50 STEM Projects & Extracurricular STEM Activities for Kids

What is STEM?
STEM Projects for Kids
Extracurricular STEM Activities for Kids
What is STEAM?

What is STEM?

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math! These fields are really important because they help us make new discoveries and solve big problems. STEM activities and projects for kids are fun and engaging ways to learn about these subjects, and can pave the way for future studies and careers in science, technology, engineering and math! Uncover hidden gems and explore the STEM learning with these exciting projects and extracurricular activities!

STEM Projects for Kids

Explore the wonder and excitement of these STEM projects! Each STEM project only needs a few basic supplies or recycled materials from home, so it's an easy and fun activity to teach kids about STEM topics on a rainy day, a weekend afternoon, or even for birthday parties! Moreover, these can serve as a starting point for science fair projects.

1. Egg Drop Survival Challenge

Design a protective case from household materials and find out whether your raw egg survives a high drop.

Medium

2. Balloon Power and Newton's Third Law

Tape a balloon to a Styrofoam car and watch Newton's Third Law launch it across the floor.

Medium

3. Lemon-Powered LED Light

Turn a lemon into a working battery and find out whether it can produce enough electricity to light an LED.

Easy

4. Primary Colors of Light into White

Shine three flashlights through colored plastic sheets and watch them combine into white light.

Easy

5. Casein Glue from Milk and Vinegar

Milk contains a protein that turns into working glue when you add vinegar and a pinch of baking soda.

Medium

6. Oobleck and Non-Newtonian Fluids

Squeeze a simple mix of cornstarch and water into a solid ball, then open your hand and watch it flow back into a liquid.

Easy

7. Dish Soap and Milk Color Bursts

Touch a soap-dipped cotton swab to food coloring in milk and watch the colors burst apart into swirling patterns.

Easy

8. Elephant Toothpaste Foam Reaction

Pour a yeast mixture into a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and watch a giant column of warm foam erupt.

Easy

9. Paper Airplane Folds and Flight Distance

Fold paper airplanes with different designs and launch them to discover which shape flies the farthest.

Medium

10. Parachute Design and Air Resistance

Build a parachute from a plastic bag and see how trapped air slows a falling toy to a gentle float.

Medium

11. Baking Soda Invisible Ink and Grape Juice

Write a secret message with baking soda water and reveal it by painting grape juice over the paper.

Easy

12. White Daisies and Food Coloring

Place white daisies in colored water and watch the petals change to blue or red within a single day.

Easy

13. Lemon Juice Invisible Ink and Heat

Write an invisible message with lemon juice and watch your hidden words appear in brown when you add heat.

Medium

14. Static Electricity and Jumping Cereal

Rub a plexiglass plate with wool and watch Rice Krispies leap off the table and stick to the charged surface.

Easy

15. Baking Soda and Vinegar Eruption

Combine baking soda and vinegar in a volcano mold and watch carbon dioxide gas drive a fizzing eruption.

Easy

16. Raisins Rising and Sinking in Fizzy Water

Drop raisins into a jar of vinegar and baking soda and watch them rise, float, and sink over and over again.

Easy

17. Candy Coating Colors and Paper Chromatography

Drip water onto a candy sitting on filter paper and watch hidden ink colors separate into colored rings.

Easy

18. Moth Camouflage and Predator Evasion

Color paper moths to match your surroundings and test how long it takes a searcher to spot each one.

Easy

19. Vinegar and the Rubbery Egg

Drop a raw egg into vinegar for a few days and discover that the acid dissolves the hard shell, leaving behind a soft, rubbery egg.

Easy

20. Seashells and Vinegar

Place one seashell in vinegar and another in water, then check back in a week to see which one dissolves.

Easy

21. Light vs. Dark and Seed Germination

Place radish seeds on gelatin in two jars. Wrap one in foil and discover whether light or darkness produces faster sprouts.

Medium

22. Rainbow Borax Crystals

Grow sparkling rainbow crystals overnight on pipe cleaners and watch solid crystal structures form as the Borax water cools.

Medium

23. Film Canister Rockets and Gas Pressure

Snap a baking-soda lid onto a vinegar-filled film canister and watch gas pressure launch it skyward.

Easy

24. Hidden Leaf Colors and Chromatography

Soak torn leaves in rubbing alcohol and use coffee filter strips to separate the hidden colors that chlorophyll covers up all summer.

Medium

25. Borax Geode Crystals

Turn a hollow eggshell into a miniature geode by growing Borax crystals inside it overnight.

