35 Fun STEAM And STEM Activities for Homeschooling Kids

Hands-on learning made fun with 35 creative STEAM and STEM activities for homeschooling kids. Explore science, technology, engineering, art, and math through exciting projects.

As parents, especially homeschooling ones, you’re always on the lookout for creative ways to keep your kids engaged, learning, and growing. Enter STEAM and STEM activities—an incredible combination of fun and educational experiences that help nurture a child’s natural curiosity. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) activities blend these critical fields to provide children with a more holistic approach to problem-solving and exploration.

Why are STEAM and STEM activities so important? Not only do they help kids develop a wide range of skills—from critical thinking and creativity to collaboration and technical know-how—but they also make learning hands-on and enjoyable. For homeschooling parents, this is a golden opportunity to bring science and math to life while ensuring that your child remains curious, engaged, and inspired.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through 35 incredible STEAM and STEM activities you can do with your homeschooling kids. These activities are simple to set up, packed with learning potential, and incredibly fun. 

35 Incredible STEAM And STEM Activities for Your Homeschooling Kids

Here are these:

1. DIY Volcano

Creating a DIY volcano is a perfect way to introduce your kids to chemistry in a fun and explosive manner. You only need baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, and a plastic bottle or volcano mold. Let your child pour baking soda into the “volcano” and then add vinegar mixed with food coloring. Watch as the chemical reaction causes an eruption—teaching them the basics of acids, bases, and reactions.

2. Build a Simple Circuit

Introduce your kids to the basics of electricity by building a simple circuit. All you need is a battery, some copper wires, and an LED light. Help them connect the wires to the battery and LED to create a complete circuit. This activity opens up discussions about energy flow, conductivity, and how electricity powers devices in our homes.

3. Paper Tower Challenge

This engineering activity is great for testing creativity and problem-solving. Challenge your child to build the tallest tower possible using only paper and tape. Encourage them to think about structure and balance. Once they’ve built their tower, discuss which design choices made the tower sturdier or weaker—giving them insights into architectural principles.

4. Grow Your Own Crystals

Growing crystals introduces chemistry in an incredibly engaging way. Using just water, sugar, or salt, have your child dissolve the substance in hot water and let the solution sit. Over the course of several days, they’ll watch as crystals slowly form. It’s a lesson in molecular structure, patience, and the scientific method.

5. Egg Drop Experiment

The egg drop experiment is a classic STEM activity that teaches kids about physics and engineering. Challenge them to create a protective container for an egg using household materials (e.g., cotton balls, cardboard, and plastic). Once their creation is ready, drop the egg from a height. Did it survive? If not, what could they change to improve their design?

6. Balloon-Powered Car

This activity brings together engineering and physics. Help your child build a small car using recycled materials like straws, plastic bottle caps, and a balloon. The balloon acts as the propulsion system; when released, the air pushes the car forward. It’s a fun way to explore propulsion, forces, and motion.

7. Homemade Slime

Making slime is one of the most popular STEAM activities for kids because it combines chemistry with creativity. All you need is glue, water, baking soda, and contact solution. Mix them together, and let your child experiment with different consistencies. Explain the chemistry behind how the ingredients bond to create a polymer.

8. DIY Water Filter

Teach your kids about environmental science by making a water filter. Using sand, gravel, and activated charcoal, layer them in a plastic bottle. Pour dirty water through the filter, and watch as clean water comes out the other end. This is a fantastic way to explain filtration and the importance of clean water.

9. Catapult Construction

Catapults are an excellent way to dive into engineering and physics. Using popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and a spoon, help your child build a small catapult. Let them experiment with different designs and measure how far they can launch objects like marshmallows or pom-poms. It’s a hands-on way to teach tension, force, and trajectory.

10. LEGO Building Challenge

LEGO is a fantastic tool for STEAM and STEM learning. Set up specific building challenges—like constructing a bridge that can hold weight or a maze for a marble. These tasks foster problem-solving and creativity while introducing basic engineering principles.

11. Straw Rocket Launchers

Build simple rockets using straws, paper, and tape. Attach fins to the rocket, and then launch it by blowing air through a straw. This is a great opportunity to discuss aerodynamics, gravity, and propulsion. For extra fun, measure how far each rocket flies and explore how different designs affect the flight distance.

