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Hands-On Learning Play Science Sensory Technology

20 Elementary STEM Science Projects

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This post may contain affiliate links.

Looking for some fun hands-on STEM education ideas? Need ideas for your next science fair project? Look no further! This is a round-up of 20 Elementary STEM science projects from my site. Check them out and try some for yourself!

For even more ideas, be sure to check out my 200+ Elementary STEM projects, for even more ideas!

 

Awesome Elementary STEM science Projects for Kids- Science experiments

20 Elementary STEM Science Projects

Elementary school is a fabulous time to introduce kids to tons of cool experiments. These STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) projects help them understand the world around them and learn how things work. The following projects include one or more of the STEM components to help you plan your next experiments and projects.

1.Dirt Battery Experiment– make a battery that lights up an LED light with dirt?! Cool.

2. Play Dough Human Anatomy– Build the human organs out of play dough with your kids.

3. Milk Cap Magnet Boats– Make these little magnetic boats out of milk caps to explore magnetism.

4. Water Clock– Learn how to build a water clock that keeps time.

5. Water Filtration Experiment– Make a simple filter to clean water.

6. Lemon Battery– Build a battery out of lemons, wire and nails!

7. Easy Engineering Experiment– Try this simple experiment with paper and pennies to learn what can hold more weight.

8. Solar Powered Lego Car– Build a car out of Legos and a solar panel that can actually go! Awesome.

9. Periodic Table Battleship– This is a game, but it teaches amazing science information as kids play!

10. Blooming Paper Flowers– This is one of my favorites- learn how water absorption affects paper and makes it move.

11. Green Eggs Chemistry Experiment– This simple chemical reaction turns eggs green- and they are still edible!

12. Lego Earthquake Experiment– Can you build a building out of Legos to withstand an earthquake?

13. Food Chemistry- Turn Juice into Solid– Try out this food science experiment to make gummy noodles out of juice & a few other ingredients.

14, Hold up Books with Paper– A roll of paper is stronger than you think! How many books will your tower hold?

15. Leaf Transpiration– Did you know leaves transpire, or sweat? Try this experiment out on a warm sunny day.

16. Insect Hotel– Make a home for bugs to come and stay, then observe their living patterns.

17. Rock Candy Geodes– These geodes are all edible and so much fun to make. Learn about real geodes and how they are formed in the process.

18. Star Viewer Craft– Learn about constellation and build your own star viewer!

19. States of Matter– Solids, liquids and gasses are an important topic to understand. This post has ideas for making this lesson fun!

20. DNA Teaching– Do you know how to extract DNA from food? Check this out and more in this post.

 

Science projects are some of my favorite things to do with my kids. Many of these science activities can be used in science fair projects, in STEM classes or just for fun learning activities at home. Older kids will love them, too. They are not all just for young kids!

How are you learning STEM with your kids? Learn more about How to Teach STEM & Why it Matters. What’s your favorite project?

I co-authored a STEAM book to help kids get excited about learning these important topics. Learn more about the STEAM Kids book HERE.

steam-kids-book

Find even more STEAM education ideas!

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The BEST Hands-On Math Supplies


98 Comments

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Comments

  1. Rebecca says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:19 am

    Thanks so much!

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:19 am

    I am new to homeschooling this year and I don’t know what we’ll be doing for a STEM program. My children love hands-on activities, so I know I need to figure something exciting out soon! I love your blogs and posts with ideas that I can use at home!

    Reply
  3. Sam says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:26 am

    I love STEM! Our favorite project so far has been creating rockets and roller coasters. With rockets each child was given one piece of paper and a roll of tape. The object of course was to make it fly. After some trial and error they did. There were a lot of great aha moments. With roller coasters they were gone foam pipe insulation cut in half, marbles and tape. Third goal was to create a coaster that had one loop and one jump where the marble landed in a bucket at the end. Lot of fun!

    Reply
  4. Diana M says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:28 am

    We love STEM projects here. Gak is always a favorite with the youngest. But my older two really enjoy physical engineering challenges, like boat or bridge building with limited materials. I love watching them be create.

    Reply
  5. Kyla Hughes says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:29 am

    We love marshmallow and toothpick STEM building challenges!

    Reply
  6. Traci K says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:31 am

    My son loves to take apart anything that doesn’t work. We try to figure out what the different parts do ( which is quite hard with some of the electronic items) but we have learned a lot. And even fixed a few things!

    Reply
  7. shelley says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:33 am

    We use a variety of blocks and craft materials regularly and come up with challenges as a family. We also have a science book of experiments that we like to pick from too.

    Reply
  8. Kendra Wright says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:39 am

    Where do you enter?

    Reply
    • Karyn Tripp says

      August 15, 2016 at 7:03 am

      SORRY!!!! My form wasn’t showing up. It is there now.

