5 Little Pumpkins STEM Challenge

The Five Little Pumpkins book is a classic Halloween or pumpkin book to share with young kids for the fall season. Our 5 Little Pumpkins STEM activity is perfect to pair with it, too! Whether you have passed counting to 5, you can still try out this fun STEM challenge. We love pairing our pumpkin books with STEM activities; check it out!

Explore Pumpkin STEM Activities For Fall

Pumpkin theme STEM projects are perfect for multiple age groups to enjoy together and learn something from! Whether you make an erupting pumpkin, play with pumpkin oobleck, or turn a pumpkin into a geoboard, there is a fun pumpkin STEM activity for everyone!

Engaging, hands-on science activities and pumpkin STEM challenges invite kids to explore, test, think, observe, and discover! Learn more about STEM below and check out our list of helpful STEM resources.

We have made our pumpkin projects easy to set up and budget-friendly, so you have time to try a few or all of them! I know life is busy and time is limited, but you can give kids a fun taste of science, just the same with Pumpkin STEM.

What I love about this pumpkin STEM challenge is that it uses a few of my favorite things! First, we have freshly picked pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Second, we have a great book to share. Last, we use what’s in the recycling bin and the craft container.

Check out your local dollar and craft stores for great items for your fall activities. Each season we add a couple of new things! Clean off your items, store in zip-top bags, and place them in a storage bin for use next year! Also, check out our must-have printable STEM supplies list!

What Is STEM For Kids?

STEM sounds complicated, but it isn’t! Once you get how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) mingle, you can see how it applies to many science and STEM activities you already love.

The best STEM activities encourage your kids to use at least 3 of the 4 pillars of the STEM acronym (science, technology, engineering, and math) to tackle their projects head-on, challenge what they know, and build character. The lessons STEM can teach our kids are priceless!

Have you played around with science with your kiddos? If you haven’t, you are in for a real treat. And if you have, you already know how much fun STEM activities are…

Unlock your kids’ curiosity and spark their inner inventor! The world of science and STEM is AMAZING with these hands-on science experiments and STEM activities!

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to share STEM with your kids. We have everything you need: simple-to-follow activities, low-prep ideas, easy-to-digest science information, and inexpensive supplies.

Helpful STEM Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce STEM more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Engineering Design Process Explained
• What Is An Engineer
• What Is STEAM?
• Real World STEM
• Engineering Words
• Questions for Reflection (get them talking about it!)
• BEST STEM Books for Kids
• 14 Engineering Books for Kids
• Jr. Engineer Challenge Calendar (Free)
• Must Have STEM Supplies List

Get your FREE printable Pumpkin STEM Activities

5 Little Pumpkins STEM Activity

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate…You will see our supplies below, and you may notice we used paper tubes, clothespins, popsicle sticks, and woodcraft planks. You could also use pieces of cardboard, index cards, craft sticks, and Duplo or LEGO.

What else do you have in your recycling bin, from yogurt cups to styrofoam trays? There are many great options, and I specifically save them for these open-ended STEM activities.

Supplies:

• 5 little pumpkins (real or fake)
• Various building materials (see below)
• Glue, tape, pegs etc.
• Printable STEM Worksheets perfect for kindergarten and early elementary use!
• Five Little Pumpkins book! (Amazon Affiliate link)

The Challenge:

If you can, start by reading the book! Then, pose a question or two…Can you make 5 little pumpkins sitting on the gate? What would your gate look like?

Then, Invite your kids to design and build a gate to sit five little pumpkins on a gate!

Set-Up:

Put out various craft and recycling materials they can use for their STEM project.

Please step back and let your kids test their design skills, invent possible scenarios, and figure out what needs to be changed for their project to be more effective.

Use our Printable STEM Worksheets if your kids want to record their designs and the results.

My Best Tip For the 5 Little Pumpkins Challenge

Consider The Weight Of The Pumpkins!

The biggest challenge we had with this STEM challenge was the weight of the pumpkins. This was something my son picked up on after a couple of failed attempts.

The weight of the pumpkins and the lack of a stable base were not working, so adjustments had to be made. This is a fantastic part of the engineering design process.

Through these failures, he could analyze the situation more critically and come up with an answer. I could have told him the pumpkins were heavy, but I wanted him to figure it out. In the end, he came up with several solutions that supported the weight of the pumpkins (see below).

Below, you can see how my son successfully created a structure to support his five little pumpkins. For older kids, you can also use our handout on Questions for Reflection to discuss the STEM challenge.

 More Fun STEM Activities With Pumpkins

You don’t need to celebrate Halloween to enjoy pumpkin science activities. Try one or all of the ideas below!

• Pumpkin Volcano
• Pumpkin Oobleck
• Crystal Pumpkins
• Pumpkin Geoboard
• Pumpkin Clock