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7 affordable STEM activities for the whole family

Exposing children to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) from a young age can help foster their creativity, critical thinking skills and motivation. It can also open the door to future careers.

By 2025, it is estimated that there will be around 3.5 million STEM job openings, and 2 million of these jobs will ultimately be left vacant due to lack of qualified STEM professionals. This shortage is partly because many children aren’t exposed to STEM enough to feel confident pursuing a career in that industry.

But STEM can be fun and related activities are a great way to engage the whole family, adults included. Here are seven fun and affordable ways to explore STEM with your family.

DIY erupting volcano

Are your kids interested in geology or chemistry? Show them just how fun STEM can be by creating your own erupting volcano. For this experiment, you’ll need:

  • Empty soda bottle
  • Baking pan/tray
  • 3-7 cups of warm water
  • Red food coloring
  • 5 drops of dish soap
  • 2 tbsp baking soda
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • Funnel (optional)
  • Playdough OR make your own:
    • 6 cups of flour
    • 2 cups of salt
    • 4tbsp vegetable oil
    • 2 cups warm water

Instructions:

  1. Prepare the base
    • Take your plastic soda bottle and place it in the middle of your baking tray.
    • Cover the bottle opening with tape to ensure no material gets inside.
    • Use playdough or your DIY playdough to mold a volcano-like structure around the bottle (You can also use papier-mâché or clay, although these will need time to dry before proceeding to the next step.)
  1. Prepare the volcano
    • Fill the soda bottle two-thirds with warm water, and a few drops of food coloring (optional: use a funnel).
    • Gently stir in dish soap and baking soda
  2. Eruption
    • Without using a funnel, pour vinegar into the soda bottle opening, and watch the chemical reaction lead to a volcanic eruption before your eyes!
       

Make your own rock candy

An experiment and candy, all in one! This quick project involves turning saturated sugar water and sugar-coated skewers into a crystalized candy. Saturated in this case means that the sugar-water holds as much of the dissolved sugar as possible. The sugar molecules are more likely to bump into each other and stick together, which is called nucleation. As they stick together, they arrange themselves in an orderly, crystalline fashion. The rock candy activity will be a winner with every sweet tooth in your family, and it is super easy to make as well. For this experiment, you’ll need:

  • 2-3 cups of sugar
  • 1 cup of water
  • Skewers
  • A jar or glass
  • Clothespin
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • Candy flavoring (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Mix equal amounts of sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat and stir until all the sugar dissolves.
  2. Slowly add more amounts of sugar and continue to mix until the sugar does not dissolve any further (the water will look cloudy). 
  3. Remove from heat and allow your mixture to cool.
  4. Dip your skewers in water and roll them in sugar. Set aside and allow to dry.
  5. Once the sugar-water mixture is cooled, place a few drops of food coloring of your desired rock candy color into each jar. Pour sugar-water mixture into the jars.
  6. Using the clothespin, submerge sugar-coated skewers about halfway into the mixture.
  7. Check on your jars each day for about a week, or longer if desired. The sugar water with the food coloring will begin to adhere to the sugar on the skewer and take on a crystalline shape. Growth should begin by the third day and can continue for 7-10 days.
     

Egg drop contest

Test your engineering skills with an egg drop contest. Start by using this sheet to plan the best egg protection method. Then, build your masterpieces, place the eggs inside your creations and drop them from higher ground. Some suggestions for protective materials include:

  • Straws
  • Tape
  • Marshmallows
  • Packing peanuts
  • Cardboard
  • Sponges
  • Paper cups
  • Rubber bands
     

Carbon sugar snake

Watch as a snake comes to life in a matter of minutes with this fiery chemical reaction. For safety reasons, this experiment should either be reserved for older kids or completed by an adult with younger children watching. Keep your hair tied back, and never leave fire unattended or unsupervised by an adult. The materials needed include:

  • Pie tin
  • Sand
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 4 tsp powdered sugar
  • Small mixing bowl
  • Lighter fluid or ethanol
  • Lighter

​Instructions:

  1. Mix powdered sugar and baking soda in a bowl.
  2. Fill your pie tin with sand, make a small mound in the middle and use your finger to make a smaller indent in the middle of the mound.
  3. Pour lighter fluid on the mound, ensuring the sand is soaked.
  4. Place your baking soda and powered sugar mixture in the center of the mound.
  5. With caution, light the sand close to the sugar mixture. Watch as the baking soda and sugar begin to turn black and bubble up.
  6. After a few minutes, the snake will begin to form, and can continue to grow for over 20 minutes.
     

Floating stick figure

Create a “moving” stick figure drawing using dry erase markers and water. The figure appears to move because the ink used in dry erase markers doesn’t have much adhesive, but also can’t be dissolved easily in water. So when water is applied to the drawing, your doodle doesn’t disappear—it dances! This experiment is fairly simple to do, which makes it great for younger kids. The floating marker man first went viral online after first appearing in a video where he appears to come to life. You can also make this a lesson on water density! All you’ll need is:

  • A dry erase marker
  • Water

How does this work?

Unlike your average permanent markers, which contain strong adhesive to ensure they’ll show up on almost any surface, dry erase markers are made with very minimal adhesive. In addition to the minimal adhesive, dry erase markers are also insoluble, meaning the ink cannot be dissolved in any liquid. When water is poured overtop of a dry erase marker drawing, the figure will float while remaining in its original form.
 

DIY eggshell chalk

This experiment is a two-for-one, in that not only are you recycling eggshells, but afterwards you can use your experiment to make art (and it’s cheaper than buying regular chalk). All you need is:

  • 10 eggshells
  • 2 tsp of plain flour
  • 4 tsp hot water
  • Food dye
  • Paper towels

Instructions:

  1. Clean & dry eggshells.
  2. Blend or use a mortar and pestle to create a fine powder from the eggshells.
  3. Place the powder into a bowl and add the flour and hot water and mix until it’s a stiff paste.
  4. Add food dye to your paste mixture.
  5. Place the paste on top of a thick layer of paper towels and roll into a tube shape. You can also use try ice trays to create different chalk shapes.
  6. Once you’ve reached your desired shape, leave the chalk to dry for a few days.
  7. Once completely dried, your chalk is ready to use.
     

Build your own living room fort

Who would’ve thought family movie night could become an architectural challenge for everyone? Distribute as many blankets, pillows, clothespins, chairs and other elements and have everyone work together to create a fort that will last for a whole movie night. Or, if your family is more competitive, have each member build their own mini fort and let the winner pick the movie.

Summary

STEM education is important for every child, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. Learning about science, technology, engineering and match can be fun when you get the whole family involved. Which activity will you try first?