Halloween is just around the corner! As educators, we know that linking activities to events and holidays can really help to engage children and make learning relevant. Here are some simple ideas for low-prep, no-mess Halloween science activities for kids, to tie-in with the spooky season.
Dichotomous keys with candy or monsters
Combine Halloween and classification with fun, monster or candy dichotomous keys. These activities allow students to practice their observation and identification skills by following a key to name the mystery monsters/candy, before writing a key of their own. The candy key below is free in my store.
Pumpkin life cycles
Pumpkins are at their best in the run up to Halloween. Try this pumpkin life cycle foldout from my TeachersPayTeachers store to encourage students to recall and sequence the stages of the pumpkin life cycle. There’s also a Halloween bundle that includes printables for bat, spider and owl life cycles too.
Animal stick skeletons
There’s nothing quite like wrapping up warm and cozy and getting outside during the crisp autumn months. Why not try making some animal stick skeletons with this creative science activity from Gratnells! Children will love searching for sticks and twigs that are the right shapes and sizes to make the different animal skeletons.
Spooky animal research
The animal kingdom has some animals with seriously spooky names. Have a go at an animal research project focussing on one of these creepy critters:
- Goblin shark
- Vampire squid
- Halloween crab
- Death’s head hawk moth
- Skeleton shrimp
- Ghost bat
- Thorny devil lizard
- Man-faced stink bug
Do bigger hands hold the most Halloween candy?
Conduct your own class investigation! Measure hands (either one or both), then see how many pieces of candy each student can hold. Use wrapped candy and you can eat them afterwards!
This activity encourages children to work scientifically by predicting, observing, recording their results, and identifying patterns.
Research Fossil Folklore
There are lots of fun myths and folklore associated with fossils. Before science was able to explain what fossils really were, people had some interesting ideas about their origin…
Sometimes fossils were thought to have magical properties, and they were often associated with superstition.
Here are some websites to help you discover more about fossil folklore including ‘snakes’ turned to stone, thunderbolts from the gods, and fairy loaves!
Natural History Museum, London (snakestones)
Explore Skulls and Skeletons
I’ve got a whole other blog post about this! Check out these skeletons and bones activities for primary science.
What’s your favourite Halloween science activity? Will you be trying one of these? Drop your ideas in the comments.
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2 Responses
Hello!
Nice to meet you.
My name i sFederica and I visiting your web site. I am a teacher of primary school.
The pumpkin life cycle is very very nice, please can you send me?
Thank you for your help.
Federica.
Thanks for your interest. This one is available to purchase via my TPT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Life-cycle-of-a-pumpkin-foldable-sequencing-activity-5638215