Medium

26. Sugar Crystallization and Rock Candy

Grow giant sugar crystals on a string and watch a supersaturated solution turn back into solid rock candy.

Medium

27. Pressure, Smoke, and Cloud Formation

Drop a lit match into a jar with water vapor and seal it with a plastic bag. Pull the bag outward and watch a real cloud form inside.

Medium

28. Microwave Popcorn Brand Comparison

Pop three brands of microwave popcorn for the same time and count which one leaves the fewest unpopped kernels.

Easy

29. Eggshell Arches and Load-Bearing Strength

Cut four eggs into domes and stack books on top to see how much weight the arches can hold.

Easy

30. Mold Growth on Different Foods

Seal five different foods in bags and track mold growth for a week to find out which one fungi colonize fastest.

Medium

31. Chocolate Cookies and Asphalt Paving

Mix chocolate binder with oats and nuts the same way engineers mix asphalt with rocks, then roll it flat like a road.

Medium

32. Singing Glass and Water Pitch

Rub a wet finger along the rim of a stemware glass and discover how the water level changes the pitch.

Easy

33. Magnetic Levitation Train

Float a foam-core platform above a magnetic track and watch it glide end to end with a gentle push.

Medium

34. Movement and the Doppler Effect

Play a song on your phone and walk quickly to hear how motion changes the pitch through the Doppler effect.

Easy

35. Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Floating Spaghetti

Watch spaghetti rise and sink on its own as carbon dioxide from baking soda and vinegar lifts each piece.

Easy

36. Tornado Vortex in a Soda Bottle

Connect two soda bottles cap-to-cap and swirl the water to create a spinning tornado vortex you can hold.

Medium

37. Surface Tension and Water Strider Design

Design a model insect from simple materials and see if you can make it stand on water using surface tension.

Medium

38. Onion DNA Extraction with Household Items

Crack open onion cells with detergent and meat tenderizer. Watch white strands of DNA float up in ice-cold ethanol.

Medium

39. Herschel's Infrared Light Experiment

Split sunlight with a prism and place a thermometer just past the red band to detect invisible infrared heat.

Medium

40. Hand-Drawn Holograms on Plastic

Scratch overlapping arcs into acrylic with a compass and watch a glowing letter float inside the plastic in sunlight.

Medium

41. Potato Batteries: Metals, Voltage, and LEDs

Push copper and zinc strips into potatoes and wire them in series to generate enough voltage for an LED.

Medium

42. Eggshell Staining and Drink Acidity

Soak hard-boiled eggs in different drinks for two days and see which ones stain and soften the shells the most.

Easy

43. Suspension vs. Cable-Stayed Bridge Strength

Build two bridge models from balsa wood and load them with weights to find which design is stronger.

Medium

44. Sun Prints on Construction Paper

Lay leaves and flowers on construction paper in the sun to reveal sharp, colorful outlines where UV rays cannot reach.

Easy

45. Hexagon Fractals from Paper Templates

Trace hexagons at six shrinking sizes onto graph paper and watch a single shape grow into a complex fractal design.

Easy

46. Sugar Water and Cut Flower Freshness

Place roses, carnations, and lilies in vases with different amounts of sugar water and track which combination keeps them fresh the longest.

Medium

47. Microorganisms on Hands and Objects

Press everyday objects onto an agar plate and grow the invisible microorganisms that live on your hands and belongings.

Medium

48. Sunlight Shadows on Living Leaves

Clip cardboard shapes onto living leaves for four days and uncover a visible record of where sunlight was blocked.

Easy

49. Kidney Bean Size and Germination Speed

Sort kidney beans by weight into three size groups and track which ones sprout first over five days.

Medium

50. Soil Temperature and Seed Sprouting Speed

Place seed pots at three different soil temperatures and track which group sprouts first. Heat may speed up germination more than expected.

Medium

Extracurricular STEM Activities for Kids

Encourage interest in STEM with these engaging activities that go beyond the classroom. Our top picks for STEM activities are not only fun and exciting, but also help build a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math.

1) Have a STEM Challenge!

To make fun STEM activities for kids even more enjoyable, consider organizing a group STEM activity such as an egg drop challenge, rocket launch competition, bridge-building contest, foil bug floating competition, balloon-powered car race or a paper airplane challenge! It's a great way to learn engineering skills by practicing the engineering design process. By participating in a STEM activity as a group, everyone can see the creativity and problem-solving skills that each person brings to the table, making the experience inspiring and memorable for all. So why not get involved in a STEM challenge today and see what you can achieve together!

2) Watch a STEM TV Show!

