STEM Activities for Kids (482 results)

Stepping Science: Estimating Somebody’s Height from Their Walk

STEM Activity

6 reviews

Have you ever noticed you need to walk faster just to keep up with some people, or decrease your pace to walk with other people who are going slower? This is likely because of the difference in leg length between you and the person you are walking with. In this science activity, you’ll get to investigate just how much faster or slower different people walk, and see if you can use the relationship between a person’s walking pace and their height to estimate your own height. Read more

Strength in Numbers: Spaghetti Beams

STEM Activity

13 reviews

Have you ever helped your parents cook a pot of spaghetti? Strands of spaghetti are pretty long, so sometimes people break them in half so they fit into the pot more easily. How exactly does the spaghetti break? And what does this have to do with science? It turns out engineers and materials scientists study how materials break when they are bent. While professional engineers might be more concerned with steel beams in a bridge, you can still do a fun experiment with some pasta in your kitchen. Read more

Stretch It! How does temperature affect a rubber band?

STEM Activity

19 reviews

Have you ever noticed that some objects tend to expand when they get hot, and contract when they cool down? For example, you might run hot water over the lid of a jar that's stuck - this causes the lid to expand, making it easier to twist off. Does this effect work the same way for all materials? Try this fun 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

Stretchy Balloon Science

STEM Activity

12 reviews

Balloons are fun and come in a variety of sizes, colors, and forms that makes them well suited for decorations, water play, modeling, and other creative activities. But balloons also have uses outside of recreation; weather balloons, balloons used to widen obstructed arteries, and balloons that provide transportation are just a few examples. The first balloons were made of animal bladders or intestines. This made way for the latex, rubber, and nylon fabric balloons we see today. Have you ever… Read more

Strong Wind Science: The Power of a Pinwheel

STEM Activity

4 reviews

Have you ever ridden your bike into a strong wind? If so, did your legs feel like lead? How does this compare to how you feel when the wind is pushing against your back – does that make you feel ready for the Tour de France? In this science activity, you will explore how wind-powered devices, like wind turbines and pinwheels, also react in different ways to the direction of the wind. Read more

Super-Strong Science: Explore Nanotechnology Using Paper

STEM Activity

4 reviews

Have you ever seen a superhero movie where the superhero relies on a super-strong material, like Wolverine's adamantium claws, Captain American's vibranium shield, or Iron Man's suit of armor? While scientists and engineers in comic books work on creating fictional materials to help superheroes win the day, real-world scientists and engineers are actually working on super-strong materials that could have a variety of uses, from improved bulletproof vests, to stronger ropes, lighter bikes and… Read more

Sweaty Science: How Does Heart Rate Change with Exercise?

STEM Activity

11 reviews

Have you ever wondered how many times your heart beats in a year, or will beat throughout your life? Over an average lifetime, the human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times. For a person to keep their heart healthy, they should eat right, not smoke, and get regular exercise. In this science activity, you’ll measure your heart rate during different types of physical activities to find out which give your heart the best workout to help keep it fit. Read more

Teach a Computer to Recognize Road Signs

STEM Activity

26 reviews

How do driverless cars know how to recognize different road signs? They use something called machine learning. In this activity you will teach a computer to recognize different road signs using photos that you take yourself and a tool called Teachable Machine by Google®. The better the training data, the more accurately the program will be able to recognize different types of signs. Read more

The Aerodynamics of Flying a Frisbee

STEM Activity

16 reviews

Are you good at tossing a Frisbee? Have you ever wondered how a Frisbee is able to fly through the air so well? If you can throw a perfect, arcing curve, right on target, you have already trained your arm on the aerodynamics of Frisbee flight! In this science activity, you will investigate how the angle at which you throw the Frisbee affects its flight's direction and distance. Next time you are out tossing a Frisbee, this little lesson in aerodynamics may help make your throws be even… Read more

The Birthday Paradox

STEM Activity

4 reviews

Have you ever noticed how sometimes what seems logical turns out to be proved false with a little math? For instance, how many people do you think it would take to survey, on average, to find two people who share the same birthday? Due to probability, sometimes an event is more likely to occur than we believe it to. In this case, if you survey a random group of just 23 people there is actually about a 50–50 chance that two of them will have the same birthday. This is known as the birthday… Read more

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