Spring is a great time of year to bring some hands-on learning into the classroom with STEM! It’s one of the best ways to explore the spring season with our students. With warmer weather and a sense of renewal in the air, young kids are naturally curious about the world around them. This new season brings renewed energy levels, and there seems to be a light at the end of the winter tunnel! That’s why easy spring STEM activities for elementary kiddos are a great way to encourage problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity while making learning fun.
Why Easy Spring STEM Activities for Elementary Students Are Beneficial
These hands-on spring STEM activities for elementary students offer an easy way for kids of all ages to develop essential skills. They allow our students to explore science, math, and engineering through creative challenges. These creative challenges lead to sparking curiosity and engagement.
As teachers, we are always looking for ways to grow young minds. STEM activities encourage our students to ask questions, test solutions, and learn through trial and error. They get a taste of the experiences of real scientists and engineers! By integrating STEM into the spring season, our students experience meaningful, interactive, and fun learning. Plus, these activities reinforce key concepts in science, math skills, and the engineering design process. And. . . if you add in an art component you can create an amazing STEAM challenge that your students will love.
Best of all, spring STEM uses simple materials. Everyday classroom supplies, recyclables, and even nature itself provide endless learning opportunities. Implementing STEM activities is a great way to make all of these great ideas come alive for kids of all different ages! Keep reading to learn about my favorite spring STEM activities and find different ways you can incorporate them into your classroom.
4 Fun Spring STEM Activities for Elementary Students
Now that we’ve explored why easy spring STEM activities for elementary students are so beneficial, let’s take a close look at some hands-on challenges that will get our students thinking like scientists and engineers!
I designed these activities to make learning fun, encourage problem-solving skills, and connect STEM concepts to the spring season. From launching Peeps with parachutes to racing eggs down custom-built tracks, your students will dive into interactive experiences. They’ll also get to construct sturdy bird nests and design boats that can withstand the rising floodwaters of spring!
Each challenge encourages your students to plan, build, test, and reflect. These are all key components of the engineering design process. Along the way, they’ll use collaboration to refine their designs and discover what works best.
1. The Great Peeps Escape: A STEM Parachute Challenge
The stakes are high, and the Peeps are in danger of being eaten! Their only hope? A well-designed parachute to carry them to safety. In this Spring STEM challenge, your students will become engineers, designing and testing parachutes to see which one travels the farthest. This is such a fun activity that students of all ages love. This is a great challenge to connect with your Easter activities, use as you learn about the power of wind, or just for fun on a spring day.
Each team will receive hands-on materials, such as straws, popsicle sticks, a coffee filter, a plastic egg half, pipe cleaners, chopsticks, masking tape, and yarn. Their mission? Build a parachute that will send their Peep soaring to freedom!
Before construction begins, your students will work in small groups to plan their design by sketching their parachutes and explaining how they’ll use their materials. Once the designs are set, the real challenge begins! With just 30 minutes to build, your teams must work efficiently to bring their vision to life.
Now comes the moment of truth. The ultimate test will be the launches! Each group gets three tosses to test their parachute’s distance. I don’t allow any modifications after the first toss. The farthest toss wins! Your students will collect data on all the launches, analyzing which designs soared the highest and which ones fell a little flat. They’ll also brainstorm what tweaks could improve the least successful designs and identify one extra material they would add to enhance their parachute.
To wrap things up, your students will reflect on their process. Did their design work as planned? What would they change if they had another shot? Plus, they’ll rate themselves on teamwork, construction skills, and adaptability.
2. A Fast-Paced STEM Challenge With Egg Races
Get ready for some high-speed action with the Egg Races! In this fun STEM activity, your students construct an inclined track to get their plastic eggs to the finish line as fast as possible. This is a great activity to connect to your force and motion unit.
Armed with construction paper, masking tape, pennies, cotton, paper clips, a stopwatch, and a ruler, they will have to design and build their egg track within the set time constraints. Using their creativity and understanding of motion, they’ll need to position their track at an incline from a spot of their choice in the classroom. There’s a catch! The track must be at least three feet long!
Once construction is complete, it’s time for the real test! Each team gets two attempts to send their egg racing down the track. The fastest time wins, but there’s more to this challenge than just speed. Your students will collect data on each group’s track, analyzing what worked best and what could be improved.
To wrap things up, your students will take a hands-on approach to reflection, thinking critically about their design. What adjustments would have made their track even faster? How did teamwork play a role in their success?
