10 Exciting STEM Activities That Will Spark Your Child’s Passion for Science, Technology, Engineering & Math
- Parents, Teachers
- February 7, 2025
Got a curious little explorer at home? STEM activities for kids are one of the best ways to spark their love for learning while sharpening their problem-solving skills. When kids dive into science, technology, engineering, and math early on, they develop creativity, critical thinking, and a natural curiosity that sticks with them for life.
And the best part? Learning doesn’t have to be boring! These hands-on stem activities turn everyday moments into exciting experiments, cool discoveries, and “aha!” moments.
Whether your child loves building, experimenting, or just asking why a hundred times a day, these fun and educational projects will keep them engaged and eager to explore the world around them.
Ready to get started? Here are ten exciting STEM activities for kids to try at home!
1. Lemon Volcano: Eruption of Chemistry
Who says chemistry can’t be explosive? In this fun experiment, you’ll create a mini “volcano” in your kitchen using a simple lemon. It’s a perfect way to show how chemical reactions work, and it’s sure to leave your little scientist wide-eyed with amazement as they watch the fizzy eruption unfold!
- What you’ll need: Lemons, baking soda, food colouring (get creative with vibrant colours!), a shallow dish, and a spoon.
- The Experiment: Cut the top off a lemon and place it in the dish. Add a few tablespoons of baking soda and a few drops of food colouring. Mix it all together and watch the magic happen! The mixture will fizz and foam, mimicking a volcanic eruption.
- The Science: This experiment demonstrates the reaction between an acid (lemon juice) and a base (baking soda). The release of carbon dioxide gas causes the fizzing. Talk to your kids about acids and bases simply – it’s a great way to introduce them to introductory chemistry concepts.
- Bonus Fun: Try experimenting with different types of citrus fruits or varying the amounts of baking soda to see how it affects the eruption.
You can check out this video to see it in action:
2. Build a Balloon-Powered Car
Ready to build a vehicle powered by nothing but air? This project is a fantastic way to explore physics principles in a fun and engagingly.
- What you’ll need: Balloons, straws, cardboard, tape or glue, scissors, and wheels (you can use bottle caps or even LEGO wheels).
- The Build: Construct a simple car body from cardboard. Attach straws as axles and add your wheels. Inflate a balloon and attach it to the back of the car. Release the balloon and watch your car zoom across the floor!
- The Physics: This project demonstrates Newton’s Third Law of Motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The air rushing out of the balloon pushes the car forward. Discuss concepts like propulsion, aerodynamics, and friction with your kids.
- Challenge: Hold races to see whose car travels the farthest or design different car models to see how it affects their speed and distance.
3. Create a DIY Water Filter
This project is not only educational but also incredibly relevant to real-world issues. It’s a great way to teach kids about the importance of clean water and the science behind filtration.
- What you’ll need: A plastic bottle (cut in half), sand, gravel, activated charcoal (you can find this at pet stores or online), coffee filters or cheesecloth, and muddy water.
- The Filtration: Layer the sand, gravel and activated charcoal in the bottom half of the plastic bottle, placing the coffee filter or cheesecloth on top. Pour the muddy water through the filter and observe how it becomes cleaner.
- The Science: This project demonstrates how different materials can filter out impurities from water. Discuss the water cycle and the importance of access to clean water worldwide.
- Real-World Connection: Talk about how water filtration systems work in our communities and how we can conserve water.
4. Paper Circuit Boards
Paper circuits are a fun way to blend creativity with the basics of electronics. Kids can design their own colourful, interactive artwork that lights up while learning about circuits and energy flow.
- What you’ll need: Copper tape, LED lights, coin cell batteries, paper or cardstock, and scissors.
- The Circuit: Use copper tape to create pathways on the paper, then attach an LED light and a battery to complete the circuit. Watch as your designs light up!
- The Technology: This project introduces the concepts of circuits, conductivity, and energy flow. It’s a hands-on way to spark interest in electronics.
- Creative Sparks: Encourage kids to design their own light-up greeting cards, artwork, or even games using the circuits. For a deeper dive into tech, you can even explore basic coding by programming LEDs to flash in patterns with a simple microcontroller like an Arduino.
5. Egg Drop Challenge
Can you protect an egg from a fall? This classic challenge is a fantastic way to introduce kids to the engineering design process.
