Four Simple STEM Experiments to Try Indoors

Cold or rainy weather? No weekend plans? Don’t worry! It doesn’t take sunny skies, hours of time or special lab equipment to practice creativity and STEM skills at home. Best of all, we believe in the power of play, so we understand that learning and fun go hand in hand. To help you find new ways to explore STEM inside, we’ve gathered a list of four hands-on, indoor activities that your family can enjoy together.

Uncover the Science of Slime

To create slime, you gather components, combine them together and watch them transform into something new. When you mix ingredients to form a new substance that has different characteristics, you are witnessing a chemical reaction! To dive deeper into slime science by making your own, and to get artistic ideas for customizing slime, check out our STEM activity.

Explore Weather With a Tornado in a Jar

Using a few kitchen supplies, you can safely explore the science behind an extreme weather phenomenon with a fun at-home experiment! A tornado is a spinning, funnel-shaped column of air that can move faster than any Olympic runner or even a car. This tornado in a jar experiment creates a swirling vortex reflecting its shape and movement. After observing the miniature rendition, we encourage you to research more about tornadoes and other interesting weather events.

Build an Icy Space Volcano

Out-of-this-world fun can happen right in your own kitchen with this STEM activity. Using common household items, you can create a fizzy, fun erupting space volcano – and don’t worry, with detailed instructions, we include a plan to keep messes contained. As you build your structure and observe your results, be sure to brush up on space facts that inspired this experiment. Did you know Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons, is covered in ice? There’s even evidence that points to Europa having its own ice volcano!

Bring Winter Indoors With Artificial Snow

Without even stepping outside, you can have lots of winter fun – with no puddles or frozen fingers – by using science to make fake snow! The best part? It only takes two common ingredients to make this snow-inspired material that can be used to build, shape and play.

Bonus activity: Try conducting this experiment with other materials or vary your measurements to create new snow consistencies. Our STEM activity takes you through making fake snow with a different set of tools. Which “snow” feels most realistic? What other items could you use to recreate some of the properties of snow?

Learn More

To discover more ways to add interesting, everyday science to your day, be sure to keep an eye on our blog!