Everyone in the family will be excited to build a pumpkin tunnel for cars and tracks! Already, we have made a pumpkin-cano and slime in a pumpkin! What else can you do with a pumpkin? How about a pumpkin car tunnel? A fun and unique pumpkin STEM challenge. Can you get a car to fly through the tunnel? Let’s give it a try!

PUMPKIN TUNNEL STEM CHALLENGE FOR KIDS

Pumpkin Tunnel Build A Car Tunnel Pumpkin Fall STEM ChallengePin

PUMPKIN ENGINEERING PROJECT

This is a fantastic way to combine the fun of pumpkin season with the hands-on learning of the engineering design process. Not only is this project a ton of screen-free fun but it is absolutely filled with learning opportunities. What can you expect to happen:

  • Kids will brainstorm and can come up with design ideas for the track.
  • Kids will draw and label their designs and list the materials needed.
  • Kids will build a prototype.
  • Kids will test and refine their prototypes.
  • Kids will continue to improve upon their designs.
  • Kids will share the results and talk about their challenges with the project. (Use these questions for reflection to get the ball rolling.)

You can grab a free set of journal pages here and learn more about the design process as well.

SUPPLIES

  • Pumpkin (large enough to set up tracks and such)
  • Hot Wheels tracks and cars
  • Tea Light Candles (optional, battery operated)

PUMPKIN TUNNEL SET UP

Pick your pumpkin, clean it out, and carve out two openings to make your pumpkin car tunnel! Save the seeds and make a tasty snack later. I added a couple of dollar-store, battery-operated, flickering lights for a great effect.

The best part of this activity is that the kiddos can make it as simple or as involved as they want. Perfect for all ages! Older kiddos can incorporate more of that sneaky design process and make more elaborate setups while younger kiddos can enjoy a more simple setup such as the one below.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: LEGO Pumpkin Small World Play Idea

Harvest Hot Wheels Activity Set UpPin

PUMPKIN TUNNEL STEM CHALLENGE

We had a blast experimenting with the Hot Wheels car flying through the tunnel. This made a great STEM challenge for the whole family. We had to set up tracks just right to make the jump and then evaluate what went wrong and what should be done differently. There were tons of experimenting with different distances and even different weight cars!

Free pumpkin STEM Challenge Ideas!

Harvest Hot Wheels Car Flying Through PumpkinPin

How else can you set up a pumpkin tunnel? Loads of great engineering possibilities to design all sorts of track setups. We added more track, a turn, and an upside-down loop to see what we could get the cars to do. Every time the car went through the pumpkin tunnel there was a big cheer.

Harvest Hot Wheels Car Track Set Up On FloorPin

Turn off the lights to watch the cars race through the pumpkin tunnel in the dark with just the glow of the tea lights.

Harvest Hot Wheels Activity Playing With race TrackPin

The small lights added a fun element to our pumpkin tunnel play!

We also used teal lights for our LEGO pumpkin fairy house.

Harvest Hot Wheels Activity Car In TunnelPin

If you have a car enthusiast at your house this pumpkin car tunnel is sure to be a hit all season long! Add more pumpkins and make a huge race track. Take it outside too! A great fall STEM project for kids and families.

Bonus: Pumpkin Art & Crafts

Click on each image below to enjoy this season’s pumpkin art and craft projects. Each pumpkin activity includes a free printable, too! 

Explore More Fall Science

Click on the images below for more Fall theme science activities.

Printable Pumpkin STEM Pack

Perfect for K-2/3rd Grade and homeschool! Many activities can be modified for preschool and older kiddos as well. 

Pumpkin is a festive and classic theme for fall and this pack is perfect for exploring pumpkins with a non-Halloween theme! Includes science, STEM, engineering, early math, and art projects.

The kids will have a blast trying 100+ pages of “totally doable” projects! Read more here.

Printable Pumpkin Preschool Pack

Need a younger version of our Pumpkin STEM Project Pack? Perfect for older toddlers and preschoolers to explore pumpkins this fall season. 14+ Pumpkin theme activities include instructions, templates, and a great book list.

 

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6 Comments

  1. Love how we inspired you to do this! My husband can’t wait until we introduce my toddler to the world of Hot Wheels. I feel my living room will never be the same again 😉

  2. Cool idea, will remember this one for next year!

    My kid is heavily into hot wheels ( here’s a link about out die cast cars experience Matchbox vs Hot Wheels vs Majorette Toy Cars) . I am more into mathcbox 😀

  3. If you are talking about a Lego car, check Amazon. Hot wheels and tracks can also be purchased through the links at the bottom of the article.

  4. Pingback: Pumpkin Science Experiments and Fall Science Activities

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