Sink Your Teeth Into 30 Fun Halloween Science Activities for the Elementary Classroom
Get ready to have some fun with your students with these Halloween science activities and experiments. Create some Halloween potions, explore density, discover vanishing ghosts, do some Halloween STEM activities, and more! We’ve curated 30 spooktacular Halloween science experiments that every boy and ghoul will love. They are fun, engaging science and STEM activities that are perfect for the month of October.
We’ve taken the time to categorize these awesome Halloween science experiments between Physical science, Earth science, Life science, as well as a general STEM category. This will help you meet your science requirements while having a little bit of Halloween fun!
Why Include Halloween Science Experiments In Your Lesson Plans?
Halloween science experiments are the perfect way to get your students excited about science. Not only are they a lot of fun, but they also help to teach important scientific concepts. Below are just a few of the reasons why you should consider incorporating Halloween science experiments into your lesson plans.
- Halloween science experiments are a great way to engage your students in hands-on learning. Students will be able to see firsthand how different scientific principles work, and they’ll be more likely to remember what they’ve learned if they’re actively involved in the learning process.
- Halloween science experiments can help to make difficult concepts more relatable for your students. If you’re trying to teach about life cycles, for instance, a Halloween-themed experiment involving pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns is a great way to illustrate the concept.
- Finally, Halloween science experiments are just plain fun! They’ll get your students excited about coming to class, and they’ll provide a much-needed break from the rigors of traditional everyday academic activities.
Use the Scientific Method to Teach These Halloween Science Experiments
While we want students to have fun with these Halloween science activities, that doesn’t mean you can’t work on academics, too. These experiments are a great opportunity to work a little bit about the Scientific Method and Science Experiments. Show students how scientists work through a process that asks a question and searches for an answer to that question.
This resource of Scientific Method Posters and Science Experiment Recording Sheets is a great addition to the 30 Halloween Science Experiments. Here are a few photos from the Scientific Method Resource.
Included in the Scientific Method Teaching Resource are:
- posters in color and black and white for every step of the scientific process
- vocabulary cards in color and black and white that you can hang on your wall
- experiment recording sheets and a flipbook that students can use for more in-depth research projects
The Scientific Method Posters and Science Experiment Recording Sheets can be used for any science experiment. They are a great year-round resource for all your science exploration.
30 Halloween Science Experiments for Elementary Classrooms
Are you ready for the Halloween science experiments? Let students show you their mad scientist skills! Go on and take a look at these 30 Fun Halloween Science Activities for the Elementary Classroom. They’re a scream!
Physical Science Halloween Science Activities
Below are 18 ideas for Halloween science experiments that focus on properties of matter, irreversible changes, density, and much more!
1. Vanishing Ghosts
The Vanishing Ghosts experiment is so fun it’s spooky! It’s easy to set up with few materials needed and is a favorite Halloween science experiment. It’s perfect for younger students, but older students will enjoy it, too!
2. Flying Tea Bag Ghosts
Teach your students about convection and air pressure with this super cool activity. What’s Halloween without some ghosts flying around? This is a great activity to go along with our Second Grade Properties of Matter Science Stations. Safety tip: Fire is involved, so do take necessary precautions.
3. Apple Volcanoes
Chemical reactions at their best! What can be more fun, or messier, than a little vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring? Make your own apple volcanoes. There are also links for larger volcanoes like pumpkins.
4. Spooky Expanding Ghost
More baking soda and vinegar fun. This spooky expanding ghost experiment will amaze your students. Note: Pressure can build to a point where the ghosts might vanish with a loud pop!
5. Slime Monsters
Here’s an experiment so fascinating it’s scary! Students make their own magnetic Halloween slime monsters. If you’re in the middle of a third-grade magnetic forces unit, this is a great addition to those science experiments!
6. Creepy Density
This is a fun experiment on the property of density and is perfect for second graders who are exploring the properties of matter. Make this as creepy as you want with red food coloring and creepy toy bugs. Your students will love it!
7. Dancing Ghosts, Bats, and Witches
Do not miss using this fun lesson on static electricity! This activity will have your students howling with laughter. Tip: This works great with any Halloween-themed silhouette you can imagine! And it pairs well with our Static Electricity Science Stations!
8. Alien Monster Eggs
Want to gross out the whole school? Make your class the Halloween school party hit and make some Alien Monster Eggs. Your students will learn about acids and molecular structure while making the grossest display. Winner!
9. Dancing Frankenworms
Here is another scary fun experiment. Grab some gummy worms and make them come alive! See if your students can figure out what makes the worms dance
10. 3 Spooky Dry Ice Experiments
What is spookier than a bubbling cauldron, or eerie fog creeping everywhere? Remember, dry ice should be handled with care. Take appropriate safety measures!
Here is an example of the
I told the students what we were going to do, and we made some predictions about what would happen. We made a list as a class, and each student went back to their desk to fill in the top part of their recording sheet.
During the experiment, we gathered around the table and talked about what happens with regular ice versus dry ice. The kids loved it!
To follow through, students wrote about the experiment on their science experiment recording sheet. Students LOVED doing this fun Halloween science experiment and it makes a great addition to a Halloween Party!
11. Flying Ghost Rockets
Have you ever wanted to watch a ghost fly? Your students launch these ghosts and learn about pressure and chemical reactions at the same time! Note: You can use any plastic container for this spooky Halloween science experiment.
12. Candy Potions
Combine the magic of Halloween and Science with your own potions! Get your students to brew their potions and learn about chemical reactions!
