100 STEM Projects for Kids & Teens of All Kinds
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STEM. It seems like that acronym is everywhere and people are all about it. Super-hyped.
I’m not a big fan of the buzzword, but I adore the building blocks of the concept.
100 STEM Activities for Kids & Teens of All Kinds is a comprehensive, annotated list of most of the STEM content here at Blog, She Wrote.
Plus, I’ve curated some great content from other bloggers where noted.
The activities are broken into categories for easier reference. It’s time to get started!
Biology Activities for STEM
Observing Onion Cells– a lab which teaches kids how to observe an onion cell under the microscope.
Tips for Using a Digital Microscope– Have you ever used a digital microscope or are you thinking of getting one? This post explains the advantages and any disadvantages.
The Snake Project– a year long study of biology through the lens of snake anatomy and physiology in a project based format
Entomology the Science of Insects– An introduction to entomology and how to get started on your own insect collection.
Must Have Equipment for Entomology– a list of the equipment you’ll need to do your own insect collection and where to find it.
Best Practices for Collecting Insects– How to collect insect specimens of all kinds
Best Practices for Pinning Insects– Once you have your insects, how do you pin them correctly? There are rules to follow in order for your collection to be precise.
Tips for an Excellent Insect Display– The final touch of labeling your pinned insects
How to Determine the Frequency of a Trait– a lab to see the Hardy-Weinberg Principle in action. How often to traits show up in a population.
Activities & Pages for Gregor Mendel The Friar Who Grew Peas– Notebook pages and activities to go with a study on genetics and Gregor Mendel
Measuring Lung Capacity– a lab demonstrating human lung capacity and the factors that can affect it.
Adventures with Insects & Critters– Ideas for learning about small creatures
Gardening as a Tool for Teaching Science– Do you garden or have you wanted to start one? This is a post all about using the garden as a science teaching tool in your homeschool.
Geography Quest Shark Edition– Learn all about sharks with summer shark week. Lots of great shark resources here.
Maple Sugaring at Home– Select your maple and learn about the sugaring process.
How to Make Maple Syrup from Tapping to Boiling and Everything in Between– A tutorial on making maple syrup. Great fun and not as hard as it would seem.
Geography Quest Snake Pit Edition– Learn about all things snakes in this all in one lesson.
Geography Quest Forest Edition– Learn about forest habitat in the United States and around the world
Amphibians & Reptiles with The Salamander Room– Activities to go with the book on these animals along with games on classification.
Illustrating the Human Body– incorporating art into your study of the human body with scientific illustrating
Plankton Studies– activities and a TED talk on bioluminescence
Nature STEM Activities
Tips for Botanical Illustrating– A how to on drawing plants
How to Make a Plant Journal– make a handbound book and draw your plant observations inside
January Nature Journal Calendar– Nature observations for the month of January
February Nature Journal Calendar
August Nature Journal Calendar
September Nature Journal Calendar
October Nature Journal Calendar
November Nature Journal Calendar
December Nature Journal Calendar
Implementing a Nature Study Watch Your Own Backyard– How to make nature study happen in the world right around you.
Geography Quest Great Backyard Bird Count Edition– How to participate in this annual birding activity with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
How to Incorporate Nature Study into Your Academic Routine– Ideas for using nature study in your homeschool
How to Find & Collect Animal Tracks– Have you ever casted a track? Try this activity.
Geography Quest Fall Foliage Treasure Hunt– Find out how climate and tree species affect the fall leaf viewing season
Geography Quest Bird Migration Edition– Observe birds on the move and learn where they go around the world
John James Audubon Nature Notebooking & Bird Study– from Harrington Harmonies
Wildflower Pressing & Identification– an adventure all things flowers
Physics STEM Activities
Calculating Density– a lab demonstrating how to find mass and volume in order to calculate the density of various objects.
Bus Routes and Google Maps Teach Physics– Use simple routes and maps to learn physics
The Art & Science of Rube Goldberg– from Eva Varga. Make your own Rube Goldberg machine
Sewing Machine Unit Study– a unit study on how various types of sewing machines work from mechanical to computerized models.
