The 12 Best STEM Activities for Kids (Using Things You Already Have at Home)

One of the ultimate STEM activities is the Rube Goldberg machine that’s based on the American cartoonist and inventor who purposely created over-engineered contraptions to perform simple tasks. Download the Walmart app and explore the interactive Camp by Walmart platform (you can find it within the Services tab) to create your own mini-golf course at home using toys and objects you already have on hand. The app will walk you through a series of engineering riddles that have to be solved correctly in order to score a hole in one.

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2. Toothpick Towers

The materials aren’t hard to come by for this project but the opportunity for learning is big. With only a pack of toothpicks and a bag of marshmallows, your budding engineer can learn through trial and error. This architectural activity encourages imagination (will she build a castle, a house or maybe a bridge?) as well as critical thinking and fine motor skills—she’ll have to skewer that marshmallow just the right way to achieve a structure with staying power. The road to success will likely be paved with frustration, but that’s how STEM learning (and life) goes. Bonus: this activity features a built-in bribe if things get too intense.

3. Shiny Pennies

If you find a penny, pick it up...then pour a heap of salt on it, douse it with vinegar and watch a chemical reaction unfold. Now you have a pretty penny (without spending one). In this science experiment, the salt and vinegar combine to form a weak acid and when this solution meets the ruddy copper of a well-loved penny, the metal oxides are dissolved and a shiny new coin is revealed. For more advanced chemistry lessons, check out Exploratorium for detailed instructions and variations on this theme.

Kids can't get enough out of this ooey-gooey stuff and that's not such a bad thing: Slime is a great tool for sensory play and also helps develop fine motor strength. Making your own has the added bonus of teaching kids about chemical reactions (read up on the endothermic and cross-linking properties of slime here) plus keeping little hands occupied on a rainy afternoon. Explore Camp by Walmart in the Walmart app and see how to make this glittery unicorn slime at home by finding it within the Services tab.

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5. Bake Bread

So much learning can take place in the kitchen, especially when it comes to chemistry. The benefit of bread-making is twofold: a delicious result and a science lesson you can cook up at home. To make this hands-on activity educational, choose a recipe for a rising bread (here are some ideas to get you started) and have your child help make the dough. Explain how yeast feeds off of sugar and creates a chemical reaction. (Quick chemistry class refresher: the product is carbon dioxide and it’s these gas bubbles that make the bread rise.)

6. Sink or Float

This fun, water-based STEM activity is suitable for even the youngest children. To try it out, fill your tub and curate a selection of water-friendly items from around your home. (An older child can be more hands-on with this part of the experiment prep; a younger one will want to drown your iPhone.) What should you test? Your kid’s favorite truck, a Ziploc bag, a ball of tinfoil or an old cork. Record the results and ask your child to offer his own theories before testing the buoyancy of each item, then offer yours while you suds him up.

Forts are perennially popular with children and they’re also a great STEM activity, provided you aren’t the only architect. Pull out a large sheet and some clamps (you can buy heavy duty plastic ones at a hardware store but chip clips and extra-large binder clips will work in a pinch) and let your kiddo’s determination do the rest. The process—draping a sheet over the furniture, using clamps and knots to secure it and then discovering through trial-and-error that the dimensions don’t quite work—will keep your child occupied for at least twenty minutes, and the engineering challenge helps develop critical thinking skills.

8. Magnet Play

This one is as simple as it sounds and it’s a great way to teach kids of all ages about magnetism. Equip your child with a fridge magnet tied to a string and instruct him to roam around the house exploring which everyday objects the magnet is attracted to. Once your little one has a small collection of found ferrous objects, give the activity a twist: Scatter the collection on the floor and ask your child to “go fishing” i.e., try to pick the objects up using the magnet. And there you have it—a workout for the brain that also boosts fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

9. Lego Math

There’s a good chance you already have Legos in your home but did you know that these bricks are good for more than just building (and hurting the soles of your feet when you step on them)? To encourage your budding genius, lay out a piece of white paper, poster board or whiteboard as your child’s worksheet. Draw two horizontal lines to divide the paper into thirds. Next draw a rectangle on the right-hand side of both the top and middle sections. Set out a bucket of Legos and your little one is ready to start this fun lesson in simple math. Place a small number of Legos in the top and middle sections for your child to add together and record the sum in the bottom rectangle (use a pencil so the worksheet can be reused.) Here’s an example: Place five bricks on top and six bricks in the middle—add them together and write 11 in the bottom. This hands-on game gives young children a head start on math by providing a helpful visual aid. (You can also teach them subtraction with this method.)

Back in the day, folding a piece of paper into an airplane was a fun way to pass a note in class. But did you know your crafting mischief was actually a lesson in physics? Paper airplanes teach children the four basic concepts of aerodynamics—lift, thrust, drag and weight—through trial and error. But we aren’t just talking about the hit and miss that happens when your two-year-old crumples up his artwork, tries to throw it at you and misfires. Help your child follow one of these tried-and-true patterns and she’ll learn all about precision and patience, too.

11. Homemade Ice Cream

If there’s one science lesson all kids can get on board with, it’s the one that ends with an ice cream sundae. Don’t be fooled, this activity is much more than just a complicated dessert recipe—it teaches children about phases of matter, freezing point, and freezing point depression. This edible experiment will give your kiddo a physical workout, too (there’s a whole lot of shaking required). You’ll need sugar, salt, half and half, ice cubes and some elbow grease. Check out the recipe here and get your child ready to exercise her biceps, brain, and taste buds all at once.

12. Make a Marble Run

Sure you can buy a marble run kit but where's the fun in that? Instead, get your young one’s wheels turning with a DIY challenge: create a marble run out of recyclable materials...go! Depending on the age of your child, you might need to lend a helping hand (with scissors and tape) but the gist of this activity is that your mini can explore physics with ingenuity and patience. With nothing more than strong tape (duct or packaging will work) and toilet paper tubes, she can send a bouncy ball zipping through some serious chutes and curves. Those false starts along the way? That’s engineering.