Summer STEM Activities

Summer is coming and that means we can take our learning outside with Summer STEM Activities! Nothing makes learning more exciting for my kids than learning outdoors. There’s something about the fresh air and freedom that just makes learning more captivating. In Canada, summer tends to fly by very quickly. Often it’s over before it feels like we have even started. To make sure all of our fun plans happen during our short summer window, I created a Summer STEM Activities bucket list.

Summer STEM Activities Bucket List

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Our bucket list is filled with things we have done before and want to repeat (and often make better), plus new activities that we want to explore and try. I’ve provided links so you can check out these activities in more detail and hopefully help inspire your summer STEM activities. I hope you enjoy our bucket list with it’s 20 Summer STEM Activities!

1 ~ Bottle Rockets

Always a huge hit and requested every single summer. Bottle rockets are even more fun with friends, so we are planning some rocket challenges and competitions. A simple chemical reaction sets these bottles blasting off.

Bottle Rockets - Backyard Science Launching Young STEM Minds

2 ~ Teach the Scientific Method with Water Balloons

This is a fun and messy hands on science at its best as kids conduct testing with water balloons and in the process learn the scientific method. Get ready for a lot of laughs and fun and they conduct this science experiment. Definitely do this one outdoors only!

With this activity we are teaching the scientific process and encouraging kids to use inquiry based activities to prove theories.

3 ~ Dino Eggs

Hatching these cute little eggs is fun for all ages with it’s spectacular chemical reactions. This year I might try hiding some new surprises in our eggs to keep the kids guessing! You can also make our gorgeous Erupting Rainbow Rocks. This is simple chemistry at its best! But it can also get messy, making it a fun outdoor activity.

hatch dino eggs chemistry challenge is messy fun for all ages

4 ~ Oobleck

This stuff is mesmerizing. If you’ve never played with Oobleck make this your summer of oobleck awesomeness! Looking for a cool twist? Why not try Colour Changing Oobleck (a chemistry experiment) or Glow in the Dark Oobleck for those late nights? I also highly recommend testing out a few different Oobleck recipes and activities with Oobleck, there are so many options!

Oobleck - Science, States of Matter and Senses study all wrapped up into one fantastic project about non-Newtonian liquids

5 ~ Egg Drop

This is such a messy and amazing egg drop challenge! You can go the traditional route and build a contraption, or test out the incredible way Oobleck can be used in an Egg Drop challenge. Sure to be a massive hit! But definitely an outdoor challenge. It’s messy!

6 ~ Build a Pool Noodle Periscope

A great engineering challenge that explores the science of image refraction, this pool noodle periscope is a fun project and use for old pool noodles that will have your kids running about like spies!

The pool noodle periscope is a fantastic engineering build project that explores the sense of sight. This is one of over 50 projects featured in STEAM Kids.

7 ~ Rainbow Rain

Sometimes you need a simple activity, that teaches some fundamental science principles, while also being absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. This is that activity! Rainbow Rain also known as Shaving Cream Rain Cloud or Rain Clouds in a Jar, is a simple demonstration that will add some gorgeous colour and WOW factor to your lesson. In this activity we are learning about the weather and why it rains. Fundamental concepts but with a gorgeous, colourful, rainbow twist.

Rainbow Rain Shaving Cream Cloud in a Jar Experiment

8 ~ Water Lab

We really enjoyed digging into some real lab work with our water lab activity last fall. This summer we are going to spend some time collecting more water samples while doing a few of our family hikes. This will give us an even bigger sample set to study and compare.

Water STEM Lab - An activity for kids exploring what makes water safe with hands on exploration and discovery. A great STEM and safe drinking water lesson.

9 ~ Fossil Hunting

It’s been my dream since I was little to one day find an actual fossil. I’ve seen lots in museums but I’ve never actually found one, even though we live near some of the richest fossil deposits in the world. Maybe this year will be my year? It is also a great opportunity for those family hikes and lots of discussions around evolution, fossilization and identifying the differences between rocks and fossils. Don’t have fossils where you live? No worries, go rock hounding and learn about the geology of your place in the world.

Fossil Hunting Adventures - The greatest treasure hunt and fun for the whole family

10 ~ Play with Solar Power

We had fun this past spring exploring solar heat but now the sun is going to be out in full force we want to try our hand at a solar oven to make s’mores. We found the design from NASA which drastically increases the cool factor. You can get the details here.

Exploring Solar Heat - STEM Education. A fantastic idea for some outdoor STEM fun

11 ~ Circuit Bugs and Circuit Flowers

This projects are so much fun. Building simple circuits with bug and flower themes is a fantastic way to bring a little STEM to your summer projects. Plus they light up… so cool!!

