10 Fun November STEM Activities & Projects for Kids

As November approaches, the air gets crisper, the leaves change colors, and Thanksgiving draws near. We put away the pool noodles and swimsuits and pull out our sweaters and board games. The change of the season and all the fun it holds is the perfect time to infuse some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) into your autumn festivities.

Whether you’re a teacher looking for classroom activities or a parent searching for fun and educational projects to do with your children during the Thanksgiving season, we’ve got you covered with a whole slew of November STEM activities and project ideas.

Using STEM in our everyday lives, and incorporating special holidays and fun activities is not just about preparing for a specific career or academic pursuit; it’s about equipping ourselves with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex and technology-driven world, and to make it seem a little less daunting and a little more familiar.

STEM empowers students to be informed, innovative, and adaptable individuals capable of contributing to their communities and addressing global challenges. STEM is not just an educational approach; it’s a way of thinking and living that benefits us all.

Why Do STEM Activities This November?

STEM education encourages students to think critically, analyze problems, and develop logical solutions to the problems they face. These skills they learn at a young age are invaluable in making informed decisions in their daily lives, whether it’s troubleshooting a technical issue or evaluating the nutritional value of food they eat.

STEM activities teach students effective problem-solving skills and how to approach challenges methodically. In our daily lives, we encounter various problems, from repairing a leaky faucet to managing complex projects at work. The problem-solving skills gained through STEM education empower us to tackle these issues effectively.

In today’s digital age, technology is everywhere we look. As the “T” in STEM indicates, STEM education equips us with the skills to navigate and utilize technology confidently and allows students to use it to their advantage. From using smartphones to programming home automation systems, technological literacy is essential for modern living.

STEM activities and projects also fuel innovation, which drives progress in all sectors. Whether it’s developing life-saving medical technologies, designing sustainable energy solutions, or creating user-friendly apps, innovation is rooted in STEM principles. Incorporating STEM into our lives promotes innovative thinking and entrepreneurship.

And lastly, STEM education empowers individuals to understand and address pressing global challenges, such as climate change, disease outbreaks, and resource depletion. It equips students with the knowledge and tools to contribute to solutions and make informed choices that impact the planet’s well-being.

With so many benefits of STEM, it just makes sense to incorporate these activities into your lessons as often as possible.

10 Fun November STEM Activities

1. Make Your Own Mayflower Boat

November is the perfect time to teach your students all about the pilgrims and why they are significant. This craft is a great way to lead the discussion on how exactly the pilgrims came to America.

The great thing about this project is that it can be done with just about anything you have in your house, and can be used any time of the year, not just in November. Some materials you can use for the boat include: egg cartons, sticks, paper, straws, bottles, toothpicks, and so much more.

Read a story about the Mayflower and let your students create their very own boat to bring their pilgrims safely to a new world. This project will help your students not only understand what a great feat the voyage was, but also allow them to understand crucial scientific and engineering facts, like what can sink or float, the best structure to hold the most weight, and what type of materials are the most efficient in terms of weight and movement.

Get the full project: Floating Mayflower

2. Cranberry Slime

We all know that cranberries are a staple at any Thanksgiving meal, but there’s always a ton of it left after everyone is done eating. Well, now you can help your mom get rid of the extra leftover cranberry sauce with this yummy cranberry slime!

All you need is one cup of cranberry sauce and one cup of cornstarch. You simply mix the two ingredients until you have the perfect slimy consistency. The best part about this project is that you don’t have to worry about the slime getting into the hands of a little one since it is perfectly safe to taste.

Get the full project: Cranberry Slime

3. Turkey Cages

Here’s another fun activity that you can gobble down when you’re done. Allow your students to showcase their engineering skills and creativity by building a cage to keep their turkeys in by only using toothpicks and marshmallows.

If you want to make this project even more festive, you can swap out the marshmallows for some cranberries!

Allow your students to come up with their own design and let them judge how strong or effective their cages are at keeping those turkeys in. You can also get creative with the turkeys and how many should fit in each cage.

Get the full project: Turkey Cages

4. Old-Fashioned Butter

Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete without a side of rolls and butter. This Thanksgiving you can tell your mom or grandmother to leave the butter-making to you.

With this easy and delicious recipe, you can help contribute to the Thanksgiving meal while learning the science behind butter-making. All you need is a jar and some heavy whipping cream for this edible science experiment!

A fair warning, this can make their arms a little tired, so you might want to trade it between a few students or help your child if you’re doing this at home with them. But the reward of seeing their hard work turn into something (and of course the delicious butter at the end) makes it worth the effort.