12. Solar Oven S’mores

Harness the power of the sun by building a solar oven from a pizza box, foil, and plastic wrap. Let your kids make s’mores in the oven, teaching them about solar energy and heat transfer. This tasty experiment combines engineering with environmental science and makes for a delicious reward at the end.

13. Nature Scavenger Hunt

Incorporate both science and art into this fun outdoor activity. Create a list of natural objects for your kids to find, like different types of leaves, rocks, or insects. Once they’ve collected their items, discuss the biology of what they’ve found. You can also encourage them to create nature-inspired art using their collected materials.

14. Paper Airplane Competition

Paper airplanes are a simple but effective way to teach your kids about aerodynamics. Have them fold different designs and test which one flies the farthest or stays in the air the longest. Afterward, discuss how changes in the wings, body, and weight distribution affect flight performance.

15. Magnetic Slime

Take regular slime to the next level by adding iron filings. This makes the slime magnetic. Give your child a magnet, and let them explore how it interacts with the slime. It’s an engaging way to introduce the concept of magnetism and magnetic fields.

16. Bubble Geometry

Combine math, art, and science by making bubble wands in different geometric shapes using pipe cleaners. Let your kids dip them in bubble solution and observe the shapes that form. It’s a fascinating way to explore geometry and surface tension.

17. Plant Dissection

Dive into biology with a plant dissection activity. Grab a flower from your garden, and guide your child through identifying and dissecting its various parts—the petals, pistils, stamen, and more. This hands-on activity brings botany to life and helps kids understand plant anatomy.

18. Math Art with Tessellations

Tessellations are patterns made of repeated shapes that cover a surface without gaps. Challenge your child to create their own tessellations using shapes like triangles, squares, or hexagons. This activity helps them understand geometry, symmetry, and repetition while encouraging creativity.

19. Cloud in a Jar

Recreate the process of cloud formation in a jar using hot water, ice, and hairspray. Have your child observe how condensation forms a cloud-like mist inside the jar. It’s a simple, fun way to teach about weather, condensation, and the water cycle.

20. Bridge Building with Spaghetti

Challenge your kids to build a bridge using just spaghetti and marshmallows. The goal is to create a bridge that can support the most weight possible. This activity introduces them to engineering concepts like tension, balance, and load-bearing.

21. Stop-Motion Animation

Help your child create their own stop-motion animation using a smartphone or camera and everyday objects like toys or clay figures. This activity not only teaches technology and storytelling but also fosters patience, creativity, and attention to detail.

22. Marble Run Maze

Using cardboard, pool noodles, or any recycled materials, challenge your kids to build a marble maze. They’ll need to consider gravity, speed, and angles to create a successful run. This activity blends engineering with problem-solving and is endlessly entertaining.

23. Homemade Lava Lamp

Explore density and chemistry by making a lava lamp. Fill a bottle with water and oil, then add food coloring and an Alka-Seltzer tablet. Watch as bubbles form and move in the liquid, teaching your child about chemical reactions and the properties of liquids with different densities.

24. Rainbow Density Experiment

In this fun activity, layer liquids like honey, dish soap, water, and oil in a glass to create a rainbow of density layers. This is a visually stunning way to demonstrate how liquids with different densities stack atop each other. Have your child drop small objects into the layers to see how density affects their placement.

25. Wind-Powered Car

Design and build a car that’s powered by wind. Use recycled materials like paper, plastic, and cardboard, and attach a sail that catches the wind. Then blow air (or use a fan) to propel the car forward. This project introduces physics concepts like wind power, force, and motion.

26. Clay Stop-Motion Figures

Create clay figures with your child, and use them in a stop-motion animation. Clay is an excellent medium because it can be easily manipulated to create characters with expressive faces and movements. This activity mixes art with technology, encouraging storytelling and imagination.

27. Fruit Battery

In this experiment, use lemons (or other citrus fruits) as batteries. Stick a zinc nail and a copper coin into the lemon, ensuring they don’t touch. Connect wires to each metal piece and hook them up to a small LED light or clock. The citrus acid acts as an electrolyte, enabling the flow of electricity. This experiment demonstrates the basic principles of electrochemistry and is a fantastic introduction to renewable energy and electrical circuits.

