Pumpkin STEM Activities for Kids

September 19, 2023 by Sarah White 1 Comment

Last month I shared some fun apple STEM activities, but of course you can do a lot of the same things with our other favorite fall produce: the pumpkin. Here are some fun pumpkin STEM ideas for use in the classroom or at home. (Also check out my pumpkin printables post; it has some ideas for learning about parts of the pumpkin, measuring pumpkins and more.)

Lots of classic STEM activities can be performed with pumpkins, such as pumpkin catapults, using the pumpkin as the base (this one is from Preschool Powol Packets); pumpkin volcanoes (get this one from Natural Beach Living, food coloring optional but fun!); and sink or float experiments that turn into a full sensory experience, like this pumpkin boat project from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls.

Check this post from Our Family Code for more projects involving exploding pumpkins (including doing the classic Mentos and Coke explosion in a pumpkin). And of course you can use that pumpkin catapult to launch pumpkin candies if you want. Get details on that idea from Team Cartwright. (Theirs just uses craft sticks but you could use the pumpkin version for this purpose as well.)

Have you ever thought of growing pumpkins in a pumpkin? I have to say I hadn’t but you can learn all about how to do it at home or in the classroom at Life with Moore Babies. This is a different take on the traditional pumpkin decay experiment with Pumpkin Jack (get the details from Little Bins for Little Hands).

Or you can take traditional STEM activities and give them a pumpkin themed twist even if you’re not using actual pumpkins. Like making pumpkin poppers with orange cups and balloons (get all the details from Gift of Curiosity) or pumpkin lava lamps, which you can find on Science Sparks.

Next Plan Idea:

Apple Sensory Play Ideas

Comments

Mama Adoptation says
June 4, 2024 at 8:55 am
Engaging children in STEM activities centered around pumpkins is both fun and educational. From exploring the life cycle of a pumpkin to conducting experiments with pumpkin seeds, there are numerous ways to incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math concepts into pumpkin-themed activities. These activities can include measuring and graphing pumpkin growth, estimating the number of seeds in a pumpkin, and even designing and building pumpkin catapults or boats. By combining hands-on exploration with STEM concepts, children can develop critical thinking skills while having a blast with pumpkins.

Have you read?

Book Review: Las Mañanitas

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Comments

Have you read?

Leave a Reply