Get the full project: Old-Fashioned Butter

5. Fizzing Cranberry Experiment

This experiment is a great way to explore chemistry, states of matter, and use cranberries in yet another way than just boring old cranberry sauce! This fizzy cranberry sauce will teach your students all about the states of matter, which are liquids, solids, and gases, and how different types of ingredients react differently when mixed and combined.

In this experiment, your students will use their cranberry juice to act as an acid, and add baking soda, which will act as a base. When combined, they create a gas called carbon dioxide, which causes the fun fizzies you’ll see appear.

Get the full project: Fizzing Cranberry Experiment

6. How Much Can Your Thanksgiving Table Hold?

Have you ever looked at the table during your Thanksgiving meal and wondered how heavy all that food must be? Well, here is a fun little experiment to build your own Thanksgiving table and test out how much weight it can hold!

A big part of structural engineering is the weight it can hold and the stability of the structure. This is why this project can help you discover and test both of those! This project can be simplified or made more challenging by adding or taking away materials, or giving more or less instructions on how to build it!

It is a fun way to get your students to work together and learn from each other, while they figure out what the best ways are to roll or fold paper to bear the most weight.

Get the full project: How Much Can Your Thanksgiving Table Hold?

7. Crystal Pumpkins

After Halloween you might still have a few pumpkins sitting out on your porch, or, if you’re one of those people who believes that the Christmas season starts as soon as the Halloween candy bowl is empty, then this experiment is perfect for you.

Grab your old pumpkins sitting out on the porch, or go to a pumpkin patch and have your students find their own little pumpkin for this beautiful experiment, where you can crystallize your pumpkin!

The borax mixture used in this experiment will cover your pumpkin and make tiny, beautiful crystals once it dries, leaving your pumpkin ready for the winter ahead!

Get the full project: Crystal Pumpkins

8. Invisible Cranberry Messages

Everyone loves a good science trick, and now your students can bring some entertainment to the Thanksgiving table with this fun, magical trick. All you need is cranberry sauce, baking soda, water, and cotton swabs to write with.

This fun little trick will allow you to write a secret message using baking soda and water, and the cranberry sauce will reveal it. You can turn it into a game around the table, writing all the things you are grateful for on a paper with the ‘magic solution’ and have the rest of the people try to figure it out.

You can extend the fun by having the students draw a picture with the invisible ink and then coloring it in afterward.

Get the full project: Invisible Cranberry Messages

9. Turkey Catapult

Wrap up your Thanksgiving dinner with a turkey-themed catapult challenge. Design catapults capable of launching paper turkeys or other Thanksgiving-themed objects, like mini pumpkins or cranberries.

This project will allow your students to experiment with different materials, angles, and forces to optimize their catapults’ performance. It’s a fantastic way to explore physics and engineering while celebrating the Thanksgiving spirit.

The best part is that the catapult can be built with things found around the house. It can also be modified to catapult larger and heavier items.

Place a marker at each spot where your items land and see who can catapult it the furthest!

Get the full project: Turkey Catapult

10. Leaf Chromatography Experiment

November marks the end of fall and the beginning of winter. It’s the time when leaves change color and cover the ground only to reveal barren trees that will soon fill with snow. But why exactly do the leaves change color every season? This experiment might help answer that question.

Chromatography simply means to separate, which is what your students will be doing with the fall leaves. The different colors in leaves are all created by different chemicals, which is why we can separate them during this fun experiment.

You will need to pick up some leaves outside, the more different colors, the better. You will also need jars, rubbing alcohol, water, a blender, safety goggles and paper towels.

Get the full project: Leaf Chromatography

A New Way to Find STEM Project Ideas

We have tons of fun STEM activities, projects, and ideas to keep your students entertained these cold winter months! Our STEM Made Easy Digital Subscription will give you new, fun ideas to keep your child or students intrigued, engaged, and warm in the world of STEM. Each month, you’ll receive a curated collection of STEM project blueprints directly to your email inbox, with a bunch of resources and worksheets to help reinforce the learning that is already taking place.

---

Inspire, Create, Discover: Expertly Curated STEM Projects!

---

More STEM Resources to Check Out

STEM Project Ideas by Grade Level:

• STEM Activities for Kindergarteners
• STEM Activities for 1st Graders
• STEM Activities for 2nd Graders
• STEM Activities for 3rd Graders
• STEM Activities for 4th Graders
• STEM Activities for 5th Graders
• STEM Projects for Middle Schoolers
• STEM Activities for High School Students
• STEM Activities for Teens

Holiday STEM Activity Guides:

• Valentine’s Day STEM Activities 
• St. Patrick’s Day STEM Activities
• Independence Day STEM Activities
• Halloween STEM Activities
• Thanksgiving Themed STEM Activities
• Christmas STEM Activities

General STEM Activity Guides:

• 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
• STEAM Activities for Elementary Kids
• The Best Online STEM Classes for Kids