This challenge is a great way to bring problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and STEM learning into the classroom while keeping your students engaged. With spring STEM challenges like this one, your kiddos will have so much fun they won’t even realize they’re learning!
3. Building Bird Nests
Spring has sprung, and the birds need a safe, sturdy nest for their eggs! In this spring STEM challenge, your students will become engineers of nature. They will use problem-solving skills to design and build a nest that can securely hold an egg no matter the angle! This is the perfect STEM extension activity to your study of life cycles.
With only 4 popsicle sticks, 6 feet of yarn, and tape, your students must carefully construct a nest using only these materials. To support different learning levels, some of your students may receive extra tape and a piece of paper to help form a base. Older students can take on the challenge of fitting three eggs into their nest.
Before construction begins, have your students observe real bird nests and sketch their findings to identify common traits that help nests stay strong. Then, using the engineering design process, they will plan out their own creations and get to work!
When the 30-minute timer is up, it’s time for the real test. Go around, pick up, and move each nest to see if it securely holds its egg. If the egg stays put, the design passes the challenge! Your students will then categorize nests into two groups, successful and need improvement. Then, they will analyze what worked, what didn’t, and why.
The challenge ends with your students reflecting on their designs and considering what changes they would make next time. By the end, they may even have a newfound respect for how birds manage to build such strong nests in nature! This challenge is truly a great way to blend critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and STEM learning while making spring STEM projects so much fun!
4. Floating Boats Makes For A Fun Spring STEM Challenge
March is here, and with it, there is a bunch of rain that just won’t stop! With floodwaters rising, your students must engineer a boat that will float the longest using only the materials provided. This spring STEM challenge combines problem-solving skills, hands-on learning, and critical thinking as they work together to build, test, and refine their floating designs. This would be a fantastic activity for a rainy day and indoor recess.
First, create groups with about 2-3 students. Each group will receive either toothpicks, marshmallows, or jellybeans to build their boats. You’ll also need a tank full of water to put their creations to the test. Younger children can use marshmallows since they’re easier to work with, while older kids will take on the extra challenge of using toothpicks and jellybeans for a sturdier design.
With a designated time limit, your students must brainstorm, sketch, and build their boats, ensuring their structure can stay afloat without help. As soon as each boat goes into the water, the stopwatch will start. Their goal is to have the boat that stays afloat the longest!
After all boats are tested, your students will analyze their results. They will compare which designs floated the longest and why. Did the shape of the boat impact stability? What would they change to make it even better? Through this hands-on experiment, your students will discover the concepts of buoyancy, balance, and design in action that is engaging and fun!
This challenge is a fantastic way to bring STEM learning to life while making the most of the spring season. With a mix of scientific methods, creative engineering, and teamwork, this activity is a great experiment that your students will remember!
Why Easy Spring STEM Activities for Elementary Students Are Powerful
Spring is the perfect time to spark curiosity and creativity with these fun STEM activities. You can find all of these fun STEM challenges in my Spring STEM Activity Pack. Whether you use these fun spring activities throughout the season or plan a STEM Day before spring break, you can’t go wrong. Your students will be engaged in hands-on learning that strengthens their problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and teamwork. These challenges encourage your students to think like engineers, test their ideas, and reflect on their designs. All of this can be done while having so much fun!
Try a Free STEM Activity for Your Classroom!
New to STEM? Looking for a fun and engaging way to introduce STEM to your students? I have the perfect freebie for you! This easy STEM project is designed to spark curiosity, promote problem-solving skills, and get your students excited about learning through hands-on activities. All of this with minimal prep!
This free activity comes straight from my Seasonal STEM Engineering Challenges Bundle. Whether you’re just starting with STEM or looking for a fresh idea to mix into your lessons, this activity is a great way to make learning interactive and exciting for your students.
What’s Included in the Freebie?
This easy STEM activity gives your students the opportunity to think like engineers while working through the engineering design process. The free printables packet includes:
- A STEM challenge prompt to get your students thinking and planning.
- Planning, recording, and reflection sheets so they can document their work.
- A fun, hands-on challenge that promotes creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork.
Everything is designed to be low-prep and high-engagement. This makes it perfect for a quick activity or an extension to your STEM lessons!
It’s easy to grab your free STEM activity. All you need to do is fill out the form below and the free STEM activity will be sent straight to your inbox! You can also learn more about the resource by exploring Easy STEM Activity to Excite Your Students.
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Remember to save this post to your favorite STEM Pinterest board, so you can quickly come back to add a spring STEM activity to your lesson plans.
