Leaves are changing and there is a slight chill in the air. Halloween is just around the corner. Here are a few of our favorite Halloween STEAM activities for the classroom. These activities will engage students in important science concepts — and make them a little more fun, too. After all, who doesn’t want to learn about elasticity or viscosity by making slime?! Best yet, the activities below have no screens required.

Activity #1: The Dissolving Candy Experiment

Halloween is a time when candy is abundant — sorry, Mr. Dentist. While eating the candy is fun, you can also do some fun STEAM experiments with candy as well. Check out the following activity.

Materials:

Candy Corn
Peeps (ghosts and pumpkins)
Water, vinegar, oil, seltzer, cornstarch
Toothpicks
Clear cups
Timer

Instructions:

STEP 1 – Measure and fill clear cups with each of the liquids you are using. Use these five liquids: cold water, hot water, oil, vinegar, and seltzer as potential solvents.
STEP 2 – Place your candy in each of the cups and start the timer. Observe what happens to the candy in each liquid.

This is a fun and easy experiment to run in the classroom. Students can record findings in their science journal and note the differences in the dissolving times of different candies in different solutions.

Activity #2: The Bubbling Brew Experiment

Now we have a fun Halloween STEAM activity that combines bubbling and fizzy fun with a hint of science behind it all. Students will experiment and learn what happens when you mix an acid and a base to get a gas called… carbon dioxide!

Materials:

A cauldron (or bowl)
Baking soda
White vinegar
Food coloring
Dish soap
Eyeballs

Instructions:

STEP 1 – Add a heaping amount of baking soda to your bowl or cauldron. Make sure to place your bowl on a tray, in the sink, or outside because this experiment can get messy.
STEP 2 – Add a squirt of dish soap and food coloring to the baking soda. Alternatively, you can also mix food coloring into the vinegar.
STEP 3 – Time to add your spooky Halloween eyeballs or other accessories into the cauldron.
STEP 4 – Now pour in white vinegar onto the baking soda and watch the bubbling brew start up!

Activity #3: Slime Time

What collection of Halloween STEAM activities would be complete without… SLIME!!! Slime is an excellent chemistry demonstration, and kids love it too! Mixtures, substances, polymers, cross-linking, states of matter, elasticity, and viscosity are just a few of the science concepts that can be explored with homemade slime. Here is a simple slime recipe with no screens required — but you might need some glitter.

Materials:

Pumpkin (real pumpkin or fake craft pumpkin works well)
1/2 cup of Elmer’s Clear Glue
1/2 cup of water
1/2 tsp baking soda
Food coloring and glitter as desired
1 tbsp of saline solution

Instructions:

STEP 1 – Add 1/2 cup of Elmer’s Glue to your bowl.
STEP 2 – Mix with a 1/2 cup of water.
STEP 3 – Add food coloring and glitter as desired.
STEP 4 – Stir in 1/2 tsp baking soda.
STEP 5 – Mix in 1 tbsp saline solution and stir until slime forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your slime still feels too sticky, you may need a few more drops of saline solution. Add your slime to your pumpkin for an extra gross effect.

Science doesn’t have to be complicated for young kids. It just needs to get them curious about learning, observing, and exploring. Have fun with these cool and spooky Halloween STEAM activities!

Looking for more great ideas for classroom activities? Check out the Teq Talk blog!