Are you looking for some fun and engaging September STEM activities and projects to fill out your lesson plans this month? You’ve come to the right place!
Fall is almost here and the school year is in full swing. The start of the school year is a great time to introduce STEM projects that incorporate the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These hands-on activities are a great way to spark wonder and curiosity from the get-go.
Want to learn more about the benefits of STEM, how to use STEM in your classroom, and get some free September STEM activities to kick start your school year? Read below for more!
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Benefits of STEM Activities & Projects
STEM is the integration of two or more of the subjects Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics into a fun and engaging hands-on activity. These projects tend to open a child’s mind to think critically about the world around them.
Many times, a STEM project encourages a child to ask a question about the world and figure out the HOW and the WHY, instead of just being told an answer.
A student can be curious about the world, be challenged to find a solution, and be creative to show evidence and support their conclusion.
Not only is a child learning the answer to their question, but the child follows the steps of the scientific method, approaches real-world scenarios with real-world applications, and has fun along the way.
And don’t forget the amazing career opportunities for those students who fall in love with STEM. The world today is creating newer and more exciting jobs in the STEM field such as:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Rocket and Launchpad Construction
- Software Programming
- Web Development
- Systems Analysis
- Database Administration
With STEM, students lean into their natural curiosity and wonder of the world around them.
By incorporating STEM activities and projects into your curriculum, you’ll be unleashing your child into opportunities of success and lifelong learning!
Get Monthly STEM Projects Delivered Right to Your Inbox!
Are you interested in starting a STEM component in your child’s curriculum this September and want to continue with STEM all year long?
Here at Hess UnAcademy, we’ve got you covered with STEM activities for any time of the year. Check out our STEM Made Easy Digital Subscription. Each month, you’ll have access to:
- 5 curated STEM activities each month
- Supplemental learning resources
- Supply Lists
- Step-by-step instructions
- Reading passages and worksheets
- Famous People in STEM insert
This is an incredible value for consistently new and relevant STEM activities being delivered straight to your email inbox. Get a subscription today!
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7 September STEM Activities and Projects
Ready for some fun STEM activities for September?
Check out these fun project ideas below and get the full instructions for each by clicking the link on the project name:
1. Mentos and Coke
Want to begin your school year with a bang? This project integrates math and physics for those space and astronaut lovers. This is always a spectacle no matter what age: younger kids love the physical blast and older kids enjoy building the rocket. Teach chemical reactions and how they can create a physical reaction with this fun STEM project.
2. Back to School Balloon Static
It’s always fun to celebrate the start of the school year, so why not use some celebratory decorations to learn about electric charges? Teach about static electricity and the transfer of electrons with this silly demonstration that is bound to bring laughter. And who doesn’t love balloons to kick off the school year?
3. DIY Composting Bin
We’re ending the summer season which means gardens are getting to the end of their seasonal growth. Making a compost bin is a great way to talk about conserving the environment and reducing waste as consumers of our planet. Composting breaks down organic matter into a nutrient soil. So not only will your student reduce waste at your home, but they will also have great soil to plant any fall crops.
4. Dragon Fire Science Experiment
We haven’t fallen back in the time change yet and evenings are starting to cool off before the fall season sets in. What better way to enjoy the cooling nights than with some fire demonstrations? This project will study how different fuels create different colored flames. It’s the perfect companion activity to a bonfire and s’mores night!
5. Tin Can Ice Cream Experiment
Those warm temperatures are still holding on and ice cream is the perfect way to end summer. Most kids love to drag out ice cream eating season so this project is the great visual transition from summer to fall. Using popular household items, your student will learn how to mix and churn their ice cream can in creative and kinesthetic ways. And of course, they get the sweet reward of eating the ice cream that they created at the end! It’s the perfect edible science experiment!
6. 3D Edible DNA
Maybe you’re starting the year learning about the human body and want to begin at a molecular level. What better way to learn about the DNA double helix than to create your own? Better yet, what if it was an edible visual? This project accomplishes all of that and more! The 3D Edible DNA STEM project gives a unique perspective to the structure of human life.
7. Slime Science Project
Nothing makes a child more excited to learn than the possibility of messy slime! Making slime is a popular past time for many families with younger children, but if taught with a chemistry lens, it’s the perfect activity for older kids as well. Slime is one of those unique matters that doesn’t always follow the rules of fluid dynamics which makes for creative and delightful discoveries.
How to Use These September STEM Projects
Maybe you’re ready to jump into the world of STEM but aren’t sure how to use these September STEM activities in your homeschool or your classroom.
Here are some tips to help make your STEM project successful:
- Use what you’ve already got. Many of these STEM activities for September use items around the house and kitchen for materials. Do you have baking soda? Tissue paper? Food coloring? Elmer’s glue? There are so many resources available to help find substitutions for most STEM projects that you could explore a STEM topic without necessarily going to the store.
- Encourage exploration of your child’s interests. Does your child love gardens? Perfect; your child will enjoy the September STEM project on composting. Your student can use math and engineering to build the compost bin, and then use science to create rich, nutrient soil with their scrap waste. Maybe your child loves space. The mentos and soda rocket would be an excellent kinesthetic, hands-on way to incorporate your child’s interest into a science and technology study.
- Add STEM into your curriculum schedule. In the same way that you create routine for any subject in your homeschool, create space for your student to discover STEM. Give them time to make inquiries and question the world around them. Allow your child to come up with multiple tests to find solutions and allow your child to fail in their experiments. STEM is the way new scientists and inventors are made: through trial and error, hypotheses and tests. Let learning come alive!
- Adapt activities by age level. Remember that these September STEM activities can be modified and differentiated by age and level. You can introduce the idea of static electricity to your youngest student and let them simply play with balloons and make their hair stick up. Then come back around to the same topic for your oldest student by making the experiment more involved with specific findings about positive and negative charges.
- Document your findings. STEM projects are all-encompassing of the school subjects because of the incorporation of lab reports and documenting findings. It’s not only important that your child find a way to a solution and figure out an answer. It’s equally as important that your child can communicate how they came to that answer and why it matters. It’s a fantastic way to practice informative and scientific graphing, writing, and presenting.
- Check out your local community. In the same vein of use what you’ve got, don’t forget that you might live in the perfect community to see some of these September STEM projects in real life. Do you have a farm near your home? What about a factory? Is there a university with a planetarium? Even a local zoo can be an informative resource for something you’re studying. Check out some co-ops with other homeschooling families and share expertise and experience with your neighbors.
Try the September STEM Activities All Month Long!
It’s not a surprise that educators and parents around the country are raving about STEM.
Toys, subscription boxes, classes, websites, and schools are all focused on how to incorporate STEM into the everyday curriculum.
Remember that the reason STEM is so popular is that it unleashes the curiosity in each learner through a fun and engaging way. These projects are exactly how kids want to learn.
We hope these back-to-school September STEM activities create a love of learning that sticks around all year long!
More STEM Resources
- Fast, easy, and simple STEM activities
- STEAM Art projects
- Summer STEAM activities
- STEM activities using paper
- Team building STEM activities
- STEM activities using household Items
- Free STEM activities
- Camping themed STEM activities
- Fall STEM Activities
- No Prep STEM Projects
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