

Of course, after the initial investigation, the class can carve the pumpkin together and roast the seeds for a full afternoon of Halloween fun. Introduce the basics of scientific observation to your younger learners with this simple pumpkin investigation, which even includes a simple experiment testing whether your pumpkin sinks or floats. Once made, these simple toys are more than fun Halloween fidgeting tools: they accurately convey how muscles and tendons move muscles within the human body. Your students can play with skeletons in a biology or engineering class by making these paper, straw, and string articulated hands. These components aren’t just inexpensive: they’re able to produce a tremendous variety of structures, which means you can reward a variety of your students’ achievements, such as the strongest bridge, the most flexible bridge, and the bridge that can hold the most candy. lift –– as well as bat biology.īuilding a “bone” bridge out of q-tips, pipe cleaners, and clothespins offers your older students an in-depth, Halloween-themed structural engineering challenge that feels like holiday fun. But what about paper bats? Getting a heavier, less streamlined body to stay in the air offers your students a whole different engineering challenge, giving your class a chance to explore concepts like aerodynamics and weight vs. You’ve probably seen your students fly plenty of paper airplanes (with or without your permission). Encourage them to be inventive: no two spider webs in nature are the same, so their webs shouldn’t be the same either!

It gives you a chance to talk about these remarkable animals, their silk, and geometrical webs before your students get a chance to create their own designs.

Similarly, making spider webs out of yarn is more than a fun art activity to do during Halloween. Spiders may be creepy crawlies, but they are also master engineers. Several involve apples or pumpkins, which you can always incorporate into your lesson plans around Thanksgiving. If your school doesn’t celebrate Halloween, don’t worry – many of these activities work well in class apart from that holiday. You can find even more ideas on our Pinterest board. We’ve curated this list of Halloween-themed STEM activities to give you some easy and productive ways to make the holiday part of your curriculum, whether you’re teaching preschool, kindergarten, third, or even eighth grade. Of course, the best way to keep your students focused and learning during the lead up to trick-or-treat is to bring Halloween into the classroom. It’s hard for kids to contain their excitement as Halloween approaches.
