Summer STEM Ideas Printable
Summer kicks off with the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer. This is also the longest day of the year and shortest night. In the Northern Hemisphere the Summer Solstice is usually June 20 or 21, but in the Southern Hemisphere it occurs on December 20 or 21. If you are looking for some Summer STEM inspiration, we have some great ideas to help plan a summer to remember!
The Best Summer STEM Ideas!
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Before we get started with some of our favourite ideas, go ahead and grab the printable of this list. In this printable you can click on the ideas to get more details and project ideas. This is a great way to keep a reference to all of these ideas available at all times. Especially if you are away at camp and may have limited internet access.
NOTE: You will only be able to access the links in the printable when used online and we recommend using a proper PDF reader (not your browser) to open and use the file.
Unlock the Printable
Summer STEM Ideas
Now you have the printable, let’s share some of the ideas from the printable!
We put these into categories based on grades, but I encourage you to find the projects that interest your young STEMists. In my experience, with the right passion, interest and guidance, students of any age can have a blast doing all of these STEM activity ideas!
Elementary Summer STEM
Solar Oven – Build a simple solar oven and capture the sun’s energy to make tasty treats!
Bottle Rockets – Blast off with the one activity that my kids insist we do every year. Even in their teens!
Growing Plants – Growing a garden or rewilding natural spaces is fun with seed bombs and launchers. You can also make seed paper using paper scraps from your classroom. Or grow in a more controlled environment with a Seed Lab where students can discover the process of seed germination up close.
DIY Weather Station – Get interactive with the weather by creating your very own weather station including a rain gauge, barometer and more.
Bug Hunt and Habitat Creation – Rewilding space will naturally create habitats for insects. Want to go bigger? Another option is to build bird feeders and invite the natural birds in your neighborhood to visit.
Paper Airplane Challenge – Everyone loves a good Paper Airplane Challenge. Learn how to make yours fly the farthest and fastest!
Middle School Summer STEM
DIY Wind Turbine – Discover the world of Wind Turbines with a printable lesson pack. You can also challenge your kids to build a windmill and incorporate a powerful book into your summer reading plans.
Egg Drop Challenge – Bring physics and engineering together in an Egg Drop Challenge, that hopefully will not be messy!
Rube Goldberg Machine – Building a Rube Goldberg Machine is such a great way to get creative with engineering and physics lessons. We built one for St. Patrick’s Day, but you could use any summer theme.
Hydroponic Gardening (Water Cycle) – Learn about the Water Cycle with a special lesson or try applying the lessons with a terrarium project.
Electric Circuits – Kids love building electric circuits and we have done a lot of projects over the years to light up learning!
Geology Excursion – I loved rocks as a kid, in fact going rock hunting is still one of my favorite summer activities. Learn how to you can use those special finds for some meditation and mental health practice.
High School Summer STEM
Robotics are a great way to bring some STEM fun to your lesson plans. Why not start with a simple and budget friendly Art Bot project?
DIY Spectroscope – Although we have never built a spectroscope, it is something we hope to make this summer. But in the past we made another project that was similar and a big hit: a Kaleidoscope!
Bioplastic Creation – It is no secret we have loved making bioplastics over the years. This is one of those kitchen science projects that wows while also teaching valuable and important lessons.
3D Printing Project – We love playing with 3D printers, but don’t have one at home. Thankfully they are often available now in library makerspaces so we can explore and learn!
Renewable Energy is such an important topic for students to explore. We need more brilliant minds working on this important issues!
Data Analysis with Raspberry Pi is one way you can bring some math into your summer activity plans for your high school STEMists.
Summer STEM for All Ages
Stargazing & Astronomy is the one thing I look forward to the most every summer. It is hard living so far North, as our nights are short, but at least they are warm, making star gazing so much more comfortable. While waiting for darkness to fall, learn about the constellations.
Kitchen Chemistry is the best way to play with science on a budget. There are so many cool experiments you can do with items you already have in your pantry.
Bridge Building is one of those activities that can really bring out the creativity and competitiveness in your kids. Challenge them to also build a bridge using nothing but popsicle sticks in a da Vinci Bridge challenge.
DIY Microscope – A simple microscope or magnifying glass project is a wonderful STEM project for all ages. With our design, you can take your magnifying glass with you or use it on a stand.
Coding with Scratch – Learning coding with Scratch is something all ages can do.
Environmental Clean-up Project – Every summer, make sure to spend a bit of time taking care of our planet. If everyone gave just a bit of their time to clean up some litter or pick up plastics from our oceans so they can safely recycled, just imagine how much healthier our planet would be?
Want more? We couldn’t fit all of our amazing summer activity ideas into one small printable, and we have so many more! Check out our massive Summer STEM Activities resource that is packed full of even more inspiration for your summer fun!
