STEM Activities for Kids (482 results)

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

Succession Science: Are Fingerprint Patterns Inherited?

STEM Activity

24 reviews

Have you ever seen a boy who looked just like his father when he was younger? We can often tell that two people are related because they have several similar physical traits. This is because children receive half of their DNA (i.e., their genetic blueprints) from each parent. What about fingerprints – are they an inherited trait? Fingerprints are used to identify people because each person’s fingerprints are unique, but people can have similar fingerprint patterns. This… 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

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

210 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 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

The Business of Fizziness: Test Your Soda Fizz!

STEM Activity

12 reviews

You’ve probably seen the reaction that happens when you add Mentos candy to a diet soda. The resulting eruption is powerful enough to be dangerous, and is the source of many online videos! While many people are familiar with this reaction, few of them understand why it takes place. The Mentos + Soda reaction is not actually a chemical one, but a physical one called ‘nucleation’. In this activity we will explore nucleation in soda at a smaller scale by adding some unusual… Read more

The Science of Frescoes

STEM Activity

7 reviews

Have you ever looked at pictures of murals on buildings from hundreds of years ago and wondered how they were created? Fresco is a type of painting that has been used for thousands of years and involves painting on wet lime plaster. This activity explores one aspect of the science behind this unusual technique. See how science can help you become a more versatile artist! Read more

The Wagon Wheel Effect Optical Illusion

STEM Activity

12 reviews

Have you ever seen a video where it looked like a car's wheels were spinning backwards even though the car was driving forward? This is called the wagon wheel effect, named after old movies where it looked like wagon wheels were spinning backwards. Even though you cannot see the effect in person, it can show up in videos of spinning objects. Find out why in this project and make your own videos of the wagon wheel effect! Read more

Theme Park Science with Jell-O® Loop-De-Loops

STEM Activity

10 reviews

Have you ever wondered what keeps you in your seat when you are riding a giant loop-de-loop roller coaster? Surprisingly, it is not the seat belt! You are kept in your seat because of something called centripetal force. Centripetal force actually does much more than make a ride on a roller coaster's loop possible — it keeps a satellite in orbit and you in your bicycle when taking a tight curve! In this science activity, you will use marbles and Jell-O® to investigate centripetal… Read more

Turn Soot into Silver

STEM Activity

3 reviews

You might have heard the saying “not everything is as it seems.” Something might look great from far away, but when you take a closer look, it might not turn out to be as beautiful as you thought! In this activity, you will create the opposite experience—you will turn a spoon blackened with soot into shiny silver. Even though it is only an illusion, you will not know it when you see it. Try it out for yourself! Read more

Unlocking the Secrets of the Pinecone

STEM Activity

6 reviews

Depending on where you live, this time of year the ground might be covered in snow, ice, and most importantly – pinecones! We see pinecones everywhere during the winter, in wreaths, on trees, and in our yards, but did you know that pinecones have a vital job – they keep pine tree seeds safe, and protect them from the freezing temperatures during the winter! To protect their precious seeds, pinecones can close their ‘scales’ tightly, keeping out cold temperatures, winds,… Read more

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