Exciting STEM Experiments at Home: Fun and Learning Combined

September 24, 2024 / Heather Reyes

A young girl, wearing safety goggles and white gloves, leans over a table, eagerly observing a clear plastic beaker filled with a swirling brown liquid. This setup is perfect for STEM experiments at home, showcasing the excitement of scientific exploration. The beaker sits on a small, grey and white machine, surrounded by several other beakers and bottles of liquid. The girl is clearly fascinated by the experiment, watching the swirling liquid with a mixture of wonder and curiosity. The scene is full of the thrill of discovery, as it looks like she is about to learn something new and exciting about the world around her.

Where does rain come from? How does a crane work? Why can airplanes fly in the sky? You might hear no less than 100 such questions from your curious little one every day. Children have a wide-ranging curiosity about the world, and you might wish you knew more about these sciences and had a good way to explain them to children.

Children are natural scientists, constantly observing, questioning, discovering, testing, and solving problems. These are all valuable aspects of STEM learning. Engaging in STEM experiments at home can further develop these instinctive learning experiences in children. These hands-on activities make abstract scientific concepts more concrete, interesting, and easy to understand. They also stimulate children's curiosity, boost their confidence, and help them develop critical thinking skills.

The best part is that you don't need fancy laboratories or expensive equipment; common household materials can be powerful tools for STEM learning. Check out our list of STEM experiments at home for kids! You'll be pleasantly surprised to discover how fun learning can be.

Exciting STEM Experiments at Home

Kitchen Acid-Base Science Experiments

Did you know? Using common kitchen materials like baking soda, lemons, and vinegar, you can conduct multiple interesting experiments. Their experimental effects are so exciting that no child can resist these experiments!

1. Fizzy Dino Eggs

A yellow bath bomb fizzes vigorously as water is poured onto it, creating a thick layer of yellow foam on a green surface. As the bath bomb dissolves, a small, black plastic scorpion, embedded within, gradually emerges from the foam, coming to rest on the remnants of the dissolving bomb. The scorpion, initially obscured by the foam, becomes fully visible as the fizzing subsides.

An activity suitable for young palaeontologists! These colourful dinosaur eggs and the crackling sound they make when dinosaurs hatch are completely irresistible to children.

This is one of the classic acid-base chemical reactions. When baking soda and vinegar come into contact, a chemical reaction occurs, dissolving the baking soda eggshell wrapped around the dinosaur and producing carbon dioxide.

2. Lemon Volcano

A yellow bath bomb, resembling a lemon, fizzes and dissolves in a pool of white foam, releasing vibrant blue and green colours that swirl and spread through the foam. The bath bomb gradually shrinks as it reacts with the water, creating a playful and colourful display.

In this STEAM experiment, you can create a hissing, erupting mini volcano just by slightly crushing a lemon, adding baking soda and a little bit of colour! The citric acid in lemon juice reacts chemically with baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide gas, hissing sounds, and foam.

Can you think of a way to make the volcano produce more foam?

3. Melting Fizzy Snowman

A small, crafted snowman made of three white balls is adorned with cardboard arms, googly eyes, a red felt scarf, and a miniature Santa hat. Placed on a clear surface against a blue background, the snowman is then subjected to a fizzing reaction, likely caused by a bath bomb or similar effervescent agent. The white foam rapidly engulfs the snowman, obscuring its features and leaving only a mound of foam in its place.

Have you ever tried building a snowman indoors? Check out this magical experiment, and you won't have to wait for a snowy day to build a snowman anymore! The key is that the process of the snowman "melting" is also very interesting. You can try it at Christmas!

4. Lava Lamp

A clear glass contains three distinct layers of liquid: a pale yellow base, a vibrant blue middle layer, and a bright yellow top layer with dispersed green droplets. The green droplets slowly descend through the yellow layer, creating a visually captivating effect as they move and interact with the other liquids.

This lava lamp experiment is super cool! Watch gorgeous colours dance in your homemade lava lamp, bringing brilliance to your space. You can even install a small LED light at the bottom to experience the magic and beauty of science in a dark environment. Click to see another way to make a lava lamp.

The effect of the lava lamp stems from the principle of density and acid-base chemical reactions: vinegar and oil separate due to different densities, with vinegar sinking to the bottom and oil floating on top. When the vinegar at the bottom reacts with the baking soda at the bottom of the cup to produce carbon dioxide gas, bubbles will carry the colored vinegar upwards. After the gas is released, the vinegar droplets will sink again, and this cycle continues.