13. Pumpkin Ooblek
Who doesn’t love playing with
14. Bubbling Boo Bombs
Want to see bubbling ghosts and exploding pumpkins? Of course! Who wouldn’t? Here is another fun experiment on chemical reactions that will be a hit with your students.
15. Exploding Pumpkin
Ever think to yourself, there must be an easier way to carve a pumpkin? Try this experiment with your students and explode their minds! Safety tip: Chemicals used in this are highly explosive, use care and follow Steve Spangler’s instructions.
16. Glow-In-The-Dark Slime
What would Halloween be without something that glows in the dark? Could it be slime? Yes, please! This is a must-do experiment for your students this Halloween.
17. Exploding Ghosts
You’ll need a microwave for this one. Students will love watching these gooey ghost geysers explode. You will need to keep a close eye on the experiment, it happens quickly!
18. Haunted Hands
How does salt melt ice? Explore with your students in this spooky experiment and watch the hands vanish! Here are great tips to make this experiment the spookiest it can be.
Earth Science Halloween Science Experiments
Here is an idea for Earth science and erosion. This would go along great with our second-grade science units.
19. Disappearing Candy Pumpkins
Do your students have too much Halloween candy? (Do their parents say they have too much?) Or, do you? Here’s a fun experiment to help you solve that problem and learn about erosion in the process. Maybe keep some of the candy to the side for a snack while observing.
Life Science Halloween Science Activities
Below are 8 ideas for Halloween science experiments and activities that focus on plant growth, blood, skeletons, and much more!
20. Growing Pumpkins Inside Pumpkins
This is a fun one that you need to start before Halloween. Here are detailed instructions on growing your own pumpkins with the seeds from the original pumpkin.
Give this at least a week before you start to see any sprouts. Or if you’re doing our Pumpkin Exploration activity, save some of the seeds, dry them out, and use them during the spring life science units.
21. Monster Plants
Another fun experiment in how plants grow with a twist! Let your students decorate their cups to create their very own pet monsters. Start the experiment long before Halloween to give the plants enough time to grow and be ready.
22. Bloody Mess
Gather your little vampires around for this one. Here is an experiment that students can really sink their teeth… I mean, hands, into! It’s a great way to teach about the many different cells that compose our blood. It complements our Fourth Grade Structures and Functions of Organisms Science Stations.
23. Creepy Gelatin Heart
If you’ve ever wondered how to teach your students about the human heart and make it yummy, wonder no more! Here is a video just for you. Bonus: You can make a brain instead! This also goes along with our Fourth Grade Structures and Functions Unit, especially the Diagram Heart Station.
24. Skeleton Puzzle
Teaching your students about the human skeleton? Kids love learning about their own bodies. They can bone up on their knowledge with life-size puzzles. You can choose and print from the numerous free options on eskeletons.org.
25. Vampire Blood
Want to wow your students more than scare them? This fun experiment is just what you need! A great activity to learn about chlorophyll and light. This pairs nicely with our third-grade science stations about the traits of leaves.
26. Pumkin Slime (With Real Pumkin)
Ooey-Gooey gross! Let’s face it, kids love slime. Students can make pumpkin slime with real pumpkins. Students learn about the different parts of the pumpkin while creating a grotesque explosion of pumpkin guts!
27. Rotting Pumpkin Jack
This one starts before Halloween and extends afterward. It’s a great way for your students to explore the full life cycle of a pumpkin and observe how it decomposes.
STEM Halloween Science Activities
Here are 3 ideas for Halloween STEM science activities that are sure to engage your elementary students!
28. Candy Pumpkin Structures
It’s scary how creative your students can be with this super simple STEM project. Let them amaze you with this yummy activity. Another simple set-up activity that will bring countless minutes, if not hours, of creative fun. You can also do this experiment with candy corn!
If some of the candy pumpkins disappear, just blame the ghosts!
29. Geoboard Pumpkin
Geoboards are a fun math learning experiment for any age. If you have younger students they can develop their fine motor skills. Older students can learn basic math/geometry skills while creating their masterpiece designs.
30. Pumpkin Catapults
Doesn’t the title say it all? Pumpkin. Catapults. A sure hit with your students. Let them figure out the best design for a catapult that shoots the farthest. Discuss with them how catapults work and watch the creativity explode!
As a teacher, love being able to turn a holiday or a treat into a teachable moment. When we don’t have much time to do science these Halloween science experiments, activities, and ideas are the perfect introduction to the scientific method with a high-interest activity.
From this list of 30 spooky Halloween experiments, which one was your favorite? Do you have a great Halloween experiment
Mystery Science
I love using Mystery Science to enhance my instruction. Here are a few Mystery Science Lessons that might be good for Halloween!
- Why do Our Skeletons have so Many Bones?
- Do Bats Really Drink Blood?
- Why are Pumpkins so Popular Every Fall?
Even More Halloween Ideas for Your Classroom
For more Halloween Ideas for your classroom, check out these blog posts:
Awesome Ideas!! I too love Mystery Science! I can’t wait to try some of these with my second/third grade science club kiddos! Thanks for compiling such a ‘spook-takular’ list!
I could not find much very well but I have ideas now!
Thank you so much for this article! I try to come up with theme days each year to make the holidays more fun with my boys and I was doing a ‘Weird Science’ Day this year as part of our Halloween fun. We did the expanding ghosts and the flying tea bags. They both loved it! I have to say the flying tea bag was really cool. I’ve saved this to my Halloween board as well. I started my own mom blog this week and included your link in my Hallween post.
Thanks again!
It’s cool to think that kids in the school have many fun science activities, including science experiments during Halloween. My son is in grade six in elementary school, and their school plans to have a science assembly next week. Parents suggest they have a science tour with a guardian to be safe.