Fun Fourth of July Activities for Kids

The Fourth of July is a day traditionally full of fireworks, cookouts and family fun, and it’s a great day to do activities and on-theme experiments with kids. Check out these easy ideas for fun Fourth of July activities for kids that adults will enjoy, too!

This one is listed as a Flag Day activity, but I think going on a flag hunt would be great for any patriotic holiday. (We have a few people in our neighborhood who line their yards with tiny flags on patriotic holidays, and when my daughter was little we’d go on walks and count all the flags.) No Time for Flashcards made a flag hunt into a race against the clock, but if you have several kids you could also see who can find the most flags in a period of time.

Make the classic baking soda and vinegar explosion reaction into red, white and blue fun with this fun activity from Kindergarten Worksheets and Games. Or make oil and water “fireworks” with this quick experiment from Preschool Play and Learn. You probably have everything you need for both of these in the house already if you keep food coloring around.

And while we’re making fun out of stuff in the pantry, grab an empty paper towel roll and make some fun marshmallow shooters. The decorations on the shooter are what makes this a Fourth of July activity, but if you don’t have red, white and blue supplies on hand kids can also decorate the tubes with a holiday twist before turning them into shooters. Get the instructions from Hunny I’m Home.

Looking for more July 4th activities to do with kids? Check out my list of flag crafts that kids can make, as well as some printables with a Fourth of July theme. And if you’ve got young ones these red, white and blue sensory activities are great for the fourth or any time of year!

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Patriotic Crafts for Kids

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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