STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math! This exciting topic puts your students at the center of learning 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! Check out these awesome STEM projects that are perfect for middle school to cultivate the next generation of scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical innovators!
1. Scaling Up Candy Wrappers
Teach your 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 your students practice their engineering skills with this fun activity using pasta and marshmallows! They’ll learn about concepts like compression and tension as they try to build the tallest and strongest structures! Dial up the competitive spirit with a prize for the winning team!
Learn More: Teach Engineering
3. Toothpick Bridge
Another creative engineering project for your middle schoolers is this toothpick bridge project. Your kiddos will only need glue and toothpicks to design and build some awesome bridges. They’ll 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 an activity that combines engineering and science then look no further! Your kids will build pollution detectors out of card, string, and sticky tape, to put in different areas. They’ll then collect these and use a magnifying glass to examine all of the different particles that have been caught. The results may be surprising!
Learn More: YouTube
5. Backyard Weather Station
Teach your students about how we’re able to measure and predict weather patterns using weather stations. After making their own predictions about what the weather will do, your budding meteorologists will build their own weather stations complete with a weather vane, barometer, rain gauge, and thermometer!!
Learn More: eGFI
6. One Million Dollar Project
Show your middle school students the value of the dollar with this fun math assignment! They’ll delight in planning how they’d spend one million dollars, but it won’t be all about fun and games! They’ll need to take real-life expenses into consideration, such as paying for college and buying a house. They’re sure to appreciate their weekly allowance that much more!
Learn More: 4mula Fun!
7. Protect Your Body, Filter Your Water!
Having access to clean water is a huge concern for many people around the world, so being able to filter dirty water to make it drinkable is invaluable! Put your kiddies’ engineering skills to the test as they work out the best way to create their own water filters using a sieve and some activated charcoal.
Learn More: Teach Engineering
8. Paper Roller Coasters
Who doesn’t love a roller coaster? This fun STEM challenge will have your little engineers use paper, card stock, and tape to build their own roller coasters. Next, they’ll roll a marble along the track and see if it makes its way to the end! They’ll be amazed at what kind of thought goes into their local fun park!
Learn More: Instructables
9. Fire Snake
This is one of those science experiments your students will remember for many years to come! Set up this experiment by lining a bowl with sand, then add sugar and baking soda on top. Next, saturate the mixture with some lighter fluid, then have your kiddies stand back as you light it up! They’ll be amazed by the interactions of the different elements and love the final product!
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10. Alka Seltzer Lava Lamp
Add this one to your simple STEM projects folder straight away! Have your kiddos combine food coloring, vegetable oil, and water in a clear jar or bottle, then start the show by adding an Alka Seltzer tablet! The way the different elements interact in this fun, simple experiment will be awe-inspiring for your class.
Learn More: Fun Learning for Kids
11. Ice Cream in a Bag
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Who knew there was science involved in making ice cream? Get your learners to combine and seal half and half, sugar, and vanilla in a zip lock bag, then place this into a bigger bag filled with ice and salt. After a good shake, their ice cream is ready for a taste test!
Learn More: The Best Ideas for Kids
12. Paper Airplane Challenge
There are tons of STEM challenges you can do with your students involving paper airplanes. They’re probably bored of seeing whose airplane will fly the furthest, so why not shake things up by seeing whose can carry the most cargo? They’ll be having so much fun that they won’t even realize they’ve become engineers!
Learn More: Kids Activities
13. Fidget Spinner Challenge
While fidget spinners may have momentarily driven teachers crazy, they can actually be a great learning opportunity!! Use them to teach your class about the engineering design process; from having your kids create their own design to using math concepts for budgeting the cost of building one, they’re sure to have fun with this one!
Learn More: Momgineer
14. Comparing Slime And Other Polymers STEM Activity
A great STEM activity that’s sure to excite your little scientists is one that involves slime! In this project you can make slime and other polymers and non-Newtonian fluids then compare the properties of each! What a perfect way to get your class talking about and practicing scientific investigative processes!
Learn More: STEAM-Powered Family
15. No Valve in Vain
Your kids will be inspired to learn that biomedical engineers design things that not only assist people but also keep them alive! In this STEM activity, you’ll teach your class how to create a one-way valve like the ones found in our hearts. They’ll see how this simple concept ensures that our blood continues to pump around our bodies.
Learn More: eGFI
16. Balloon Powered Car
Look no further for your next STEM project than the balloon-powered car! Using various crafting or recycled materials, your kiddies will build their cars and learn how an axle allows the wheels to turn as the balloon propels their cars across the room! There are so many different concepts you can cover in this one STEM challenge!
Learn More: Teaching Science
17. Elephant Toothpaste
Let your kiddos discover how some hydrogen peroxide can turn some everyday materials into elephant toothpaste! They’ll combine dish soap and food coloring with the peroxide, then add yeast to kick things off! This exciting chemical reaction isn’t one they’ll forget in a hurry!
