STEM Projects for Kids

Keep the kids happily learning all year long with these awesome hands on STEM projects. Encourating students to try STEM projects for kids (science, technology, engineering and math) allows them to work on multiple disciplines at the same time and see how they fit together to solve real-world problems. These STEM activities include ideas for preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade students. The hardest part is deciding which fun stem activities to try first!

STEM Projects

These simple STEM projects include lots of hands on learning activities that are designed to encourage skills across all learning areas. They help your kids develop and practice things such as critical thinking, creative thinking, math and number skills, digital literacy, communication, problem solving and lots more. Try a simple science experiment, or learn about technology, test out your engineering skills, or make math come to life with one of these  fun STEM project for kids. We’ve included math stem activities plus stem science projects, hands-on stem engineering projects and lots of other STEM ideas!

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – these fun STEM activities are a great addition to your school day for preschoolers, kindergartens, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, and grade 6 children. Whether you are a parent looking for a stem activities for 2nd grade, a classroom teacher pulling together stem activities for 3rd grade, or a homeschooler looking for engaging stem activities for 4th grade at home or in coop, or a summer stem camp looking for stem projects for 5th grade – you are sure to find lots of ideas to try!

STEM Activities

Many STEM activities combine more than one area of learning into an awesome activity, but we’ve separated them out into learning areas based on the main theme of the activity, just to make it easier for your to find fun STEM projects to try.

STEM Science Projects

Simple science STEM activities and experiments are some of the easiest and fun ways to introduce STEM projects to your kids.

• Fizzy Egg Exploratory Play from Simple Everyday Mom.
  Have fun with this dinosaur themed science exploration.
• Lava Lamp Experiment Sensory Bottle from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
  Make a lava lamp with pantry staples!
• Jelly Bean STEM Rainbow Activity from 123 Homeschool 4 Me.
  This sweet and simple science experiment has cool and colorful results.
• Saline Solution Slime Recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands.
  Slime has got to be one of the most popular science activities!
• Orange Volcanoes from The Art Kit
  This is a fun science experiment using simple ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen
• Borax Crystal Flowers from Go Science Kids.
  Grow some gorgeous crystal flowers!
• Fireworks in a Cup Science Experiment from Hands On Teaching Ideas.
  This is a simple but super cool science experiment for kids to try.
• Color Changing Flower Experiment for Kids from Kindergarten Worksheets and Games.
  With the right materials, you can make a flower turn any color you like!
• Rainbow Magic Milk Experiment from Childhood101.
  This is a super cool experiment that you have to try!
• Melting Crayon Science Experiment from Creative Family Fun.
  Recycle old crayons into new ones in this summer science experiment.
• Scented Rainbow Science from Fun A Day.
  This colorful activity combines sensory play and science!
• Ice Cream in a Bag Science Experiment from 123 Homeschool 4 Me.
  Learn all about the science of freezing with this delicious experiment.
• Rainbow Walking Water Science Experiment from Messy Little Monster.
  Learn about absorption and color mixing with this project, and there is
  a great free printable to go with it.
• Beautiful Chromatography Flowers Science Project
• Amazing Color Changing Playdough
• Dancing Hearts Science Experiment for Kids
• Colorful Polymer Chemistry Experiment
• Colorful Oil and Water Science Experiment

STEM Technology Activities

Technology is more than just playing computer games, technology based STEM projects encourage kids to find out how tech works, and use it to explore and create.

• Code our Name in Jewelery from Mama Smiles.
  Introduce kids to binary code by teaching them to code their names.
• How to Make Simple Hexbug Drawbots from Picklebums
  Make three simple drawbots with this fun activity.
• Easy Play Dough Circuits from 123 Homeschool 4 Me.
  Learn about electricity with this fun hands on activity.
• Coding Binary Alphabet with LEGO from Mombrite.
  Learn the basics of coding with Legos.
• How to Draw a Cat using an Algorithm from JDaniel4’s Mom.
  These printable worksheets are a fun way to learn about coding and algorithms.
• Coding a Lego Maze from Research Parent.
  This activity helps your kids to learn to think like a programmer.
• DIY Noodle Robots from Teach Preschool.
  Learn how to make these cute, moving, pool noodle robots.
• Scrub Brush Robot from Lemon Lime Adventures.
  Turn a scrubbing brush into a moving robot!
• Super Hero Computer Coding Game Without a Computer from Little Bins for Little Hands.
  You don’t need a computer to learn about computer coding!
• Birthday Coding Bracelet

STEM Engineering Projects

Engineering is all about how things are built and how they work. Kids will love building, tinkering and learning about how these engineering projects work.

• Egg Drop Project from Buggy and Buddy.
  Challenge your kids to design and build something that will protect a raw egg from a high fall.
• Water Bottle Fountain from Learn With Play at Home.
  Build a fountain from a water bottle and find out how it works.
• Funicular Trains: Pulleys for Kids from Team Cartwright.
  A funicular is like a cable car, and you can build one with a few items
  and learn about simple machines and physics.
• Stick Raft Building from STEM Project from Kids’ Craft Room.
  Challenge your kids to build a raft that really floats, then see how much weight each raft can carry.
• Marbles and Playdough STEM Challenge from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls.
  Can you design and build a marble run out of playdough? There are cool
  ideas in this article.
• Rubber Band Helicopter STEM Activity from Mama Smiles.
  Design and construct a helicopter that flies.
• Candy and Simple Machine Science Project
• Balloon-Powered LEGO Boat from Mombrite.
  Can you design a boat out of Lego and power it with a balloon?
• Paper Building Blocks from Babble Dabble Do.
  These simple paper building blocks are a great way to demonstrate engineering for kids
• DIY Solar Oven from The Craft Train.
  Build a solar oven from a cardboard box and recycle your old crayons.
• Build a Rube Goldberg Machine from Tinkerlab.
  Find out what a Rube Goldberg machine is and have lots of fun building one.
• Sandcastle Engineering using cardboard rolls
• Practical Engineering Challenge with Apples
• Easy LEGO DIY Zipline

Math STEM Activities

There is so much more to math than just numbers on a page. These hands-on math based STEM activities show kids that math is all around us!

• Watermelon Seed Spitting Math Game from STEAMsational.
  This is the perfect summer STEM math activity.
• Lego Challenge Math Activity from Buggy and Buddy.
  There is a great printable to go with this activity that encourages lots of scientific thinking.
• How to Make a LEGO Plinko Board from Mombrite.
  This is a fun building challenge that also teaches about probability!
• Build a Snowflake- Winter STEM from Fun a Day.
  Learn about symmetry and shapes while creating this gorgeous snowflake.
• Building Shapes with Marshmallows from Homeschool Preschool.
  Learn about 2D shapes with this fun activity.
• Making Platonic Solids with Straws and Pipecleaners from Teach Beside Me.
  Learn all about these 3D shapes by building them.
• Lego Math Challenge Cards from Little Bins for Little Hands.
  These printable challenge cards are great for practicing problem solving skills.
• Build Math Patterns with LEGO Bricks from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls.
  Challenge your kids to express a mathematical pattern with LEGO bricks.

STEM Ideas

If your kids love these STEM projects they might just be our next generation of scientists, engineers, inventors, and problem solvers!