Introducing kids to STEM can be fun and engaging with these kid-friendly TV shows. Check out our top picks for shows that incorporate STEM education into entertainment.

Ask the StoryBots (TV-Y, all children)
"Ask the StoryBots" is a children's animated TV series that follows the adventures of five lovable creatures, answering questions submitted by young children, such as "Why do we have to brush our teeth?" and "How do airplanes fly?". Each episode features a new question, and the StoryBots go on an adventure to find the answer, learning important lessons along the way. The show is educational, engaging, and it encourages children to be curious and ask questions about the world.
Ask the Storybots on Netflix
Odd Squad (TV-Y, all children)
Odd Squad is a math live-action children's series that follows the adventures of a young team of agents who use math skills, deductive reasoning, and teamwork to investigate and solve strange and unusual occurrences in their city.
Odd Squad episodes (Oddtube) and activities on PBS Kids
Square One Television (TV-Y7, 7 years and up)
Square One is a math show produced by Sesame Street's Children's Television Workshop from 1987-1992 for elementary and middle school students. Each episode includes a mix of game shows, music videos, and commercials. The show concludes with a segment called "Mathnet", which parodies the "Dragnet" police detective TV series. Additionally, a teacher's guide is available for 13 Mathnet cases, including handouts and activities to help kids learn math!
Archived Youtube Videos: Square One Season 1 - Square One Season 2 - Square One Season 3 - Square One Season 4 - Square One Season 5 - Mathnet
BattleBots (TV-PG, 10 years and up)
BattleBots is a tournament-style competition that features remote-controlled robots battling each other. The contestants' engineering skills are amazing, and the robots they design are incredibly creative! This show is a fun way to get younger kids to adults interested in robotics and engineering. You can even get tickets to see the Battle Bots in action in Las Vegas, Nevada!
Battlebots broadcasting & tickets
Mythbusters (TV-PG, 10 years and up/ for some episodes TV-14, 14 years and up)
This documentary series features two Hollywood special effects experts investigating urban legends through a series of STEM activities. Each episode is like a big science fair project, often resulting in lively discussions, big explosions, and unexpected outcomes. At the end of each episode, the truth about the urban legend is revealed, making it a fun and educational watch for all ages.
Mythbusters on TV or streaming
The Big Bang Theory (TV-PG, 10 years and up/ for some episodes TV-14, 14 years and up)
"The Big Bang Theory" is a TV sitcom about the lives and research of Leonard and Sheldon, two physicists, along with their friends Howard, an aerospace engineer, and Raj, an astrophysicist. Fun fact: a UCLA astrophysics professor is the science consultant on the show!
The Big Bang Theory on TV or streaming
Cells at Work (TV-14, 14 years and up)
A Japanese anime about the immune system. Who would've thought an anime show could teach STEM! You need to see it to believe it! It's fun, exciting, and surprisingly very scientifically accurate.
Cells at Work on Netflix - Cells at Work on Amazon Prime Video - Cells at Work on Crunchyroll

3) Visit a STEM Museum!

Museums are awesome places to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math. There are different types of museums such as science, tech, natural history, space, discovery, and children's museums, all of which offer innovative hands-on STEM activities. By visiting these museums, you can inspire young scientists and young engineers with STEM learning, while having a full day of fun at the museum!

There may be free admission days or free passes to a museum near you! Check your credit card for offers, your local library for free museum passes, and museums for free entrance days.

Find a STEM museum near you and prepare to be awed by all that you can learn there!

4) Explore STEM Summer Camps!

Summer is the best time for exploring STEM activities outside of school! Check out summer STEM camps at your local science museums or universities.

There are also longer summer camps around the US that include STEM activities that range from robotics to hands-on study of marine science and volcanos. Here are some popular STEM camps in the US:

California Science Center Summer Camp

Who: pre-K to 8th grade
Where: Los Angeles, California
What: day classes, scholarships available

Science Camps of America

Who: 4th grade to 12th grade
Where: Oahu & Hawaii islands
What: STEM workshops, day camps, overnight camps on volcanos & oceans, scholarships available

Marine Science Summer Camps at Acadia Institute of Oceanography

Who: 4th grade to 12th grade
Where: Seal Harbor, Maine
What: 2-week marine biology camp, scholarships available

Museum of Science & Industry

Who: pre-K to 12th grade
Where: Chicago, Illinois
What: single- to multi-day camps year round, scholarships available

What is STEAM?

You may have heard about STEAM and may be wondering how it's different from STEM.

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math!

Many of our STEM projects combine art into the project. Experience the perfect combination of STEM and creativity by trying out one of our fun STEAM projects today!