It’s already October and the start of spooky season! My kids were ready to put up our Halloween decorations on October 1st, and they also were already talking about costumes and candy. When we put out our Halloween tablecloth it reminded me of all the fun activities we have done on that tablecloth over the years.
Below is a round up of our 8 best spooky, sweet, magical, and FUN Halloween themed STEAM activities for kids!
1. Halloween Candy Color Diffusion
This activity is easy, colorful, kids love it, and best of all: it uses up extra Halloween candy! So set aside some Skittles or M&M’s and show kids they don’t have to eat all the candy – they can experiment with it instead. I bet they will have more fun doing this activity than eating the candy. 😉
2. Candy Corn Halloween Experiment
Like the Halloween Candy Color Diffusion activity above, this activity uses up some extra Halloween candy: candy corn. My kids always ask to buy candy corn, then it goes mostly uneaten for a month. This is a great way to learn a few science concepts while putting that candy corn to use! I know your kids will have a blast with this one.
3. Easy Halloween Slime
I don’t know why, but to me Halloween and slime seem to go hand in hand. Maybe it’s the slimy, gooey, sticky feeling of slime that reminds me of the spooky feeling of Halloween. Regardless, I think Halloween is a great time to make slime with your kids at home.
In this post, I share how to make Halloween themed slime by using cool glue bases (like glow in the dark, color changing, glitter glue, etc), and adding in fun add-ons (like plastic spiders, or colorful tiny balls). Check it and become the cool mom this Halloween by letting your kids make slime at home (you can even make it in the backyard if your scared of the mess).
4. Disappearing Ghosts
My kids were amazed, wowed, and shocked by this “spooktacular” Halloween STEAM activity. It’s so easy, and my kids couldn’t believe it as the ghosts melted before their eyes. Check it out in the post linked below.
5. Halloween Color Reveal with a Chemical Reaction
We LOVE a baking soda and vinegar chemical reaction. My kids can’t get enough of the bubbles, foam, and fizz, and it reminds me of Halloween. We make it even more fun by hiding Halloween colors (black, orange, purple, and green) under the baking soda.
Use 3 bowls: squirt black food coloring (if you have it, if not try combing all your dark food coloring – red, blue, and green – to get a color close to black) into the first bowl, orange food coloring (or combine red and yellow food coloring to make orange) into the second bowl, and green or purple food coloring into the third bowl. Cover the food coloring with baking soda. When the kids add vinegar to the bowls the hidden color will be revealed with the bubbles! Check out the full instructions in the post below.
6. Make Color Changing Flowers for a Halloween Centerpiece
This is a perfect activity for any holiday, but it’s easy to make it work for Halloween. Buy some white carnations, daisies, and/or roses. Fill 3 vases with water, and add black food coloring (or combine all your dark colors of food coloring to get something close to black) to one jar, orange food coloring (this can be made by combining red and yellow food coloring) to another, and put either green or purple (this can be made by combining blue and red food coloring) food coloring in the third jar.
After 5-7 days your flowers should become tinted with these fun Halloween colors. It makes a pretty, colorful, and educational centerpiece as you watch the flowers absorb the food coloring in the water. Check out the full instructions in the post below.
7. Color Changing “witches” potion Tea
My kids love this coloring changing tea. The butterfly tea will magically change from “midnight blue” to “princess pink” just by adding one secret ingredient: lemon! The blog post is Valentine’s Day themed, but I also shared this activity on my Instagram account as a Halloween experiment. It works anytime of year really, but it’s more fun when you can give it a Halloween theme! Check out the full instructions in the post below.
8. Make your own Oobleck
My final Halloween STEAM activity is probably my favorite: Oobleck! It’s so easy to make: just combine cornstarch and water, but it’s endlessly fun to play with! Is it liquid, is it solid, is it some spooky spell? Kids will have fun letting it run between their fingers like a swamp monster, rolling it in their hands like a sorcerer, and just getting messy! Be prepared for a mess, but also be prepared for lots of smiles and laughter while your kids play with the Oobleck!
What are you waiting for?! Get started trying 1, 2, or all of these sometimes spooky, sometimes sweet, but always fun Halloween STEAM Activities for Kids!
You can also find many of these activities and more in my Holiday STEAM Activities for Kids printable found in my shop. You can have these activities printed in your hand anytime anywhere, no internet or screen required, just one-on-one time with your kids when you print the activities in the printable.
Holiday STEAM Activities for Kids
The holidays are a perfect time to plan a few fun and festive STEAM activities. This is a collection of 28 holiday themed STEAM experiments and activities. This printable pack includes a table of contents, an introduction with information about Engineering Emily, an explanation of the meaning of STEAM, what to expect in each activity printable, tips for success, and an overview of the holiday activities, followed by 28 two-and three-page easy and fun holiday themed activities for kids.