      Reply
  9. Stacey Ross says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:50 am

    One of my favorite STEM activities is creating square foot gardens with my children. Using a seed package can yield a wide variety of mathematic concepts. The square foot garden concept allows for measuring, adding, multiplication, and division– and al of this on top of the scientific nature gardening gifts children. Children use technology to plan the design, capture changes, and share their learning.

    Reply
  10. Renee says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:58 am

    Stem is such a great addition to homeschool. We like to incorporate art as well (steam). This year we will have weekly stem challenges. The kids will choose from a bin of pre prepped bags and complete the challenge inside.

    Reply
  11. Alyssa Ziegler says

    August 15, 2016 at 6:58 am

    I was teaching 5/6 science and math. I connected the two subjects and incorporated other subjects to create STEM projects. This past year we created gravity cruisers and presented our projects to the entire community. This year I was moved to 4th grade the week before school started! STEM is still something I want to incorporate so I am looking for new ideas for a different grade level.

    Reply
  12. Mary W says

    August 15, 2016 at 7:00 am

    Using an extra large suntan lotion bottle ( which I received from a friendly drug store display) we compared the size of items for a person who used a regular sized suntan bottle Most of which are are about one human hand tall. This introduced our nut on ratio and proportion. It also used estimation and opened their eyes to actual applications.

    Reply
  13. runak6 says

    August 15, 2016 at 7:38 am

    As we are entering this wonderful world of STEM in our homeschooling, I am so excited to have this opportunity to enter such an awesome give-away! Thank you thank you!

    Reply
  14. Becky says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:00 am

    Such great ideas. My guys love chemistry. Making bouncy balls and goop are a favorite. I need to try some of these other experiments.

    Reply
  15. Kelly Kiggins-Lund says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:21 am

    My favorite STEM based activities are biology and chemistry based. We’ve even done crime scene investigation science studies as my father is a retired police officer.

    Reply
  16. Danielle Evans says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:28 am

    I give a building challenge every day and that is our favorite stem activity!

    Reply
  17. Miranda says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:42 am

    I love having my students in eighth grade learn about velocity by building their own marshmallow guns using a variety of materials and then testing the effectiveness.

    Reply
  18. Sunnie says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:51 am

    I need help with stem, we don’t do it enough!

    Reply
  19. Andrea Peak says

    August 15, 2016 at 9:35 am

    Making a volcano is one of our favorites

    Reply
  20. becky says

    August 15, 2016 at 10:23 am

    We love to do anything related to physics. My kids had fun hitting a plate out from under an egg and watching the egg drop straight down into a cup of water.

    Reply
  21. AmyC says

    August 15, 2016 at 10:38 am

    We’ve really enjoyed garden projects this season. Music lessons are in their honeymoon stage & I’d be excited for ways to continue their enthusiasm. We’re looking into Rube Goldberg now! I’d love to play more games with our 7 & 10 year old kids.

    Reply
  22. Samantha L says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Dr. Bonyfide! Everything on my science list! Thank you!

    Reply
  23. Anne says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:12 am

    Love all of these, especially the solar-powered lego car!

    Reply
  24. Samantha L says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:23 am

    I pinned a STEM page from your site. Your jpg file won’t link and allow your giveaway to pin. Missing image?

    Reply
  25. Teri Knight says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:26 am

    What is your favorite STEM project to do with your kids/students? We are beginning to enjoy loads of stem activities. We have made a rocket and launched it, put together a jumping frog robot, and constructed bridges and volcanoes and towers. We are planning on adding a ton more stem activities this year as my kids have showed an incredible interest in these areas. This would be a terrific asset. Thanks for the opportunity.

    Reply
  26. Rebekah says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:26 am

    I’m totally new to this STEM concept, so I haven’t done any projects yet, but I’m looking forward to incorporating some this school year!

    Reply
  27. BunnyMom says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:33 am

    So many great experiments to choose from…..Lately we have been doing lots of exploding Chemistry on our Table of Science (said in a loud, booming voice!). Elephant toothpaste has been a HUGE hit!

    Reply
  28. Cheryle Smoot says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:57 am

    My boys love anything they can build/create with their hands. I am looking forward to seeing their minds blossom this year as we increase these kinds of projects.

    Reply
  29. Isa Melvin says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:58 am

    My boys love all types of robotics and putting together electrical components. However, I prefer life science projects so we mix up our activities to cover all types.

    Reply
  30. Rita says

    August 15, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    My favorite STEM projects are anything with legos.

    Reply
  31. Leigh says

    August 15, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Thanks

    Reply
  32. Erin says

    August 15, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    Our favorite STEM activity is making oobleck! Also, breaking open geodes!

    Reply
  33. Sasha says

    August 15, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    My boys love to work with the snap circuits, and Legos.

