8 Low-Prep STEM Tasks for Elementary and Middle School: Simple Handouts for Each Experiment

These fun low-prep STEM experiments will get your students building, designing, and learning about science, technology, engineering, and math in a co-operative way! They are great hands-on learning activities. Students will have to make a prediction before completing the experiment and draw a detailed and labelled diagram after they are done. They will also define relevant vocabulary words and answer a question about what they learned.

Each STEM experiment includes a handout with material list, instructions, prediction, vocabulary or reflection, and room for a labelled diagram.

All experiments use simple, everyday items like paper, tape, string, spaghetti, dish soap, milk, pennies etc.

Penny Drop

Falling Slowly

Bridge Build

Bubble Cubes

Paper Chain

Tower Build

Floating Layers

Magic Milk

How to Use:

Students can work in small groups. Go over the instructions and materials and give students time to predict before they start the experiment. Review the findings and relevant vocabulary after students have completed their experiment and diagram.

Grades to Use With:

These experiments are perfect for your intermediate or middle school (grades 3-8) class! They can be used at the beginning of the year or term as ice breaker activities, on a Friday afternoon or before a holiday, or as part of your regular science curriculum.

Standards:

NGSS3-5-ETS1-1

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

NGSS3-5-ETS1-2

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

If you like this activity, check out my science lesson about Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables, perfect for before a science fair unit!

8 experiment sheets in PDF format. Each one is ready-to-print with a material list, instructions, prediction, vocabulary or reflection, and room for a labelled diagram.