Thanksgiving Science Activities and Experiments

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I love the month of November. Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday!  We love all of the family fun, traditions and delicious food. But today, I want to share with you some hands-on Thanksgiving Science Activities and Experiments to do with your kids or in your classroom or at home during Thanksgiving break during the holiday season.

Thanksgiving Science Activities and Experiments

Most of these fun Thanksgiving science activities are food related and will tie into your baking and prepping your Thanksgiving meal during the month of November. Most of the supplies can be found at the grocery store.  There are a few non-food ones that are fun to try as well!  Listed below are a variety of activities that will be great for kids of all ages, young children and older children alike!

Thanksgiving Science Experiments With Food:

Try some cool science activities with a Thanksgiving theme!  Learn the fun science behind some of the ingredients and foods you eat for Thanksgiving dinner with these food science experiments. Turn your dinner into a lesson this year.

• Bread in a Bag: Do you love to eat rolls for Thanksgiving dinner?  Try this Yeast Bread in a Bag Experiment! This is a great activity to learn about how yeast works and how bread rises.

•  Butter in a Jar: We use a lot of butter on Thanksgiving- from the bread to the baked goods, it is a staple!  Try this Butter in a Jar Experiment and learn about physical changes. Watch as the cream changes states of matter from a liquid to a solid.  You can also make whipped cream this way! Just shake it less time and add sugar instead of salt.

• Apple Science Experiment: As you make your apple pies, test out this Apple Science Experiment to see what best prevents apples from browning.

• Try a Pie Crust Experiment to see which fat works best to make a flaky pie crust. It’s a fun activity that you can eat after!

• Make a Lemon Battery: Teach a little bit of chemistry as you make your lemon pie with this Lemon Battery Experiment!  Did you know you can use your food to create power?!  While you are at it, use the lemon juice (or cranberry juice) to write some secret messages!

• Comparing Squash: Try out some Squash Investigations– Put your taste buds to the test as you bake your squash!

• Pumpkin Learning: How does your Pumpkin Pie come to be?  Learn about Pumpkin Life Cycles!

• Build a Boat: Try making a boat like the Mayflower.  This is a great one for Thanksgiving STEM challenges. Give kids supplies and let them build their best version of the mayflower. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:  Viking Longship, Wooden raft out of popsicle sticks, Homemade Toy Rubber Band Boats out of cardboard and duct tape. Ok, This one isn’t food related, but still a fun Thanksgiving STEM activity!

• Leaf Science: It isn’t Thanksgiving season without some beautiful autumn leaves!  This is another non-food one, but tons of fun to do!  Try out this Leaf Chromatography Experiment and learn why fall leaves change colors.

• Make some Candy Corn Play Dough Slime: We all love having Candy Corn around at this time of year! Turn it into a play dough for this kids!

• Marshmallow STEM: Do you love marshmallows on your sweet potatoes or pies?  Try this marshmallow slime or build shapes with marshmallows!  We also love experimenting with growing marshmallows in the microwave. 🙂

• Spice Learning: Learn about the spices you use in your recipes with this Guess the Spice Activity.  This is a great one to learn and study about your sense of smell.
• Grow your own Sweet Potato Vines as you get your sweet potato casserole ready.  To do this experiment, just put a few toothpicks into the side of your sweet potato or yam. They need to be about 1/3 of the way down the potato. Put them into a jar of water. Let them sit for several week. You will need to refill the water from time to time. This one is still underway at our house, but I’ll share more about how our yams are growing soon enough!

• Fruit Enzymes: Learn about what fruits react to gelatin with this Fruit Enzymes Gelatin Experiment. Do you love to make Jello recipes with your Thanksgiving meal?  This is a fun experiment to tie into which fruits are good to use in your Jello.

I hope you’ve found something fun to add to your lesson plans this year!  Or maybe something to discuss around the Thanksgiving table at least.

See More Thanksgiving Activities and Teaching Ideas:

Thanksgiving Turkey Activity Pages
Thanksgiving Conversation Starters
5 Kernels of Corn Tradition for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Turkey Tag– both a craft and a game!
The Gratitude Game: Pick-Up Sticks