read more

Make Your Own Spring Scale

STEM Activity

8 reviews

Have you ever played with a Slinky, used a pinball machine, written with a click pen, or ridden in a car? If so, then you have used a spring. Springs are in machines all around us and have many useful purposes. In this activity you will learn how a spring can be used to make a scale to weigh objects. Read more

Paper Squawker

STEM Activity

8 reviews

Did you know that not all animals use their ears to ‘hear’ sounds? Snakes, for example, perceive sound waves through their jaw bones! And many insects perceive sound waves through their antennae. While these methods of detecting sound might be different, they all respond to the same thing that our ears do, which is sound waves in the environment. In this activity you will generate some impressive sound waves from very simple materials, and observe how these sound waves are… Read more

Physics Secrets for Hula Hooping

STEM Activity

6 reviews

Have you ever spent time spinning a hula hoop around your waist or arm? Could you easily do it, or was it difficult? Have you ever wondered how hula hoops work, or, in other words, what makes them be able to spin around a person's waist or arm? It comes down to the physics that is involved. Physics can help you determine what makes one hula hoop a winner and another a flop. In this activity you will get to create your own hula hoops and investigate how their masses affect how they spin. … Read more

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