Learn More: Fractus Learning
18. Bath Bombs
In this fun experiment, your kiddos will form hypotheses about how water temperatures will affect the eruptions of bath bombs. After they’ve made their predictions, they can fill up a tub with some water and get to testing! If you have time, you could have them create their own bath bombs for this project!?
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19. Candy Crystals
Creating these gorgeous lollies with your learners is sure to delight! Who knew that growing your own rock candy was so easy? Have your them create a mixture of sugar, water, and food dye, then submerge their prepared sticks and wait for the magic to happen! They’ll be amazed as they watch their candy crystals grow before their eyes!
Learn More: Better Life Blog
20. Marble Speed Trap
Toys + science = FUN! Use LEGOs and marbles to review and reinforce the concept of velocity with your kiddies. They’ll build their very own speed trap in this engaging activity using some light sensors which will measure the speed that the marble travels down the track! There’ll be no slowing these scientists’ learning down, that’s for sure!
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21. Cell Phone Stand
One thing we all have in our pockets these days is a cell phone. And why not make it the main attraction in this fun STEM activity? Have your kids use the design process to reimagine a common cell phone stand and then have them bring their visions into reality by using various crafting materials from around the classroom.
Learn More: Scientific American
22. Cloud in a Bottle
Inspire your future meteorologists with this unbelievable experiment! Using just a clear bottle, a few drops of water, and a match they’ll get to see firsthand how water condenses to form a cloud!
Learn More: The Water Project.org
23. Snickers Rock Models
Did you know that a simple Snickers bar can be used to represent three kinds of rock? Have your kiddos explore the layers of this delicious candy bar and experiment with applying pressure and heat to discover the effects these have on sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock.
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24. Windmill STEM Challenge
Engage your kids’ engineering mindsets with this windmill construction challenge, based on the story of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. They’ll use recyclables to explore, design, test, and refine models of windmills. This is an awesome way for them to explore future careers in STEM.
Learn More: Carly & Adam
25. Layers of The Ocean And Density
STEM activities are a great way to bring abstract scientific concepts, such as the layers of the ocean, to life for your students! This activity uses sand, salt, and water to make a mini-ocean in a glass. Your class will measure the different densities of these materials and discover how this relates to the ocean’s layers.
Learn More: Homeschool Momgineer
26. Bouncy Naked Eggs
Shell-less eggs are sure to fascinate your students, whatever their age! Give your learners an unboiled egg to put in some vinegar for about 24 hours; the result is a shell-less bouncy egg! Take this classic experiment a step further by predicting and testing which egg is the bounciest.
Learn More: Science Sparks
27. Glowing Eggs
Let your kiddies take the “naked egg” experiment to the next level with just one more ingredient–the ink from a highlighter! Add the ink pad from a highlighter to vinegar, then add the egg Once the shell has dissolved, take the egg to a dark room and shine a light on it! Talk about a glow-up!
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28. The Science of Sound Waves
Visualizing scientific concepts like sound waves can be tricky! However, with just a spoon, some string, and a ruler, your students will start to get the idea. First, have them tie a spoon to the end of two lengths of yarn and hold the yarn to their ears. Next, tap the spoon and watch the “Ah ha!” moment in real-time!
Learn More: KC Edventures
29. How Does a Leaf Breathe?
No lungs? No problem! Have your kids put a leaf in a bowl of water, set it in the sun, and watch as the magic of photosynthesis happens. Seeing the oxygen bubbles form on the surface of the leaf will show them this process in real-time!
Learn More: KC Edventures
30. Ping-Pong Ball Launcher
Get your kiddos outside with this fun rocket ball launcher experiment! Using a recycled plastic bottle and some rubber bands, your kiddos will learn about a ton of important STEM concepts such as the transfer of energy, inertia, and velocity. Create your basic prototype then let them tinker with the design to make improvements!
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31. Marble Energy Transfer
Build your kiddos’ understanding of how energy is transferred between objects in this intriguing marble experiment! Using their prior knowledge of potential and kinetic energy, they’ll make predictions about what will happen to the marbles when they collide and how far they will travel.
Learn More: Frugal Fun 4 Boys
32. LEGO Wrecking Ball
What’s better than building a LEGO tower? Using it to knock things down! For all your future engineers, it’ll be a hit to build some functional machines during a STEM design challenge! Using just a golf ball, some string, and a few LEGOs, task them with constructing a wrecking ball that’ll knock over anything standing in its way!
Learn More: LEGO Librarian
33. DIY Phone Amplifier
Check, one, two, three! Your music lovers will love this one. They’ll get to have a dance party in class, but must first they’ve got figure out how to amplify the music from a phone. Using only recyclable materials, have them build a device that’ll turn up the tunes!
Learn More: Mum In The Madhouse
34. Catapult Circuit Challenge
Ready, aim, fire! Have your kiddos engineer catapults from simple materials in this classic STEM activity. You can extend this activity by challenging them to complete several tests and get the perfect collapse! They’ll need to truly follow the engineering design process, revisiting and tweaking their machines in the pursuit of efficiency!