With the popularity of our Circuit Bugs STEM Activity it was time to come up with something new, something with a little extra art. Introducing Circuit Flowers! Explore chromatography, diffusion, engineering and circuit building with this hands on STEAM activity. Great for mothers' day, spring, girls in STEM, and more!

The original Circuit Bugs a circuit craft and activity

12 ~ Celebrate Fireworks With Science

Summer time is all about fireworks! There are so many special events and they always seem to end with an exciting fireworks display at the end. With this fireworks science experiment, kids learn some chemistry while capturing the excitement of those fireworks. This experiment even makes a cool crackling sound. We did ours with a July 4th theme but simply change the colours to align with your celebration.

Independence Day Inspired Science and STEM

13 ~ Study Animals, Plants and Lifecycles

Summer is a great time to get out and learn more about animals, insects, plants and lifecycles. We have a few printables available to help you with your studies.

14 ~ Nerf Battles and Building New Courses

Engineering challenges indoors are delicate, small, intricate, but in summer we take our engineering challenges outdoors and also turn them into gross motor challenges with some great heavy lifting during our design process! Knowing my oldest, he will also be doing a lot of video production, which should keep him busy on those rainy days editing footage.

Build a Nerf War Battlefield for a Nerf War birthday party or a summer filled with fun! A brilliant outdoor engineering challenge using upcycled items.

15 ~ Tire Ninja Obstacle Course

My kids love American Ninja Warriors and the tires from the Nerf Battlefield double as an excellent tire obstacle course for the kids to traverse, ninja style! Fantastic gross motor work in addition to the engineering and physics challenges they create with these obstacle courses.

Tire Obstacle Course - Ninja Warrior Inspired Challenges For The Older Child. Great Sensory And Gross Motor Work!

16 ~ Run a Lemonade Stand

My oldest is interested in earning money and learning how to start a business. A lemonade stand is a fantastic way to start learning some of these entrepreneur skills, and to practice his math over the summer. He has been busy making all sorts of plans, including adding patio seating to his “restaurant”.

Math can be a struggle for many kids, but with a little creativity you can sneak in math concepts and practice to build a firm foundation for math mastery.

17 ~ Study of Wind Power

Over the winter we really enjoyed learning about wind power with our indoor engineering activity. This summer we want to take our wind studies outdoors with a few summer STEM activities and experiments. We are planning on building an anemometer and a kite.

Wind Power STEM Challenge - Mission: Lego Rescue. A fantastic STEM challenge that encourages the creation of mechanical energy with a tinker box windmill to "rescue" a minifig.

18 ~ Build a Water Wheel

Ever since I first saw this Lego water wheel I’ve thought it would be such a fun build to do and I’m sure will provide many hours of fun!

19 ~ Gardening & Build a Food Powered Battery

We are blessed to live somewhere that allows us to have land and the opportunity to grow our own food in large gardens. Gardening has become a family affair this year and as my kids learn how the seeds sprout, flower, bear fruit and how to check when the food is ripe. I feel great that I’m connecting them with nature and the origins of how their food is created before it gets to their plates.

Plus we can use items from our garden to build a natural battery! We have built Lemon Batteries, Pumpkin Batteries and Potato Batteries! I wonder what else we can create a battery with from the garden???

Fall Harvest Fruit Battery Circuit activity

Learn all about electricity, batteries, power and more by building a Lemon Battery in this science experiment

Build a potato battery that powers a light bulb. A fantastic STEM activity and science fair project exploring circuits and energy production.

20 ~ Engineer a Craft Stick Launcher

When it comes to working with craft sticks, my kids want to make projects that are “cool”. So what does that mean? Apparently these craft stick launchers count as extra cool! This is a great engineering and crafting challenge. The result is part crossbow, part slingshot, all fun! After building your launchers, have a competition to see how far you can launch and sneak in some math? Who can engineering the best launcher that shoots the farthest?

Popsicle stick crafts are all the rage with kids especially when they make these wicked launchers

BONUS! Don’t miss the Perseid Meteor shower in August!

Top 10 tips on how to watch a meteor shower with your kids. These intense nights filled with meteors (aka shooting stars) are captivating for all ages.

Summer STEM Kits and Books

Sometimes you need an “in the box” solution to help you get through those summer days when boredom is high and you need something new and fun to do. Click here for our favourite STEM Kits we are looking forward to exploring this summer!

STEM Kits that engage, entertain and educate! These top picks include monthly STEM kits, project specific kits, and how to build your own STEM kit.

So that’s our list of 20 Summer STEM Activities that made it onto our bucket list! What are you going to try this summer? Did we miss any fantastic activities that should be added? Let me know!