28. Pendulum Painting

Pendulum painting combines physics and art in a visually captivating activity. Set up a pendulum by attaching a container filled with paint to a string and suspending it from a high point. Underneath, lay out a large piece of paper. Let the pendulum swing, and as it does, the paint will drip out, creating beautiful swirling patterns on the paper. Discuss how gravity and inertia influence the pendulum’s movement, making this a perfect lesson in physics and creativity.

29. Cardboard Automaton

A cardboard automaton is a simple mechanical device that moves in a repeated motion. Help your child design one using basic materials like cardboard, skewers, rubber bands, and glue. These automata often feature simple mechanisms like rotating cams or levers that trigger movement. It’s a fantastic introduction to mechanics, gears, and simple machines. Plus, your child will get to bring their design to life, creating a toy that moves.

30. Static Electricity Butterfly

This activity teaches your child about static electricity while engaging them with a cute butterfly craft. First, cut out a butterfly from tissue paper, and place it on a flat surface. Blow up a balloon and rub it against your hair or a wool cloth to generate static electricity. Hold the balloon near the butterfly without touching it and watch as the wings start to flap! This is a great way to show how static charges attract lightweight objects and make for an interactive lesson on electricity.

31. Glow-in-the-Dark Constellations

Glow-in-the-dark constellations allow kids to combine astronomy with creativity. Punch small holes in black construction paper to mimic different constellations, like Orion or the Big Dipper. Once completed, shine a flashlight behind the paper to project the constellation onto a wall. You can also use glow-in-the-dark stickers to replicate constellations on the ceiling of a dark room. This activity introduces kids to astronomy while sparking their interest in the stars and the night sky.

32. Homemade Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscopes are mesmerizing and easy to make. Use a cardboard tube (like a toilet paper roll) and line the inside with reflective paper or foil. Then, cut out small, colorful shapes from paper or plastic and place them at one end of the tube with a transparent covering. As your child looks through the other end and rotates the tube, the shapes will reflect and create beautiful, shifting patterns. This activity incorporates art, light, and symmetry, helping children understand reflection and angles.

33. Pom-Pom Launcher

Create a simple pom-pom launcher using a plastic cup and a balloon. Cut the bottom off the cup and stretch a balloon over the opening. Load a pom-pom into the cup, pull back on the balloon, and let it fly.  The launcher demonstrates principles of potential and kinetic energy. After your child has had some fun with it, you can discuss how the stretching of the balloon stores energy, which is then converted to motion energy when released.

34. Code Your Name in Binary

This computer science activity teaches kids how to write their names in binary code—the language of computers. Use beads, colored paper, or any small objects to represent binary digits (1s and 0s). Each letter of the alphabet can be translated into binary, so let your child create a binary “bracelet” or “necklace” spelling out their name. It’s a simple yet effective way to introduce the concept of digital information and how computers encode data.

35. Microscope Nature Study

A microscope opens up a whole new world for children to explore. Take them outside to collect small natural objects like leaves, flowers, or rocks. Bring the items back and examine them under a microscope. They’ll be amazed at the tiny details they’ve never noticed before. This activity teaches biology and encourages observation skills, while also sparking curiosity about the natural world.

Conclusion

With 35 exciting STEAM and STEM activities in your homeschooling toolkit, you’re now equipped to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment for your kids. These activities cover a wide range of subjects—from chemistry and physics to engineering, art, and technology—allowing your child to explore the interconnectedness of these fields in a hands-on and enjoyable way.

By incorporating STEAM and STEM activities into your homeschooling routine, you’re not only teaching valuable academic concepts but also fostering essential skills like problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. These are the very skills that children will need as they grow into tomorrow’s innovators, scientists, and thinkers.

The best part? These activities are easy to implement with everyday materials, making them perfect for busy homeschooling parents who want to bring educational play into their homes. Whether your child is building a volcano, launching a balloon-powered car, or coding their name in binary, they’ll be learning through play—an incredibly powerful tool for lasting knowledge.

So have fun, and watch as your child develops a passion for learning through these amazing STEAM and STEM activities.

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