As Halloween approaches, it's the perfect time to blend the eerie excitement of the season with the thrill of scientific discovery. This year, why not celebrate with some Halloween-themed STEM experiments that are both educational and delightfully spooky? From flying ghosts to candy catapults, these experiments will ignite curiosity and creativity in learners of all ages. In this blog, we’ve got four frighteningly fun STEM experiments for you and your family to try!
Candy Catapult
Building catapults is a common STEM activity used to teach about force, accuracy, precision, angles, potential energy, and projectile motion. Catapults can be built with basic craft supplies like popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and glue. You can turn this into a Halloween-themed activity by using items like fake spiders, eyeballs, or plastic pumpkins to launch from the catapult. This can also be a fun way to trade Halloween candy after trick-or-treating.
Spooky Lava Lamp
A basic lava lamp experiment is a great way to teach the concepts of density and polarity. This is another experiment that utilizes supplies that you likely already have at home. The main components include oil, water, food dye, and an Alka Seltzer tablet. You can easily make this basic experiment spooky by adding small Halloween trinkets like plastic spiders and doing the experiment in a fun vessel like a beaker.
Fizzing Ghost Pumpkin
This experiment is a new take on a classic - the volcano! Baking soda and vinegar volcanoes are a staple of STEM experiments. This experiment teaches children the basics about chemical reactions between acids and bases. Using a carved white pumpkin as the vessel and using food dye to make a colorful explosion can quickly turn a basic experiment into frightening fun!
Flying Ghost Tea Bags
It’s important to make sure there is adult supervision for this experiment as it involves a flame. The only things you’ll need for this experiment are tea bags, a lighter, and a blag marker to draw ghost faces. The floating tea bag experiment helps children learn about convection, density, and heat energy.
Where Can I Find STEM Programs Near Me?
If you want to expand beyond at-home STEM projects, the Police Activities League of Egg Harbor Township and Atlantic County offers a variety of STEM workshops, clubs, teams, and research programs throughout the year! For children who are interested in competing, PAL has its own competitive robotics team and hosts STEM competitions throughout the year. If you’re interested in learning more about our STEM programs, get in touch with us!
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