I know it seems like once Halloween passes, you are all ready to jump ahead to Christmas planning. Don’t miss out on fabulous Thanksgiving science this season. It’s the perfect side dish to your lesson plans or a weekend activity. Let’s not forget Thanksgiving for cool science and STEM too! Here’s some fun Thanksgiving STEM activities and science experiments that are perfect for home or in the classroom!
THANKSGIVING SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AND STEM ACTIVITIES
THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOLERS
Want to do something different for your Thanksgiving theme this year? No turkey crafts found here! Instead our Thanksgiving STEM activities and Thanksgiving science experiments are fun, easy to set up and not time consuming.
You can pick up all the materials you need when you do your Thanksgiving dinner shopping! These Thanksgiving theme activities are also great family ideas for Thanksgiving day or for keeping the kids busy while you are in the kitchen.
Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive problem-based challenges?
We have you covered…
—>>> FREE STEM Activities For Thanksgiving
THANKSGIVING THEME
Any holiday is a perfect opportunity for creating simple but AMAZING theme science activities. Thanksgiving presents a few fun opportunities for neat ways to explore science and STEM all month long with a harvest theme. From pumpkin volcanos to cranberry structures to homemade butter!
Thanksgiving Activities:
- Kids love and gets them learning!
- Theme science and yet you can still work with your NGSS (Next generation Science Standards)
- That work well for kindergarten, preschoolers and early elementary.
- Explore chemistry and physics with easy to set up and inexpensive science activities.
Each year we add to our collection of Thanksgiving science experiments and STEM activities. This year is no exception and we have a fun line up to share, including a few fun slime recipes. Slime is AMAZING chemistry!
We also love to explore physics and chemistry through reactions, forces, states of matter, and more good science-y stuff. In fact, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy simple science experiments at home or in the classroom.
WHY IS SCIENCE SO IMPORTANT?
Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change like they change! Indoors or outdoors, science is definitely amazing! Holidays or special occasions just make science all the more fun to try!
Science surrounds us, inside and out. Kids love checking things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 100+ genius STEM projects to get started any time of the year including the other “big” days.
Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials. Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments.
THANKSGIVING STEM ACTIVITIES & SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
Holiday science like these Thanksgiving experiments should be fun and stress free for everyone! Click on the ORANGE links below to read more about each Halloween science or STEM activity.
NEW! STEMS-GIVING
Complete with a menu to download, this STEMs-Giving is all about hands-on learning with food science!
1. PUMPKIN VOLCANO
Kids love the excitement of a volcano science activity, so we challenged ourselves to make a pumpkin volcano perfect for a fall or Thanksgiving theme activity. A simple chemistry activity and pumpkins, perfect!
Our famous pumpkin volcano experiment is featured in the video above!
2. PUMPKIN SLIME
Make slime in a pumpkin? Of course! Pumpkin guts and all. Slime is science and there’s a lot to discuss when it comes to states of matter, non-Newtonian fluids, mixtures, and more.
3. MORE THANKSGIVING SLIME RECIPES
I would have to say our pumpkin guts slime above is pretty cool but if you want a few more variations to check out, we have that too! Turkey theme slimes and even taste safe or edible slimes with marshmallow and cranberries!
4. PUMPKIN CLOCK STEM ACTIVITY
Take a traditional potato clock activity and see if you can use it with pumpkins, sweet potatoes, yams, or other Thanksgiving favorites. Learn a little bit about batteries and electricity with green science.
5. MAKING BUTTER FOR KIDS
Tasty science perfect for Thanksgiving dinner! It’s a great way for kids to help in the kitchen and contribute to the meal. There’s nothing like tasting your hard work. Perfect for an edible science unit too.
6. DANCING CORN EXPERIMENT
A few simple kitchen ingredients and you have a cool Thanksgiving science activity that’s a twist on a classic baking soda and vinegar experiment!
7. Cranberry Structures for Thanksgiving STEM
Keep kids of all ages busy building and constructing all sorts of shapes and structures. Encourage free building or see if they can build a tall tower. We have printable shape building cards here for a quick math lesson.
8. Cranberry Science and Sensory Play
Get hands on with cranberries! Investigate change, test out sink or float, and practice fine motor skills with a variety of kitchen tools. You also have a fun water sensory bin that has the kids busy for hours.
