Halloween is the holiday for all sorts of fun activities, from trick-or-treating, to pumpkin carving and costume challenges. It’s also the perfect time to do STEP based experiments that are suitable classroom activities or fun at-home craft for the whole family. To help you celebrate this festive holiday, Wiziya has created this science experiment guide which requires low-cost household items that can easily be found in your kitchen, in a craft store or on Amazon.
We hope you will enjoy this fun guide of Halloween themed STEM activities for all ages.
Engineering
Photo by Teachers Are Terrific-TPT.
This engineering challenge requires students to use their problem solving skills to design and build a pumpkin elevator which attempts to lift items. The lifting system is made using a turning handle to move the elevator to the top and safely release it. For an easier project, the cranking system can be omitted. You can use typical household or recyclable items such as rubber bands, boxes etc.
Chemistry
Photo by Literacy Lattes.
Halloween is not Halloween without candy. So why not conduct a chemical experiment to make it dissolve? Try this inexpensive chemical reaction experiment using candy corn to learn about isolated variables. This creepy chemistry experiment teaches students to record their observations while eating their mouthwatering candy. All that’s needed for this activity are a few things from your kitchen and your favorite candy.
Chemistry
Photo by Little Bins For Little Hands.
What’s cooking in the witch’s cauldron? A fluffy purple slime with spiders creeping out. Making slime is a fun way to learn about a range of chemical concept that includes mixtures, cross-linking, viscosity, states of matter etc. All you need is some Elmer’s glue, shaving cream, food coloring, baking soda and saline solution to make this non-newtonian fluid flow down the cauldron!
Physics
Photo by Little Bins For Little Hands.
Did you know that pumpkins can be used as batteries to power clocks? When two pumpkins are connected by conducting wires, the pumpkins convert chemical energy into electrical energy, allowing the electrical current to flow between the wires. This current powers the clock attached in this electrical system. To conduct this experiment, you’d need two small pumpkins and a potato science kit.
Math
Photo by Woojr.
Try these Halloween tangram printables for a fun math brain teaser. Every puzzle piece fits into the shapes outlined on the sheet. To play, you need to figure out how to move and rotate the shapes and find how they fit. This Here are 9 Halloween tangram puzzles. Play by figuring out how every tangram puzzle piece fits into the outlined shapes on the page.
Physics
Photo by Steam Powered Family.
This experiment lets you explore the properties of magnetism. All you need is some basic household items such as a tissue paper, paperclips, tape, fishing line, craft sticks and magnets. You will need to build a magnet rod that will cause the tissue paper to fly. By moving the rod using the right technique you will create the effect of a moving ghost.
Physics
Photo by Steam Powered Family.
What better way to enjoy Halloween then with an exciting balloon race! Explore Newton’s Laws of Motion as you’re having a blast racing. This super simple set up can be used in the classroom or at home. Students will learn that the movement of the balloon depends on the amount of air inside the balloon and the decoration of the balloon. All you need is some Halloween balloons and typical school supplies.
We hope this 7-day Halloween STEM challenge fills your classroom, tutoring session and home with spooky-wooky, creepy-crawly fun. If you try these activities, share a picture with us on social media using the hashtag #wiziya.
If you like this post on 7-day Halloween STEM challenge, share it with your friends and family:
Paul is an art tutor at Wiziya. He has an M.A. in Printmaking from ENS France and a teaching certificate from San Fransisco State University. He is specialized to teach digital art and printmaking at high school and college level, and he also teaches art theory and history to beginner level students. To learn more about Paul, check out his profile page.
There is a strange superstition, that if a candle burns a blue flame on Halloween, a ghost might be haunting it...
Is there a ghost in your candle?
