End of Year Brain Break STEM Labs

End of Year Brain Break STEM Labs

Explore our favorite hands-on experiments and DIY activities to keep curious minds buzzing through the last days of school.

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This Year's Must Do

Instant Ice Cream Party STEM Activity

Students make real ice cream in a bag using salt, ice, and chemistry. Freezing point depression turns a simple shake-and-mix into a delicious lab everyone devours — literally.

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Featured Brain Break Activities:

Grades K-2

Science Sing Along Songs

Listen to our YouTube playlist of 32 catchy science songs. It's the perfect sing-along brain break that sneaks in real learning.

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Grades 3-5

Make Unpoppable Bubbles

Not all bubbles are created equal. Add a secret ingredient and watch how one change can make it unpoppable.

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All Grades

Epic Egg Drop Challenge

Design, build, and test your very own egg protection device. Conduct a competition to test your designs!

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Bring Science to Life — All Year Long!

Start your free trial to access hundreds of engaging Science, Math, and ELA resources aligned to your state standards.

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Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

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Grades K-2

Make DIY Oobleck

What behaves like a solid AND a liquid? Create this fun, mysterious mixture called Oobleck that behaves like both!

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Grades K-2

Build a Mini Golf Course

Explore pushes and pulls and experiment with forces commonly used in golf! Design your own putt-putt paradise!

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Grades K-2

Start a Marshmallow War

Design a catapult capable of launching a marshmallow through the air! Compete to see whose marshmallows fly the furthest.

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Grades K-2

Track Shadow Movements

Observe how a shadow changes throughout the day! Use different-colored chalk to track your shadow while tracing.

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Grades K-2

Opposable Thumb Challenge

Challenge your class to complete simple tasks without thumbs! Split into groups and see who can finish fastest!

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Grades K-2

Make a Bird Feeder

Make your own bird feeder to observe birds eating seeds. Place near a window, and you can watch them without scaring them!

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3rd Grade - 5th Grade

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Grades 3-5

Launch Pop Rockets

Quickly drop 1 fizzy tablet into a canister, snap on the lid, flip it over, and watch it rocket into the air!

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Grades 3-5

Test Your Reaction Time

Test how long it takes your nervous system to process and send signals! Where do you rank on the reaction chart?

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Grades 3-5

Paper Plane Challenge

Use the engineering design process to make a glider inspired by bird wings. Challenge each other to see which one flies furthest.

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Grades 3-5

Balanced Forces Science Magic

Use balanced & unbalanced forces to magically drop an egg into a cup without ever touching it! This one is super cool to see!

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Grades 3-5

Build Recycled Race Cars

Use recycled materials to make a cardboard racer! Tip: The tighter the rubber band is wound, the further your car will go!

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Grades 3-5

Make a Moving Lava Lamp

Make your own moving lava lamp to study the law of conservation of matter! These tablets don't disappear, they simply change form!

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6th Grade - 8th Grade

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Grades 6-8

See Tectonic Plate Movements

Use shampoo and water to show how fluids can circulate by convection! Create a super cool reaction that is similar to the convection that occurs in Earth’s mantle.

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Grades 6-8

Form a Cloud in a Bottle

Learn how to create your own cloud in a bottle! See how gas turns into a liquid and forms condensation right in front of your eyes. This activity is mind-blowing!

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Grades 6-8

Measure Your Height With Gravity

Learn how to measure your height using the force of gravity! Tip: To get more accurate results, you could repeat the drop a few times and average the data.

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Grades 6-8

Race Balloon Rockets

Learn how to make and then race your own balloon rockets! This follows Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

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Grades 6-8

Block Cell Phone Signals

Learn how cell phones send and receive wireless signals through radio waves! Notice, when your phone is wrapped in aluminum foil, it’s not ringing when called.

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