    Reply
  34. Jray Jhones says

    August 15, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    Love it

    Reply
  35. Mitzi Cline says

    August 15, 2016 at 2:03 pm

    I’m fairly new to science, but last year my 7th grader students loved making goop that was runny unless under impact. Probably their favorite!

    Reply
  36. Kate Johnston Tucker says

    August 15, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    My kids love hands on building activities. Legos, cubes, systems.

    Reply
  37. Angela Klenke says

    August 15, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    We have enjoyed gardening projects, along with many other projects.

    Reply
  38. Jennifer says

    August 15, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    SO we just organized my youngest rock collection into buckets on a toy shelf by type, color, etc. He now has his own geology station! One of my twins loves all things physics and experimented with flight one at science fair for his explanation of overcoming gravity. Basically, some people run, dance, read, paint……ummm… we science.

    Reply
    • Karyn Tripp says

      August 15, 2016 at 4:07 pm

      Haha!! I love this!!! We Science, too. 🙂

      Reply
  39. JOAnn Johnson says

    August 15, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    Love building roller coasters!

    Reply
  40. Yukendra says

    August 15, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    I don’t have a favorite, yet, but I’m looking forward to doing a sink/float activity that is connected to our summer book James and the Giant Peach!

    Reply
  41. D'vorah says

    August 15, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    Anything SCIENCE 😀

    Reply
  42. Dotty G says

    August 15, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    Great stuff.

    Reply
  43. Sally D says

    August 15, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    We haven’t done any STEM projects yet, just starting kindergarten this year!

    Reply
  44. Chrystal Stalzer says

    August 15, 2016 at 7:17 pm

    We love making volcanoes, but are kind of new to the STEM world. I am really looking forward to incorporating more in our home school this year. thanks for the opportunity to win!

    Reply
  45. Jessica Justice says

    August 15, 2016 at 7:36 pm

    We haven’t had the chance to do any STEM projects. Hoping to get started on some soon. This is my first year, and I’m still getting a feel for things.

    Reply
  46. Angie says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:09 pm

    My 6 year old daughter loves any hands on science experiment.

    Reply
  47. Dawn S. says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:30 pm

    Love science and can’t wait to get my student more involved.

    Reply
  48. VICKY BRAME says

    August 15, 2016 at 9:20 pm

    My kids love to play with polymers.

    Reply
  49. Amy says

    August 15, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    Volcanoes, explosions, etc.

    Reply
  50. HELOIZA CASTELLANA says

    August 15, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    Nice ideas!

    Reply
  51. Amber Green says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:13 pm

    We need to do more STEM projects! Our biggest thing right now is technology so we work on web design and making simple computer games.

    Reply
  52. Wendi B. says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:45 pm

    Anything involving Legos 😉

    Reply
  53. Debra Perez says

    August 16, 2016 at 7:28 am

    This is so exciting!! My kids love stem!!!!

    Reply
  54. Kristina U says

    August 16, 2016 at 9:28 am

    My kids love creating things with legos and snap circuits.

    Reply
  55. Tamara Hinkle says

    August 16, 2016 at 9:58 am

    All the things! All the books. 🙂 Ahhh!

    She reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live. -Annie Dillard

    Reply
  56. April says

    August 16, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    What is your favorite STEM project to do with your kids/students?

    Last school year we made a paper skeleton with the bones and organs. We learned a lot along the way and plan on putting “her” on poster board so we can refer back to what we learned.

    Thanks for the opportunity to enter this great giveaway!

    Reply
  57. andrea says

    August 16, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    STEM is new to me. Thank you for all the great ideas!

    Reply
  58. Terri Holbrook says

    August 16, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    Our favorite stem project so far has been the robotic fuel cell car that we made from a kit last year. This year we plan on building different types of bridges and seeing how they fare during earthquakes!

    Reply
  59. Darlene Hicks says

    August 16, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    Free periodic tables battleship? Free STEM giveaway? Yup, sign me up please!

    Reply
  60. Kelly M Barnett says

    August 16, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    My 10 year old is a budding engineer, this would be right up his alley.

    Reply
  61. Intisar Khanani says

    August 16, 2016 at 10:58 pm

    My kids are still young so we are very much still exploring STEM. They love building things – legos have been great, marble runs, etc. Still so much to discover, though!

    Reply
  62. Magda Miller says

    August 17, 2016 at 1:50 am

    We love science in our household 🙂 <3

    Reply
  63. Tonya says

    August 17, 2016 at 7:00 am

    Our co-op is doing a STEM class this year and my daughter is super excited. Science experiments is an area I struggle in teaching, so this could really help.