Water Exploration Experiments

1. Water Cycle

How does water cycle on Earth? This is a simple yet educational STEM experiment! It can be done at home with just a sealed bag.

The experiment can help children intuitively understand the process of the water cycle, sparking their curiosity about science! Remember to let the little ones try to recount the entire water cycle process in their own words. This not only exercises their language expression abilities but also helps them remember this knowledge point more firmly.

2. Cubic Bubbles

Have you ever seen a square bubble? Can you create a square bubble by hand? Through this magical STEM experiment, children will understand the concepts of surface tension and geometric shape constraints. Although the frame constrains the bubble into a square structure, due to surface tension, once it loses the constraint of the frame, the bubble will either burst or return to a spherical shape.

3. Mini Fountain

A young girl, dressed in a white t-shirt and denim overalls, stands amidst lush greenery, intently focused on screwing the lid back onto a pink and green plastic bottle. She carefully aligns the lid with the bottle's opening, her brow slightly furrowed in concentration as she twists it securely into place.

You can make a small, manually controlled fountain with just a balloon and a water bottle. What's this magical principle? Through this experiment, children will directly feel the mysterious power of atmospheric pressure. Children can take it outdoors to play, especially suitable for summer exploration.

4. Blooming Paper Flowers

Several colourful paper flowers, each a different colour, float gently on the surface of green-tinted water in a bowl. The flowers bob and drift slightly, responding to the subtle movements of the water.

How to make paper flowers bloom in water? This is a fun and simple little experiment that will make your child believe in the magic of science! They will love watching the paper flowers open up on their own in water.

Why does this happen? Because paper contains a large number of tiny plant fibres, under the action of capillary phenomenon, the paper absorbs water, changing the tension and shape of the paper, and the paper flowers bloom in the water!

Colour Science Experiments

1. Underwater Fireworks

A clear glass, partially filled with a transparent liquid, showcases a mesmerizing display of colourful tendrils descending from a layer of yellow liquid at the top. The tendrils, predominantly green and blue with hints of other colours, create a captivating visual as they slowly drift and disperse within the clear liquid, resembling an underwater scene with delicate, flowing seaweed.

You might be familiar with fireworks, but have you ever seen fireworks blooming in water? You can start this STEM experiment at home with just oil, water, and food colouring.

This involves the principle of object density: when oil mixed with food colouring is poured into water, because oil has a lower density than water, the oil will wrap around the colouring and float on the water surface. But because the density of the food colouring is greater than both oil and water, after sitting for a while, the colouring will begin to sink into the water and dissolve, like beautiful fireworks falling in water.

2. Colour Sensory Bottles

A vibrant blue slime, held upside down, slowly oozes and drips onto a white surface. Its thick, gooey texture is evident as it stretches and forms long strands before detaching and falling with a satisfying plop.

This STEM experiment is very suitable for preschool little scientists to explore. In addition to utilizing the density principle of different objects, the experiment also involves the interaction of liquids: water is polar, while oil is non-polar, and their molecular interactions are different. Polar molecules and non-polar molecules repel each other, so water will not mix with oil.

STEM Experiments at Home for Older Children

1. DIY Tower Crane

A miniature crane, constructed from red cardboard and stacked orange cups, is being operated against a blue backdrop. A small plastic bucket, containing green grapes and suspended by a red string, is being raised and lowered by a hand turning a cardboard wheel attached to the crane's arm.

Cranes are often used in the construction industry, and they can lift very heavy loads. Do you know how cranes work? Make this amazing cardboard crane to learn about the science and engineering principles behind them, and test which factors affect the crane's load through experiments.

2. Spider Launcher

A simple catapult constructed from wooden craft sticks and a plastic bottle cap sits on an orange surface. A googly eye is glued inside the bottle cap, giving the catapult a whimsical appearance. A small, black plastic spider rests near the base of the catapult, suggesting a playful Halloween-themed activity.

This is an excellent Halloween STEM experiment. You can use it to launch spiders, eyeballs, or anything spooky. This simple experiment combines the principle of leverage, the use of elastic potential energy, and an understanding of force and motion. Try changing the structure of the launcher or the magnitude of the force to test which factors affect the distance an object is launched.