Learn More: Vivify STEM
35. Space Lander Challenge
In this incredible activity for your middle school kids, they’ll integrate physical science concepts and their problem-solving skills. They’ll be tasked with the real-world problem of developing a stable spacecraft that protects the “astronauts” inside upon landing. It’ll only take a few simple materials and some marshmallows to prepare!
Learn More: Vivify STEM
36. Index Card Challenge
This simple activity is the perfect icebreaker for your middle school kids and also incorporates STEM. First, split your learners into groups and give them a couple of minutes to write things they have in common on index cards. Next, they must race against each other to build the tallest card tower possible!
Learn More: Beakers And Ink
37. Saving Sam
Saving Sam is a STEM challenge for your table groups with a team-building element! Your kiddos have got to work together to save poor Sam, the gummy worm but they’ll only be allowed to use paperclips to flip his capsized boat and get his lifesaver on! This activity highlights the importance of sharing ideas respectfully, as they would in future STEM fields.
Learn More: Beakers And Ink
38. DIY Smartphone Projector
Your middle school students will explore concepts of projection and magnification as they work to create a functioning movie projector. After creating the projector from just a magnifying lens and box, your students can vote on which movie to watch as they test out their creation!
Learn More: The STEM Laboratory
39. Pinball Machine Challenge
Are there any pinball wizards in the room? Take your kiddies back to the days of arcades with this super fun pinball machine engineering activity. Have them design a functional pinball machine, complete with flippers, a plunger, and score holes, and prompt them to consider STEM concepts like the laws of motion, force, and velocity!
Learn More: Teach Student Savvy
40. Simple Machine Bird
Strengthen your learners’ engineering mindset as they build a mechanical bird complete with levers and gears! All you’ll need is some cardboard, popsicle sticks, and some plastic gear sets to challenge them to construct a bird that is able to flap its wings! This cool STEM activity will build an understanding of how simple machines are built.
Learn More: Homeschool Momgineer
41. Water Pipelines
Connect your classroom STEM lessons with future career pathways through this introduction to water pipelines! Your kiddies will use their problem-solving abilities to move water from a reservoir through straw pipelines! Can they get the water from A to B without any leaks?
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42. Earthquake Structures
Can your students build an earthquake-proof structure? Guide them as they investigate the properties of stable structures and then use simple materials to create multi-level buildings that can withstand a Jello earthquake! This fun STEM activity is a super hands-on way to shake things up for your middle schoolers!
Learn More: Teachers Are Terrific
43. Thaumatrope
During this STEM lesson, you’ll teach your students the scientific magic behind a classic toy from the old days; the thaumatrope! First, your kiddos will trace or draw designs on the two sides of a cardstock circle. Then, after learning about “persistence of vision,” they’ll add rubber bands and spin their creations to see them in action as the two images blend together.
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44. Pringles Ring
Amaze your kiddos with this feat of friction and gravity as they work to construct rings of only Pringles chips. By carefully placing the chips in the correct pattern, they’ll be able to form a solid ring that stands without support! Amazing, right? The best part is that their creation becomes an edible reward in the end!
Learn More: Carly & Adam
45. Light Painting
Light painting may seem like just a fun social media trend, but on a deeper level, it is an exploration of camera exposure and light! Turn out the lights, set your camera on a long exposure mode, and show your kiddos what types of images they can create with just a torch or glow stick!
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46. Video Game Coding
Before delving into your classroom unit on video game engineering, challenge your kids to complete the same type of tasks in a hands-on way. Encourage them to think through their overall layout, familiarize themselves with commands, and figure out what they’ll need to incorporate into a purposeful game design.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
47. Design a Video Game
Introduce your learners to basic game coding concepts with this super offering! The software is right at their fingertips with Google CS First for them to learn how to create simple racing games. and as it meets ISTE standards! What a fun and practical resource to help your middle schoolers meet the STEM curriculum.
Learn More: Google CS First
48. Lightbot Coding
Lightbot is another fantastic online resource for building your students’ understanding of coding. They will get to practice their skills in relaying commands, making loops, and utilizing their critical thinking skills on this interactive platform. This a great choice for a STEM block or as an activity for your early finishers!
Learn More: Light Bot
49. Printable Debugging Game
Debugging is an important principle of coding that your kiddos should learn early on. Grab this quick and easy debugging practice printable to tap into their critical thinking skills. It’s sure to show your kids the importance of thorough, error-free coding, which is critical for a future career in computer science!
Learn More: iGame Mom
50. Digital Artist
Looking for an awesome online resource that combines art and technology? Code has numerous coding games and activities to teach your students the basics of code and Artist is no exception!! Your class will be totally engaged as they follow the on-screen coding instructions to create increasingly difficult shapes. They’ll be coding pixels to create masterpieces in no time!
Learn More: Code
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