Earth Day STEM Activities For Kids

Earth Day Science

What makes for great Earth Day STEM activities? I love science experiments and projects that reuse, re-purpose, and recycle what’s already in your house. Not only is this great for the environment, but it makes for very frugal science learning!

Earth Day is also a time to think about planting seeds, growing flowers, and caring for the land. Learn about the life cycle of plants and trees. Learn about water pollution, energy conservation, and your footprint on the world, and more.

This year, we will be trying out some new kinds of Earth Day STEM activities for preschoolers than we had previously done. We also have great hands-on Earth Day activities, including simple science experiments with a blue and green theme.

TIP: Any Earth Day art activity or recycling project, whether a conservation project, science experiment, or neighborhood cleanup, is also an excellent gateway to have conversations with your kids. Enjoying a fun activity together always presents an excellent opportunity to discuss what’s important!

This Spring, you can countdown to Earth Day with us as we explore these Earth Day STEM activities. Make sure to check out our Spring STEM activities, too!

Free Printable Earth Day STEAM Guides

Earth Day STEM Activities

Earth Day Questions

Get kids thinking with these Earth Day questions or conversation starters. You can even incorporate our real-world STEM notebook pages to create a more in-depth project!

Birdseed Ornaments

To kick off Earth Day, you can even make the birds some treats with this kid-friendly birdseed feeder ornaments!

Seed Bombs

Start a new tradition to celebrate Earth Day and learn how to make seed bombs or seed balls. 

Acid Rain Demonstration

What happens to plants when rain is acidic? Set up this simple acid rain experiment with flowers in vinegar. Explore what causes acid rain and what can be done about it. A great STEM project for Earth Day!

Stormwater Runoff Lab

What happens to rain or melting snow when it can’t go into the ground? Set up an easy stormwater runoff model with your kids to demonstrate what happens and how pollution affects our waterways.

Carbon Footprint

Introduce your kids to a simple definition of carbon footprint. Then, with our printable carbon footprint worksheet, they can explore ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help the environment.

Make a Water Filter

Can you purify dirty water with a water filtration system? Learn about filtration and make your own water filter at home or in the classroom.

Oil Spill Experiment

You’ve heard about oil spills on the news and read about the cleanup in the newspaper, but did you know you could learn about ocean pollution right at home or in the classroom?

Make “plastic” out of milk

This chemical reaction transforms a couple of household ingredients into a moldable, durable piece of a plastic-like substance.

Earth Day LEGO Challenge Cards

Try these printable Earth Day LEGO challenges with the bricks you already have for quick STEM challenges!

Earth Day LEGO Building Challenge

Build a LEGO mini-figure habitat showcasing an Earth Day theme!

Use Recycled Materials For Earth Day STEM

Reusing materials for these fun STEM projects below can reduce your waste. Not only is it budget friendly, but it also helps promote environmental sustainability and reduce the impact of human activities on the planet.

Paper Bag STEM Challenges

Check out these 7 STEM activities you can do with a few simple household items. Fill a paper bag or two with these fun STEM challenges.

Build a Cardboard Marble Run

Turn all your leftover cardboard tubes into something fun and useful with this marble run STEM activity. You can also use those cardboard tubes to make a marble roller coaster.

Build a Hand Crank Winch

This is a great Earth Day STEM activity to use your recyclable collection. Make a simple machine for kids with this hand-crank winch project.

Egg Drop STEM Challenge

What ideas can you come up with to protect an egg dropped from a height? Dig into those recycled materials and get planning!

Newspaper STEM Challenge

Have you ever rolled newspapers to make building materials? Engineer the Eiffel tower with this fun STEM activity.

Make A Mini Greenhouse

Recycle a plastic bottle to make this mini greenhouse to start your seedlings this spring.

Make a Recycled STEM Kit

Keep a container just for cool stuff to turn into STEM projects. Check out more awesome recycled STEM activities. 

More Earth Day Ideas…

Every day we can do out part to keep the world clean and beautiful. We can learn how to conserve resources and protect the planet! Here are a few practical ways to get started.

How Many Lights Are On

At breakfast, lunch, and dinner, check out how many lights are on and write down the numbers. You can also check more frequently during the day.

You can then graph it! Add the total for the day and keep track over the course of the week. You can have a daily graph and then a graph of the daily totals for the week.

Now take action by turning off the lights as you leave a room!

Brushing Teeth Water Conversation Activity

Place a bowl under the faucet and brush your teeth for two minutes while the water runs. Measure the amount of water in the bowl. Now compare that to brushing your teeth for two minutes with the water only running when necessary. Measure that amount of water and compare the two. Which is greater?

The Impact of Trash

Last year, we walked around the neighborhood and collected any trash we could find. You can do this just about anywhere trash is thrown on the side of the road. Put all your trash in a bin of clean water. Talk about what happens to the water over the next 24 hours.

Go Screen Free For The Day

Use less energy and unplug! Read a book, ride your bike, play a board game, make art, or anything else you enjoy that doesn’t require energy. Using less energy keeps the planet and everyone on it healthier for the future!

See our list of fun things to do outside!

Connect With Nature

When you connect with nature you naturally want to protect its beauty! Get outside and explore. Find a new hiking or walking trail, go to the beach, or play games in the backyard. Share the enjoyment of the outdoors with your kiddos; it will help them understand why the environment is so important.

See our list of outdoor art activities to try and outdoor STEM activities!

Printable Earth Day STEM Activities Pack

Celebrate Earth Day with STEM! 220+ Pages of  Earth Day science activities and STEM projects for kids that are easy to set up and fit into your available time, even if it’s limited!

STEAM Mini Pack added three hands-on activities for acid rain, stormwater runoff, and carbon footprints!

• Printable Earth Day theme STEM activities that are simple but engaging for home or classroom. Perfect for K-3/4 and beyond but easily adaptable to many skill levels.
• Dive into simple background science explanations to share with kids while they explore hands-on and playful experiments, projects, and activities such as cleaning up oil spills, exploring water filters, and more!
• Engaging Earth Day Engineers pack with theme activities, journal pages, and design process steps! Learn about the design process and think like an engineer while you design and build a better recycling can and more!
• Easy to gather supplies makes these STEM activities ideal when you have limited resources available. Specialty activities include growing a grass head, making an insect hotel, DIY birdseed ornaments, and more!
• Additional STEM activities also Include a recycle sort, brick building ideas, puzzles, and screen-free coding activities.
• Earth Day Bingo Activity Pack is included as well.