    Reply
  64. Danielle Hull says

    August 17, 2016 at 8:40 am

    The younger kids definitely enjoy the edible ones 🙂

    Reply
  65. Freda says

    August 17, 2016 at 10:13 am

    I’d love to get these items, to share in a coop setting I’m in as well as the fun I find in exploring in these ways with kids!

    Reply
  66. Robin E. says

    August 17, 2016 at 10:26 am

    My favorite STEM project to do with my kids is making and building stuff. Real stuff, not just projects I come up with. They design and build Lego, Minecraft, their own toys, forts, kites, coding, small engine repair, and so on.

    Reply
  67. Kyra c says

    August 17, 2016 at 10:45 am

    We love the experiments but I’m not sure if we have a favorite. Love anything with magnets.

    Reply
  68. Angel says

    August 17, 2016 at 11:08 am

    We love all science projects.

    Reply
  69. Amanda Adams says

    August 17, 2016 at 3:12 pm

    We are new to STEM but have done several experiments that are hands on that my boys love.

    Reply
  70. Kathy says

    August 17, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    My husband and son love doing projects together to see how things work!

    Reply
  71. Kim G. says

    August 17, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    Honestly I am new to this so I don’t have a favorite yet, but I see you have a lot of great ideas and I am book marking your site!!

    Reply
  72. Christy says

    August 17, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    We don’t have any one favorite, they just love anything science related!

    Reply
  73. Lise McGuinness says

    August 18, 2016 at 10:24 am

    My daughter’s favorite thing is “chemistry experiments” (i.e. a tray of many ingredients from the kitchen, with bowls for mixing and experimenting).

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply
  74. Julie P says

    August 18, 2016 at 11:03 am

    Our favorite activities are definitely building challenges.

    Reply
  75. Lynne B says

    August 18, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Circuits & robotics are favorites around here but regular sink volcanos never fail to please!

    Reply
  76. Shonnon says

    August 18, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    My 4 boys love any STEM project involving Lego or changing states of matter.

    Reply
  77. Lori H says

    August 18, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    Blocks and crafting.

    Reply
  78. Judith Martinez says

    August 18, 2016 at 7:48 pm

    We love to do kitchen science while cooking.

    Reply
  79. Rebecca Kvenvolden says

    August 18, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    i like playing stem like toys with the kids

    Reply
  80. Cathy Hall says

    August 19, 2016 at 12:17 am

    I am excited about beginning more STEM activities. We are new at homeschooling so just beginning to discover so much that we can do.

    Reply
  81. Melanie says

    August 19, 2016 at 6:03 am

    We need to do many more STEM projects. But we love anything volcano related and my boys build rockets with my husband and love that.

    Reply
  82. jessica medina says

    August 19, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    anything that explodes

    Reply
    • Karyn Tripp says

      August 19, 2016 at 3:48 pm

      I have to agree!! 🙂

      Reply
  83. Melinda says

    August 19, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    My boys love any STEM project that involves building, or making a mess. Volcano was their favorite last year 🙂

    Reply
  84. Lacey Carmichael says

    August 20, 2016 at 2:23 pm

    THe 3d pen looks neat. We are starting to homeschooling this year.

    Reply
  85. Lisa T. says

    August 20, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    Lego Physics Kits!

    Reply
  86. Tracey M says

    August 20, 2016 at 6:15 pm

    Volcano, solar oven, and slimy polymer experiments are her favorite STEM activities.

    Reply
  87. Lynna @ Homeschooling without Training Wheels says

    August 20, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    My kiddos and I recently read “String, Straightedge and Shadow” and experimented with dividing a circle into six segments with a compass!

    Reply
    • Karyn Tripp says

      August 21, 2016 at 6:46 am

      oh! I have not heard of that book! Off to check it out!

      Reply
  88. Connie Johnson says

    August 21, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    Last week it was nature study! Next week it might be physics! 🙂

    Reply
  89. Robin Walkington says

    August 21, 2016 at 3:32 pm

    We are working on chemisty this year. My daughter loves stem projects

    Reply
  90. Robyn says

    August 21, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    All of this looks pretty great. 🙂

    Reply
  91. Mindy says

    August 21, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    My kids like anything that explodes (the messier the better!) or flys.

    Reply
  92. Nicole Eisenman says

    August 21, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    I love doing snap circuit Jr. with my oldest.

    Reply
  93. Nicole Lancaster says

    August 22, 2016 at 11:57 am

    My favorite STEM project to do with kids is Fireworks In A Jar.

    Reply
  94. Julia Cosgrove says

    August 22, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    I love to do building challenges with my boys.

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Karyn.
I am a former teacher turned homeschool mom of four kids. I LOVE teaching! I believe learning should be enjoyable and engaging. My goal is to ease the burdens of educators by offering memorable learning activities.
Questions? Contact me here: karyn@teachbesideme.com
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