- What you’ll need: Eggs, various materials (straws, cotton balls, bubble wrap, tape, cardboard – let your kids get creative!), and a tall dropping point (a balcony or staircase works well).
- The Challenge: Challenge your kids to design a contraption that will protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a height.
- The Engineering: This activity encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Kids will learn about impact resistance, design optimisation, and the importance of testing and refining their designs.
- Post-Drop Analysis: After the egg drop, discuss what worked well and what could be improved in each design. This is a crucial part of the engineering process!
6. Nature Scavenger Hunt
Get your kids outside and engage them with the natural world through a fun and educational scavenger hunt! This activity is perfect for building observation skills while learning about nature’s science.
- What you’ll need: A list of items to find (leaves, flowers, insects, rocks, etc.), a magnifying glass (optional), and a notebook and pencil for recording their findings.
- The Hunt: Create a list of natural items to find in your backyard, local park, or nature trail. Each item on the list can be linked to a different STEM concept—like the structure of leaves (biology), types of rocks (geology), or insect behaviours (ecology).
- The Exploration: This activity encourages kids to observe nature through a scientific lens, helping them recognise ecosystem patterns and understand the role of different species. It also teaches them about classification, the environment, and the importance of conservation.
- Learning Beyond the List: As your kids find items on their list, dive deeper into topics like plant life cycles, animal habitats, or even simple data collection (recording findings in a notebook or chart). This hands-on exploration is a perfect way to spark an interest in the scientific method!
7. Build Your Own Robot
Robotics is a fascinating field that combines engineering, technology, and creativity. Even simple robotics projects can spark a lifelong interest in STEM.
- What you’ll need: Simple robotics kits (there are many affordable options available) or recycled materials (cardboard boxes, old toys, etc.), motors, and sensors.
- The Build: Help your kids design and build their own robots. They can learn about programming logic as they code their robots’ movements or responses to stimuli.
- The Innovation: Encourage creativity by letting your kids design a robot for a specific purpose, like a mini robot that carries small objects or a “bot” that can respond to sound or light. They can experiment with different designs and see how small changes affect the robot’s actions.
8. Math in the Kitchen: Cooking with Fractions
Who knew that math could be so delicious? Cooking is a fantastic way to make math concepts like fractions and measurements come to life.
- What you’ll need: Recipes requiring precise measurements (cookies, pancakes, cakes – endless possibilities are endless!).
- The Math: Involve your kids in measuring ingredients, discussing how doubling or halving recipes involves fractions, and exploring the relationships between different units of measurement.
- The Fun: The best part? You get to enjoy the delicious results of your math experiments!
9. Create a Weather Station
Track the weather like a pro with your own DIY weather station! This project is a great way to introduce kids to meteorology and data collection.
- What you’ll need: A thermometer, a rain gauge (you can easily make one from a plastic bottle), and a notebook and pencil for recording weather data.
- The Science: Help your kids set up their weather stations and track daily weather changes. They can record temperature, rainfall, wind speed (you can make a simple anemometer), and other weather conditions.
- Data Analysis: Encourage them to create graphs based on their findings. This is a great way to integrate math with science.
Experience the Wonders of Science with Viva’s New Direction Series!
At Viva Education, we believe that sparking a child’s curiosity about the world is one of our greatest gifts. That endless “why?” phase—those questions about how things work—lays the foundation for a lifelong love of learning. And nurturing that curiosity from an early age is crucial when it comes to science.
That’s why we created the New Direction Science series for Classes 1 to 8, designed to inspire young learners through engaging content and hands-on activities. Children develop scientific thinking, logical reasoning, and problem-solving skills through interactive explanations, practical experiments, and STEM-based learning. The series makes learning fun while connecting concepts to real life.
Activities linked to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) build environmental awareness, and integrating computer studies, AI, and the arts ensures a well-rounded education for the future.
To check out the series, click here!
Nurturing Future Innovators
These hands-on stem projects are powerful tools for building critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and a lasting passion for learning. By engaging in these projects, children develop the mindset to tackle future challenges and contribute to the world around them.
STEM learning is a journey, and with the right encouragement and guidance, your child will understand key concepts and become excited to explore the world of science, technology, engineering, and math. At Viva Education, we are committed to providing resources that support this journey and inspire young minds to think creatively and critically.
So, gather your materials, get started with these fun projects, and let your child’s curiosity flourish. STEM is all around us—let’s inspire the next generation of innovators with Viva Education.
