When incorporating science and math into the home, it doesn’t have to be boring, These engaging STEM Projects for Kids are perfect for a virtual learning, home school or for a school classroom. STEM activities for elementary, middle school and even younger!
STEM Projects for Kids
Whether you’re homeschooling your kids or simply looking for a fun and educational activity to pass an afternoon at home, a STEM project can be a fun experience for the whole family. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Since those are some of the fastest-growing career fields, it’s a good idea to start early in cultivating an interest in the sciences and math. You’ll have no problem doing just that with the fun list of STEM projects for kids that we’ve compiled.
Most of these STEM projects use common household materials, so you can likely set up an experiment or project TODAY. Scan the list and get started! Don’t forget our five minute science experiements for kids before you go!
More Stem Ideas
Before you get started, take a look at these other Stem Ideas!
STEM Projects for Kids
Kids get a big kick out of making glow in the dark eggs. Although the process itself takes a few days, the experiment only requires a few minutes of prep. You’ll use vinegar to dissolve the egg’s shell plus an added ingredient to make it glow. The result is a rubbery, “naked” egg that’s lots of fun to examine. Use it to study the parts of an egg, to learn about osmosis, and to learn about simple chemical reactions. | Frugal Coupon Living
If you have Skittles and water in your home, you have everything you need to set up this quick Skittles Rainbow Science Experiment for the kids. Kids of all ages will enjoy watching the colors spread, even your toddlers and preschoolers. The warm water dissolves the sugary coating very quickly, releasing the colors into a beautiful rainbow. | Fun with Mama (See this same Skittles Rainbow Experiment with our Elf on the Shelf.)
The baking soda experiment is a classic; most everyone has done this experiment at home or school as a child. It’s easy to set up and is always a hit, though. The acid-base reaction creates lots of fizzy fun due to the carbon dioxide that’s released during the reaction. While you don’t have to dye your baking soda, we think it adds to the fun. Not only that, but it encourages kids to take note of the color mixing that occurs where the colors touch. | Frugal Coupon Living
Do you think a plastic bag poked with pencils will hold water? It will! This is a fascinating experiment. You’ll need really sharp pencils to push through the baggie full of water. What makes the water stay? Long-chain polymers from the bag seal around the smooth edge of the pencil to maintain the barrier. Isn’t that fun? | Hello, Wonderful
Our glowing volcano experiment can quickly be set up in just five minutes, and you probably have everything you need already. It’s your classic baking soda and vinegar reaction inside a playdough-shaped volcano with a secret ingredient to make it glow in the dark. | Frugal Coupon Living
Introduce your kids to color mixing with a super simple walking water experiment. You’ll need some small jars or bowls, paper towels, water, and food coloring. Pretty simple, right? As the paper towel soaks up the water, the color (and the water) start moving up and then down into the empty jars. Eventually, the colors from the two adjoining jars will mix in the empty jar, creating new colors. | Messy Little Monster
You’ve probably heard the expression, “oil and water don’t mix,” but have you ever studied why? Explore the concept behind this common colloquialism with our oil and water experiment. Oil is less dense than water, so the two cannot mix. Using food coloring makes this concept clearer! When the droplets of colored water are dropped into the oil, they sink to the bottom. | Frugal Coupon Living
Summer and fall are the seasons of S’mores, so of course, this experiment making solar oven S’mores is sure to be a huge hit. Using common household materials like a box, foil, and plastic wrap, you can have marshmallows plumping up and chocolate melting over your graham crackers in no time. | Desert Chica
Your kids will love these straw rockets. Use the free printable rocket template, straws, scissors, and glue to get started. Have a contest to see which child’s rocket goes the farthest! This project helps kids learn about physics, particularly acting forces that put objects in motion. Add weight by attaching paperclips to see how that affects the rocket’s flight. | Artsy Fartsy Mama
How do rain clouds work? Find out with a simple rain cloud science experiment using shaving cream, food coloring, and water. The heavy drops of food coloring break through the shaving foam cloud, just as rain clouds begin to break apart as they become too heavy with moisture. | Laughing Kids Learning
Each year, you buy loads of school supplies for your kids. Use some in your science explorations! This post on STEM activities with pencils demonstrates a couple of ways to use pencils in STEM activities, such as building a tower or building shapes. | JDaniel4’s Mom
Make an Art Bot with the kids! This fun project uses a small motor (which can be purchased on Amazon for just a couple dollars each), a battery, some wire, and some markers, along with a few other materials. Kids will love watching their art bots scribble designs all over the paper. | Science Sparks
Make a water compass! This is a simple STEM activity that takes just a few minutes. You’ll need a magnet, a paperclip, a leaf, and a pan of water. Once the paperclip is magnetized, inserted into the leaf, and placed in water, it will slowly align the earth’s magnetic field, pointing north. | The Gingerbread House
Do you have a little builder on your hands? Print this awesome Lego challenge game to kick things up a notch. Kids create a spinner and then use the printable and the spinner to select an activity. It’s great for those, “Mom, I’m bored!” days that we all have now and then. Each spin tasks the kids with something different, such as building a pyramid, a robot, a plane, or building with one color. | Artsy Fartsy Mama
Want to make a ball run or marble run without putting tape all over your walls? This magnetic ball run is a clever alternative using magnetic tape to put the cardboard tubes on the fridge instead. Encourage kids to design their own tube or tunnel system to see which way the marble gets to the bottom the fastest. | Taming Little Monsters
Design a pom-pom shooter (or several) and have a fun afternoon blasting each other with pom-poms. It’s a fun alternative to a NERF gun because, hello, pom-poms are soft! You’ll need to find something to do with those pool noodles after summer’s over, anyway. One pool noodle can make lots of shooters. You’ll just need some balloons, tape, and pom-poms to complete the project. Don’t forget to discuss the forces behind blasting the pom-pom out of the pool noodle. | Hello, Wonderful
Challenge the kids to build a bridge using Legos, wooden blocks, pencils, or anything else they want to use. The bridge needs to support the weight of a can of veggies or something of similar weight. You’ll be surprised at the ingenious bridges they come up with. | Mama Smiles
This balloon rocket science experiment is so fun! A straw is threaded through a string, and then the balloon gets blown up and taped to the straw. Let it go to see how far it travels. The more full the balloon is, the farther it will go. What other factors might affect how far the balloon travels? | Hands-On Teaching Ideas
Provide materials like a paper towel tube, playdough, pipe cleaners, and alphabet beads, and let the kids figure out how to construct a coconut tree for this cute STEAM Activity. It’s perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners and goes along brilliantly with the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. | ABCs of Literacy
Build a tall tower using your child’s Lego Duplos or other similarly-sized blocks. Have the kids work together to see just how tall they can build it. How can the tower be supported to build it even higher? Against a wall? Can you build it to the second story? Have fun with it! | Mama Smiles
Pin this list of STEM projects for kids to have lots of fun and engaging activities at the ready!
Also take a look at our Five Minute Science Experiments. Pin to Pinterest.
Also get inspired by these Virtual Study Spaces & Kids Homework Corners. Pin to Pinterest.
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.
