Fast, Easy + Simple STEM Activities

This exploding Ivory soap experiment is the very definition of fast and simple. Just pop a bar of Ivory soap in the microwave and within a few seconds, you'll have finished your project!

The good news is this is a project your kids won't soon forget.

One of the most simple STEM activities for elementary students involves nothing more than a balloon and some plastic bags.

Explore static electricity with this super fast and easy STEM project for kids!

With a little adult supervision, homemade elephant toothpaste is a fast and extremely simple STEM activity. Just mix the ingredients together and watch it explode!

This flying dragon STEM craft is simple and quite fun! If you forgo the googly eyes, most families already have the needed materials on hand.

First, your kids will make a little dragon using an empty toilet paper roll and some paper. Then they will learn about force and motion as they make their dragons fly using only a piece of string!

This is a great activity that’s quite fun and very simple. You should be done in an hour or less and then your kids will be free to play with their dragons for the rest of the day.

This activity is especially fun for preschoolers and younger kids but even older kids will have fun with these dragons.

Go read more about the flying dragon STEM craft here.

Fizzy Lemonade is a fun science experiment that only takes a couple of minutes, especially if you use concentrated lemon juice instead of fresh squeezed lemons.

Teach your little ones about bases and acids as they experiment with lemon juice and baking soda. The resulting explosion is a ton of fun! Learn more about fizzy lemonade now.

Exploding sidewalk chalk is a super simple STEM activity that uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. This activity should take 30 minutes or less from start to finish, making it perfect for busy families.

All you need to do us mix corn starch, water, and coloring in a baggie. Add some vinegar, zip it up, and then wait for the explosion!

It’s a fun and messy way to learn about chemical reactions and Non-Newtonian fluids. Go learn more about exploding sidewalk chalk now.

This activity is especially simple because the materials you need are completely up to you! Using recycled materials and items you already have on hand, challenge your kids to make a boat that will float.

This is a fun engineering project for elementary students as young as first grade or as old as fifth. Plus it makes for some frugal fun.

When they’re done building, get a bucket, a sink, or a bathtub of water and see if the boats actually do float! This is a good lesson on buoyancy for little ones and it’s tons of fun. Go read more about the floating boat STEM challenge here.

This STEM project also requires recycled materials. Using a toilet paper or paper towel roll and an old CD, your kids can make their very own spectrocsopes.

Use these spectroscopes to study light refraction and make their very own rainbows! This fun activity will keep your kids engaged for hours with only a few minutes of effort on your part.

Go learn how to make a homemade spectroscope now!

If you want a very simple STEM activity for young kids, check out these Brainflake toys. Brainflakes are very similar to Legos in the sense that they are open-ended building toys.

However, I believe they are better because they are too big for babies to choke on and they won’t kill your foot if you step on them barefoot.

Go read my writeup on Brainflakes here and see why we love these simple STEM toys so much!

If your kids like playdough, they are going to love making their own homemade slime. While many parents do not consider slime to be simple, if you’re up for mixing a few easy ingredients together and you don’t mind a little mess (or it’s warm enough to send the kids to play outside) then this fun activity might be a lifesaver.

Bonus – if you get your kids involved in the making and the mixing, this STEM activity even doubles as a fun science activity with color mixing and chemical reactions for preschoolers on up.

Check out this collection of edible slime recipes for little kiddo safety. You could even have them conduct their very own easy science experiment!

If done properly, dragon paper airplanes can be a STEM activity that works for any age from toddler through high school (by adding data analysis, statistics, graphs, charts, etc) but if you just want to enjoy a paper airplane contest, this STEM activity is fast and simple. Go learn how we made dragon paper airplanes now.

While this project is a bit more involved and time-consuming for younger kids, tweens and teens will definitely find this project both simple and enjoyable. And who doesn't love playing with their food?