Measuring the Velocity of a Marble– How to set up an experiment to determine the speed of a marble
More on Calculating Velocity– the results of the first experiment in velocity and directions on the calculations
Earth Science STEM Activities
Trail Planning Using Topographic Quadrangle Maps– Plan a recreation trail by reading and interpreting a USGS topographic map.
Teaching Geography with Earth Science– How to combine and physical geography and earth science which go hand in hand.
Sea Floor Spreading– build a paper model to illustrate the convection and subduction of the ocean floor
How to Use Google Earth– a how to tutorial of sorts on how to use Google Earth and activities you can use with it.
Geography Quest Hurricane Tracking Edition– Track hurricanes like a meteorologist with this quest
Geography Quest Great Lake Ice Edition– When and where does the ice form on the Great Lakes and how does that affect habitat and commerce?
Geography Quest Mountain Edition– How mountains are formed and where they are located around the globe
Geography Quest El Niño Edition– Learn about this weather phenomenon that affects weather far away
Weather Stations & Forecasting– Set up your own weather station, observe and record data, and forecast the weather based on data collected.
Exploring Oceanography in Your Homeschool– Activities for a study of our earth’s oceans
Chemistry STEM Activities
Adventures in Chemistry– an adventure box theme around chemistry and short how to on flame testing gases.
Flower Chromatography & Calculating Molecular Weight– Using daisies to take up dye and a discussion on how it works and calculating molecular weight of compounds.
Dyeing Yarn with Easter Egg Dye– How to use wool yarn and Easter egg dye tablets to dye yarn
Make a Batik– How to dye using a wax resist.
Oxidation and Reduction Experiment– from The Homeschool Scientist
Testing for Starch– an experiment using various household solutions and items to test them for the presence of starch using iodine.
Observing Salt Crystals– evaporate salt water and observe the crystals left behind (a go along for How to Make an Apple Pie & See the World)
Acid/Base Chemistry– Using a cabbage juice indicator to test for acids and bases
Periodic Table of the Elements Activity with Cookies– from Harrington Harmonies
Polymers are Cool: Three Recipes for Middle School– from Eva Varga
Popcorn Pop Off– A fair test our kids developed to test flavor and volume of popcorn varieties.
Popcorn Pop Off Results– the conclusion of the experiment where we calculate the volume of the popped corn.
Engineering STEM Activities
35 Shows for STEM– a listing of shows on STEM topics
Gifts for a Future Engineer– a list of engaging books on all things engineering for kids
100 Engineering Projects for Kids– from The Homeschool Scientist
Engineering Challenge Ideas– from The Homeschool Scientist
Technology STEM Activities
Make a Marble Speed Trap with Mindstorms– How to use your Mindstorm kit to make a speed trap for a marble.
How to Make a You Tube Playlist– for moms, teens, and kids
Math STEM Activities
The Making of a Wizard & the Crafty Side of Math– How to thrive at math with a creative person.
Math Journaling in Homeschool Math– Do you use journaling with your math studies? Ideas for journaling opportunities
High School Math Problem Calendars– from Partially Derivative. Great for daily math problems.
Yummy Math– It was tough to choose just one activity from this site. I could post nearly all of them! If you want math projects that have to do with what’s going on in the world right now, visit this site.
Are you inspired to break out the supplies and try out a STEM project?
Make sure to keep this list handy the next time you need some STEM time!
Free STEM Activity Cards for Teens
Subscribe and get a set of 12 STEM Activity/Task Cards for Teens.
The cards include task and activities from:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Earth Science
- Engineering
- Math
They are designed to be stand alone activities for your teens to work alone or in teams.
If you sign up, you’ll receive the 12 card set along with support for implementing Homeschooling High School STEM.
Other bloggers from the iHN are sharing 100 Things lists today. Be sure to check out the other lists!
This is a perfect list to go along with my STEM Challenge co-op class. Thank you so much!
Wow great Iist of STEM activities, some I never even thought of before. Thank you for sharing .
Such a great list of activities and ideas; shared through a few different social media sites!
Thanks for sharing!