STEM Activities for Kids (482 results)

Build a Cardboard Scissor Lift

STEM Activity

23 reviews

Have you ever wanted to reach something way up high on a shelf? What about construction workers who need to reach up the side of a building or a tall utility pole? A scissor lift is a device that can extend to a great length but also fold up very compactly, making it easy to reach high places. In this project you will build your own from common household materials! Read more

Build a Disk Siren

STEM Activity

17 reviews

If you live in an urban area, you probably hear them almost every day: sirens. Police cars, ambulances, fire trucks—they all can come blaring. Their wailing sounds are piercingly loud to help alert others to clear the road in front of them. But have you ever thought about how this loud noise is generated? Make your own disk siren in this activity and find out for yourself. Read more

Candy Core Samples

STEM Activity

47 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

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

215 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

Chromatography: Be a Color Detective

STEM Activity

30 reviews

Do you love bright and vibrant colored art supplies? Do you ever wonder how these colors are made? The variety of colors comes from colored molecules that are mixed into the material used to make the product. Some colored molecules are synthetic (or manmade), like the famous Yellow #5 found in food dyes. Others are extracted from natural sources, such as carotenoid (pronounced kuh-RAH-tuh-noid) molecules, which make your carrot look orange, and can be extracted from saffron. Even… Read more

Circus-Trick Science: How to Balance Anything

STEM Activity

16 reviews

Have you ever wondered why it is harder to keep your balance with a heavy backpack on? Or why it is difficult to make a toddler's sippy cup tip over? Maybe you are the kind of person who wonders about circus balancing acts and would like to learn how to ride a bike on a rope. Or perhaps you want to know how to make your toy car less prone to toppling over when racing through a sharp curve. In this science activity, you will get to investigate balance using marshmallows, skewers, and… Read more

Color Taste Test—Do You Taste with Your Eyes?

STEM Activity

88 reviews

Have you ever tried adding green food coloring to your milk? Or blue coloring to the butter you spread on your bread? You may not have tried this, but for years, scientists have studied the effect of color and food appearance on how food tastes. Believe it or not, our eyes are an important part of how we taste and perceive food! In this activity, you will learn about how you can trick your taste buds—with just a little food coloring! Read more

Colored Shadows

STEM Activity

47 reviews

Have you ever wondered what the world would look like without colors? Most of us take them for granted since they are everywhere: blue sky, green grass, the yellow sun, and countless more. Your eyes are actually able to distinguish up to 10 million colors! But where do all the colors come from, and how do our eyes perceive them all? Find out with a little help from some shadows, and create numerous colors by mixing red, green and blue light. Read more

Create a Painting with Genetically Modified Bacteria

STEM Activity

10 reviews

Did you know that you can change the genetic code of an organism? This technology is called gene editing or genetic engineering. Using gene editing tools, researchers can delete or modify existing genes in an organism, or even add new ones! With this ability, they can alter the way an organism—such as a bacteria, a plant, or an animal—looks or functions. For example, crops can be modified to become more drought-resistant, or bacteria can be engineered to produce medicine such as… Read more

Cucumber Chemistry: Moisture capture with desiccants

STEM Activity

11 reviews

Have you ever dropped your phone in the water and it stopped working? It would be great if you could somehow dry the phone from the inside before it got damaged, right? There are actually some substances that can absorb water from their surroundings. You might have noticed that when you buy new shoes, electronics or beef jerky, that often there is a little package inside that says “silica gel, do not eat.” This little bag of silica gel protects the product from water damage when it… Read more

Design a Cell Phone Stand

STEM Activity

83 reviews

Why buy it when you can build it? That is the attitude you will need for this project. You have probably seen cell phone holders or stands around the house or in a car. They might seem like a very simple object, but they are a great way to learn about the engineering design process. In this project, you will design and build your own working phone stand. Read more

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