School is out and summer is here, which means it’s time for kids and teens to head outside for some summer fun! Even though students are taking a break from schoolwork and classes, it doesn’t mean they should stop learning. Whether they’re on vacation, hanging out at home, or relaxing with friends, youth can still be year-long learners.
To help you and your kids out, we’ve compiled a list of 5 Summer STEM Activities that are easy, educational, and fun! And best of all, most of these projects require materials you may already have at home. Have fun!
Make A Popsicle Stick Catapult 🎯
This exciting invention is perfect for young inventors and engineers! Our popsicle stick catapult project will teach you how to build a simple machine that launches objects! Grab some popsicle sticks, a rubber band, and a couple other items to put the catapult together, then go outside to see how far you can catapult various objects!
You can adjust your catapult to make it taller, larger, and stronger. Experiment with your own design to find out what works best! Just remember to be safe and never point your catapult at another person.
Materials needed:
- Popsicle sticks
- Wooden skewers
- Straw
- Rubber band
- Small plastic cup
- Scissors
- Masking tape
- Projectiles (something safe to launch)
Watch the full video tutorial below!
Design Your Own Kaleidoscope ✨
If you’ve ever looked through a kaleidoscope and wondered how those mirrored images are created, this is the perfect project for you! Kaleidoscopes use mirrors to reflect light off objects, which creates the interesting patterns you see when you look inside. For this fun STEM project, we show you how to use some household items to build and design your own kaleidoscope.
With just a few materials, you’ll have an impressive new kaleidoscope you can look through and show to your friends and family!
Materials needed:
- Cardboard tube
- Rubber bands
- Tape
- Ziploc bag
- Vellum or tracing paper
- Scissors
- Reflective cardstock
- Various small shiny objects
Watch the full video tutorial below!
Solve Logic Puzzles 🧩
Even without taking math classes over the summer, you can still keep your brain in shape by solving logic puzzles.
These challenging equations can help you boost brain activity, encourage systematic thinking, build confidence, and reduce boredom.
Not sure what logic puzzles are? We’ve got you covered! We’ll walk you through the process and challenge you to solve a puzzle on your own. Once you’ve got it down, you can make your own logic puzzles to share with others.
Watch the video tutorial below to learn how to solve logic puzzles!
Download the logic puzzles from the video:
Experiment With Skittles 🍬
For this Skittles experiment, all you need is a cup of water, a plate, and a bag of Skittles. That’s it! This experiment is a great way to learn about solubility. In this video, we show you how the dyes in the different colors of Skittles make patterns and shapes in the water. This effect occurs because the dyes are water soluble.
After you try out this experiment for yourself, you’ll probably even have some Skittles left over to eat!
Materials needed:
- Skittles
- Cup of water
- Plate
Watch the full video tutorial below!
Build A Bottle Rocket 🚀
Want an exciting, hands-on way to learn about force and motion? Check out our bottle rocket project! Making a bottle rocket will teach you all about Newton’s third law of motion: action and reaction. You’ll be able to see for yourself how water and compressed air react to each other to produce acceleration.
Bottle rockets are a lot of fun to make, but even more fun to launch into the sky!
Materials needed:
- Two-liter bottle
- Scissors
- Straw
- Cork
- Paperclip (or similar object)
- Air pump with needle
- Paper (or something else to decorate your rocket!)
- You’ll also need to create a launch pad for your rocket
Watch the full video tutorial below!
2 launch pad examples:
All 5 of our summer STEM activities offer the perfect blend of learning and fun! Kids can ignite their curiosity and creativity while developing essential science, technology, engineering, and math skills.
Happy summer!