Also making cranberry sauce is a great way to discuss heat change and demonstrate the difference between reversible and irreversible change. Check out our pumpkin bread too.
9. PUMPKIN ROLLING
Simple fall physics the kids can take outside for investigation and exploration. Learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion with rolling pumpkins for a fun Thanksgiving STEM activity.
10. PARTS OF A PUMPKIN
If you haven’t explored the parts of the pumpkin, this exploration and investigation tray usually keeps the kids pretty busy!
11. MAKE A TURKEY
This is probably one of the silliest STEM activities we have done in a while, but it turned out to be fun! I love saving cardboard for STEM projects. Since it’s around Thanksgiving time, I figured we could try out a little engineering activity with a cardboard turkey Thanksgiving STEM challenge.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Thanksgiving Papercraft In 3D
12. COFFEE FILTER TURKEY
Find out how coffee filters and clothespins from the Dollar Store transform into the cutest Thanksgiving Turkeys ever. Learn about solubility with this Thanksgiving art and science activity all in one!
13. BREAD IN A BAG
From toddlers to teenagers, everyone loves a fresh slice of homemade bread, and using a zip-top bag is perfect for tiny hands to help squish and knead. Explore how yeast works in bread and share a delicious treat at the end with our easy bread in a bag recipe.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Popcorn In A Bag
14. CRANBERRY SECRET MESSAGES
Show the kids how they can write and send secret messages to one another! Paint with cranberry juice and the message is revealed. It’s magic! No, it’s science!
15. CORN INVESTIGATION TRAY
Do you have the traditional corn stalks tied to your porch? Why not let the kids investigate the corn cobs. Set out a pair of tweezers, a magnifying glass, rulers, scissors, and a kitchen scale if you have one!
Let them pull a part the corn and try out some hands-on learning and sensory play. A fun way to explore the senses. You can use our 5 senses printable to go along with the activity too.
16. POPCORN SCIENCE
Why does popcorn pop? Explore the science of popcorn while making some yummy popcorn in a bag to taste test. A fun Thanksgiving activity for all the senses!
17. BAKE A PUMPKIN
Explore how heat changes materials and talk about irreversible and reversible change. You could do this with raw potatoes or pumpkins. Encourage your kids examine a pumpkin or potato. Have your kids try to mash a raw potato or pumpkin. Now cook the potato or pumpkin and have your kids try to mash it again. What happens? What changes? Is the change reversible or irreversible.
Our pumpkin activities explore pumpkins inside and out.
You can also add in our pumpkin math investigation lesson {with printable}.
18. TEEPEE STEM PROJECT
Why not build your own teepee? Get everyone thinking, designing, building, and problem solving! Materials ideas could include newspapers, Popsicle sticks, tree sticks {branches}, string, rubber bands, tape…. or just a simple piece of paper {perfect for young kids}.
19. BUILD THE MAYFLOWER
A fun “Will it float?” Thanksgiving science activity.
Gather supplies from the recycling bin. Items like foam trays, plastic cups, styrofoam, and milk cartons can all be used. Add glue, scissors, string, straws, or tape. Set out a small tub of water and test your designs. Fantastic Fun and Learning has a simple idea for young kids.
For older kids, check out this Pilgrim Boat STEM challenge with a printable worksheet! Great way to combine learning with an element of play too.
20. THANKSGIVING CODING GAME
Learn a bit about coding without a computer for Thanksgiving with this Thanksgiving Algorithm Game.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: I Spy Thanksgiving Printables
21. GROWING CRYSTAL LEAVES
Got the salt out for brining the turkey? How about setting up this simple salt crystal leaf experiment and make a few paper cutout leaves to decorate the table or make a garland (add a hole before you start the experient)
21. THANKSGIVING PAPERCRAFT
Explore the world of 3D art with a fun Thanksgiving theme craft complete with free printable templates and step by step instructions! Also, learn a little bit about 2D vs 3D!
ENJOY THANKSGIVING STEM ACTIVITIES AND SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!
Click on the photos below for more great ideas to enjoy your holiday season this winter.
CHRISTMAS STEM ACTIVITIES
WINTER STEM ACTIVITIES
Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive problem-based challenges?
We have you covered…
—>>> FREE STEM Activities For Thanksgiving
katie woolsey
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