STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math! This exciting approach to teaching puts students in the center by encouraging exploration and innovation to solve problems. By doing so, we are creating tomorrow's cutting-edge leaders, ready to make new discoveries and advances that we couldn't even dream up! Use the projects below to create and cultivate the next generation of scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical innovators.
1. Setting Up Candy Wrappers
Teach kids about increasing the scale of an image by using grids. This activity works well with candy wrappers or cartoon characters, as these are things every middle schooler is interested in. You can also use this idea to teach them how to use grids to decrease the size of their drawings.
Learn more: Fast Times of a Middle School Math Teacher
2. Leaning Tower of Pasta
Have students practice their engineering skills with this fun activity using pasta and marshmallows. They will learn about compression and tension as they try to build the tallest and strongest structures!
Learn more: Teach Engineering
3. Toothpick Bridge
Another creative engineering project is this toothpick bridge project. Given only glue and toothpicks, students are expected to build bridges. They can earn extra points if their bridges are strong and can hold a lot of weight!
Learn more: Instructables
4. I Breathe What??
If you are looking for engineering and science activities that are combined, look no further than this activity that has students build pollution detectors to place in different areas to determine the number of different pollutants. After, you can discuss the different technologies engineers create to reduce the amount of air pollution.
Learn more: Teach Engineering
5. Backyard Weather Station
Teach students about how we are able to predict weather patterns using weather stations. After making their own predictions of what the weather will do, explain the science behind weather predicting and have them build their own weather stations!
Learn more: eGFI
6. One Million Dollar Project
Teach middle school students the value of the dollar with this fun math assignment that has them plan how they would spend one million dollars. It has them take real-life expenses into consideration, like paying for college and buying a house. After this assignment, they will appreciate their allowance that much more!
Learn more: 4mula Fun!
7. Watch for the Visually Impaired
Using the engineering design process, students create an assistive device--a watch for the visually impaired. This will introduce them to the field of biomedical engineering, as engineers are involved in every step of the process when creating assistive devices. A great thing about this project is you can use items you already have in the classroom and recycled materials the students bring from home.
Learn more: Dezeen
8. Protect Your Body, Filter Your Water!
Having access to clean water is a major concern of many people in the world; therefore, being able to filter dirty water to make it drinkable is invaluable! Teach students the importance of filtering water with this project. Put their engineering skills to use as they create their own water filters.
Learn more: Teach Engineering
9. Paper Roller Coasters
How doesn't love roller coasters?? This fun STEM challenge has students use paper, card stock, and tape to build their own roller coasters. How do you know if their roller coasters are successful? You roll a marble from the starting location and see if it makes its way to the end. Students will be amazed how many engineering skills are required to build these fun rides.
Learn more: Instructables
10. Fire Snake
This will be one of the science experiments students remember for many years to come. Why? Because it includes fire, snakes, and sugar--three things that all young people like. They will be amazed by the interactions of the different elements to create fire snakes!
Learn more: Surviving a Teacher's Salary
11. Alka Seltzer Lava Lamp
This is a great one to add to your simple STEM activities folder, as it only takes food coloring, vegetable oil, water, and Alka Seltzer tablets! Students will be in awe of the way the different elements interact in this simple yet fun experiment.
Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids
12. Ice Cream in a Bag
Who knew that there was science involved in making ice cream? But if you think about it, there is a lot of chemistry that goes into the process that you can discuss with students--like how the simple ingredients change as they go from room temperature to frozen--as you all make delicious treats.
Learn more: The Best Ideas for Kids
13. Paper Airplane Challenge
There are many STEM challenges you can do with students involving paper airplanes. You can have students see whose airplane design will fly the furthest, which will go the fastest, and which can most easily hit a given target. Students will be having so much fun, that they won't even realize they are being engineers!
Learn more: Kids Activities.com
14. Fidget Spinner Challenge
While fidget spinners may have momentarily driven teachers crazy, there are actually a lot of science and engineering concepts that can be covered with them! The attached site gives a number of different variations on fidget spinner activities, from creating their own design to using mathematical concepts to determine the cost of building their fidget spinners.
Learn more: Momgineer
15. Slime STEM Activities
A great STEM activity that teaches students about chemical reactions is creating slime. It is also a great way to employ the scientific investigative processes by using different approaches to creating your slime and then seeing how it alters your results.
Learn more: STEAM-Powered Family
16. No Valve in Vain
Biomedical engineers design things that not only assist people but also keep them alive. In this STEM activity, teach them how to create a one-way valve and discuss how these are used to keep blood flowing through the body.
Learn more: eGFI
17. Balloon Powered Car
If looking for STEM activities that include science and engineering, look no further than balloon-powered cars! Using various common materials, students build their cars, making sure to keep in mind that the axle must allow the wheels to turn, and then power them using air in balloons! There are so many different concepts you can cover in this one STEM challenge!
Learn more: Teaching Science
18. Marbled Cards
There are many middle school STEM projects that combine art and science, like this cool activity that has students make marbled cards! Discuss with your students the chemistry behind the way the different elements used in this experiment interact to create wonderful pieces of artwork.
Learn more: Scientific American
19. Elephant Toothpaste
Using an empty bottle of soda, mix different elements together to get a reaction and create elephant toothpaste! There are a couple of different ways to do this experiment--one should only be done by adults demonstrating and the other is safe for children. Either way, this is a great activity to teach about chemical reactions.
Learn more: Fractus Learning
20. Bath Bombs
In this experiment, have students form hypotheses about how water temperatures will affect the eruptions of bath bombs. After all of the students have made their predictions, test your theories by experimenting with bath bombs in different temperatures of water to see if there are different reactions. And if you have extra time, have them create their own bath bombs.
Learn more: Argo Food Service
21. Candy Crystals
Who knew that growing your own rock candy was so easy?? This will soon be one of your favorite middle school STEM activities, as it only requires a few materials/ingredients and is simple to do. Students will be amazed as they watch their candy crystals grow.
Learn more: Better Life Blog
22. Marble Speed Trap
Use Legos and marbles to review and reinforce the concept of velocity. This fun activity will have your students practicing many different skills, including coding, converting units, and problem-solving.
Learn more: Blog She Wrote
23. Cell Phone Stand
One thing we all have in our pockets these days is a cell phone. Have students design and engineer phone stands using common objects in your classroom.
Learn more: Scientific American
24. Cloud in a Bottle
Teach students how water turns into clouds using a clear bottle and a few drops of water. Students will get to see firsthand water condense and turn into a cloud!
Learn more: The Water Project.org
25. Walking on Eggshells
Everyone has heard the saying "walking on eggshells." Blow students' minds as you walk across eggs, not cracking a single one! After, discuss the physics behind this impressive feat.
Learn more: Nellie's Free Range
20 Fun, Engaging Back to School Activities for Middle School