3. Bristlebot

How to make a robot with a toothbrush head? Bristlebots are simple miniature robots that buzz like insects. They are easy to make and fun, and can be made without any robotics experience. You can even make two bristlebots and have them race against each other!

Bristlebots apply engineering and physics concepts such as vibration, conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy, and friction. This experiment sparks children's interest in robotics and mechanical design through simple materials.

Exploration Upgrade — STEM Subscription Box

If you want to continue these learnings more purposefully, a STEM subscription box will be a great helper. It will take your STEM adventure to a new level.

Each month, fun and educational creative hands-on projects, materials, and science magazines will be delivered to your home. Parents don't need any preparation work, nor do they need to understand the scientific principles behind the projects or experiments; everything the child needs is prepared in the box.

Advanced Exploration of Water Science

A blue inflatable tub filled with water sits in the centre of the image. The tub is filled with sea creatures, including a red crab, a green turtle, and a blue whale. There are also some white balls floating in the water. A wooden stick is used to pull the objects around the tub. On the left side of the image, there are four colourful markers and three paper fish that have been tie-dyed. On the right side of the image, there is a bottle of water with colourful dots on it and a book titled Floating Science. The scene is full of fun and engaging activities for children, and it is a great way to teach them about science and the natural world.

Spark the imagination of preschoolers through more hands-on STEM activities. This Sink or Float box is designed to help children understand and learn the concept of buoyancy. Little ones will embark on a hands-on adventure journey: DIY cute marine creatures, engage in fun fishing activities, explore marine animal stacking, and create ocean Messy Play art. They will also follow the science magazine to conduct multiple buoyancy science experiments, understanding the mystery of fish floating and sinking and the concept of object density. Suitable for children aged 3-5.

Advanced Exploration of Colour Science

A vibrant collection of tie-dye supplies is spread out on a bright yellow background. There's a cardboard box with a circuit board design on the side, a small wooden tie-dye kit with a lever, a colourful tie-dye bag, two bottles of dye, a booklet of instructions, and a set of colourful markers. The scene is full of creative energy and the promise of fun and colourful creations. It looks like a fun and engaging activity for children, and it is a great way to teach them about art, science, and creativity.

In this Coloured Science STEM activity, children will make their own pen maker and use it to make watercolour pens, and experience fun tie-dye art! During the process, children will learn how to create new colours using primary colours, how to decompose mixed ink using chromatography, or decompose the colours in a leaf. They will also understand how inkjet printers work by creating pixel dot paintings, freely exploring the science and art of colour.

Advanced Exploration of Acid-Base Science

A partially assembled science kit sits on a light blue surface. The kit includes a clear plastic container with a swirling vortex of water, a cardboard box with a circuit board design, a wooden base, a blue plastic tool, and a variety of small parts, including buttons, knobs, and wires. The kit looks like it would be a fun and engaging way to learn about science and engineering. The swirling water is particularly mesmerising, and the kit's overall design is sleek and modern. It looks like a great way to spark a child's curiosity and encourage them to explore the world around them.

Stir up a Chemical Tornado at home! Through this Chemical Tornado STEM Box, children will make their own electromagnetic stirrer, exactly like the kind that can be found in science laboratories around the world, exploring the magical science of acids and bases. Children will explore factors affecting the rate of chemical reactions and the pH value of everyday items through scientific experiments, learning scientific experimental methods. They will also learn about the concepts of acids and bases and the history of pH testing, learn to make their own indicators, and understand the impact of acid-base balance on nature.

Benefits of Conducting STEM Experiments at Home

After-school doesn't mean the end of learning and creativity. On the contrary, the relaxed and free environment at home is more conducive to children's STEM exploration.

Conducting STEM experiments at home not only allows children to deepen their understanding of scientific concepts through hands-on learning but also stimulates their creativity and encourages them to explore different solutions. During the experiments, children develop fine motor skills, teamwork abilities, and learn to maintain a resilient mindset when facing challenges.

Moreover, perhaps most importantly, STEM experiments create opportunities for high-quality parent-child time. Parents and children explore together, share learning and fun, which not only enhances the parent-child relationship but will also become precious memories for both parents and children.

Whether trying DIY experiments online or exploring Tinkerer STEAM Box, it's never too early to introduce science to children. Why not start today? You might be nurturing the next great scientist, engineer, or inventor at home!

Click to see another way to make a lava lamp

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Water circulation can be done in a sealed bag at home

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