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Get ready to dig into these hands-on fall STEM activities! Interesting, open-ended projects and experiments to get elementary-aged kids excited about science!
The change in seasons is the best time for observations and exploration. Your kids will use their senses to notice that thing are changing all around them!
The temperature feels different. The landscape looks different. You might hear or see different animals flying, crawling, or walking by. The air might even smell a little different… if you’re smelling very closely.
This is a great time to encourage our little scientists to really engage with nature. To explore the season and make those scientific observations!
Fall STEM Activities
If you’re familiar with STEM activities and projects, you probably know that STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
For autumn, I’ve rounded up 15 fall STEM activities that will allow your child to discover some of the magic of the changing season! You’ll find some hands-on nature exploration, experiments with fall foods, and some science exploration that you can take indoors when the weather gets chilly.
You’ll also see some links to other STEM posts, here in the Resource Room. So when your child gets hooked into a particular activity, you can expand on it and encourage them to delve deeper!
Check out these print-and-go activities for fall!
Click an image to learn more.
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1. Preserve Your Fall Leaves
Red Ted Art brings us six ways to preserve fall leaves. Try one or all of these methods to save those beautiful fall colors! Later, you can use your preserved leaves for fall crafts or decorations.
*Find fall crafts for kids of all ages on this post.
2. Fall Salt Leaves STEM Activity
Little Bins for Little Hands has a great idea for creating your own special fall leaves with this engaging salt crystal science experiment.
3. Popcorn and Salt Experiment
Awe Filled Homemaker brings us a super simple fall science experiment with popcorn and salt. A great last minute activity with materials you probably already have in your kitchen!
4. Nature Sun Catchers
Sixth Bloom brings us a fun project that brings art and science together! Collect natural materials around your home or in a park and make a beautiful fall sun catcher.
*Don’t miss our 31 days of FRIENDLY Halloween books for little kids!
5. Pumpkin Sensory Bags
Messy Little Monster brings us a no-mess activity for exploring the insides of your pumpkin. A great solution for kiddos who are anxious about touching the slimy material. Or another way to extend the life of your pumpkin exploration!
*This fall STEM activity is fantastic for preschoolers! Find more STEM activities for preschoolers on this post.
6. Pumpkin Math for Fall
Sixth Bloom reminds us that math can be fun in fall with this great pumpkin math activity.
If you don’t have mini pumpkins, consider bringing nature into your math lessons by using pumpkin seeds, acorns, leaves, or other natural fall materials as manipulatives and counters!
7. Fall Oozing Pumpkin STEM Activities
Team Cartwright brings us a fun fall STEM activity with oozing pumpkins! This experiment will take your run-of-the-mill baking soda and vinegar exploration to the next level!
*Don’t miss our favorite pumpkin books for fall!
8. Pumpkin Slime with a Real Pumpkin
Little Bins for Little Hands shows us a fun way to make slime right inside your pumpkin! A really fun chemistry experiment and new way to explore pumpkins with our senses.
*In love with pumpkin season? Check these pumpkin crafts.
9. Halloween Shooter Toys
Red Ted Art has a fun engineering project that your kids can play with for hours! Create these monster themed shooter toy craft and follow up with a competition. Track your distance to include math skills like measuring and comparing, too.
*Find more Halloween STEM Activities on this post.
10. Dancing Corn STEM Activities for Fall
HooplaKidzLab brings us easy to follow video directions for the classic dancing popcorn experiment. Watch with your kids to get a mini science lesson on what happens and why. Then try your own experiment!
Where to go next?
- 20 FUN Halloween STEM Activities
- 20 Thanksgiving STEM Activities
- Pumpkin Crafts for Kids
- 20 Fall Crafts for Kids of All Ages
- Thanksgiving Brain Breaks for Kids: 12 Energizing Activities!
Ashley helps parents who want to homeschool find the resources they need to successfully teach their children. Ashley is a former teacher, current homeschooler, published author, and designer behind Circle Time with Miss Fox printables as well as the creator of this website, The Homeschool Resource Room.
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