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Earth Day STEM/STEAM Activities - Updated for 2026!

  • Writer: Amy Wung Tsao
    Amy Wung Tsao
  • 6 days ago
  • 4 min read
white petaled flower close-up photography
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Earth Day will be here before you know it on April 22! It’s a great time to introduce STEM topics like recycling, the science of clean water, helping bees and butterflies pollinate, and helping animals migrate safely.


Keep reading for easy, hands-on science experiments and activities to use with kids at home, or with kids in your classroom this Earth Day!




Trash and Recycling Science Activities for Earth Day


Preschool-age white child in a striped t-shirt sitting at a white table in front of 3 small baskets, the kind typically used for berries. The closest basket is labeled “garbage.” The child is putting small white cards with pictures on them into the baskets.

Sort the Garbage Game from No Time For Flashcards


You could do this after snack time with your actual trash. Or if this is an activity your kids might want to repeat a few times, you could make game cards and trash & recycling “bins” for sorting.





Art + science + upcycling!

Did you ever make Shrinky Dink art as a kid? Get your kids crafting and upcycling by making shrinking plastic art with Plastic #6!




Build a Model Recycler from Science Buddies


Sorting the mixed paper, plastic, and metal in the mixed recycling bin is good for the Earth and and interesting engineering problem! Why not let your kid try to design a solution? Check out this video for some ideas on building a model recycler! (Teachers, this one aligns with K-ESS3-3, and K-2-ETS1-1)


Looking for more trash science? Check out this post to find more trash and recycling science that pair well with these activities!




Clean Water Science Activities

for Earth Day



Photo of a round plastic storage container filled halfway with blue-tinted water, boat toys and sea animal toys. Title reads "Ocean oil spill activity."

Ocean Oil Spill Activity from One Time Through


My kids love a sensory bin, and this is basically a sensory bin turned into a science experiment! Add a little oil to a bowl of water, and then challenge your kids to try to get the oil back out. They’ll learn pretty quickly how challenging it is to clean a real oil spill. This activity is best for kids who won’t be tempted to splash that oily water around too much!  (Teachers, this one aligns with K-ESS3-3 and K-LS1-1.)



From SciShow Kids


Learn real practical tips to help keep storm drains in your neighborhood clear of litter, so they don’t end up in rivers, lakes, or the ocean! (Teachers, this one aligns with K-ESS3-3 and K-LS1-1.)



From OwlKids


With just some cotton balls, sand, and pebbles you can make muddy water visibly cleaner! This is a cool activity, but it definitely needs a grown-up to help.


For more clean water science that pairs well with these activities, check out this post!



Migration Science Activities

for Earth Day


Diagram of a salmon migration obstacle course, including an ocean area with fishing nets, a migration path with predators, dams, and waterfalls, and a spawning ground at the finish line.

Make a migration obstacle course! DIY version from Science World 

Printable version from Survive the sound

Migrate like salmon through an obstacle course filled with waterfalls, dams, predators, and fishers. 


I love this activity because it gets kids active and moving, and can easily turn into independent pretend play! Plus it’s easy to modify for your circumstances. You could play this indoor with string or jump ropes to outline the migration corridor, and stuffies and furniture as the obstacles.  Or you can play this outside with chalk to draw the migration corridor and obstacles. I can see this working for just one kid or groups of kids as well. I love the idea of migrating multiple times, each time adding a new obstacle for your kids to navigate.If you’re a teacher with a whole classroom of kids, the printable version breaks this activity up into several interactive migration stations for kids to rotate through. (And teachers, this activity is all about interactive relationships in ecosystems, supporting NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, and K-ESS3-3!)


Now check out some great migration picture books and videos for kids to go along with this activity!

Bees, Butterflies, and Pollination Science Activities for Earth Day


Without pollinators, plants couldn’t reproduce and we wouldn’t have life on Earth! Learn all about pollinators and even build homes and gardens to help pollinators thrive in your neighborhood. 


Take a pollinator nature walk with your nature journal and the Seek app! 


Take the kids on a nature walk and let them journal about all the flowers and pollinators they see. Start to wonder out loud about which flower shapes or colors the bees like best, and which flowers the butterflies like best. 


I love whipping out the Seek app on my phone to easily identify plants, insects, and animals on our nature walks. It’s easiest with plants, since they stay still while you move your camera around it until the app has enough visual information to identify the species. But you might be able to use it on a pollinator that’s landed on a flower! 


(Teachers, your students’ observations support K-LS1-1 and 3-LS4-3.)


Build a Beehouse! from Scishow Kids 


Ready to go beyond learning about pollinators to helping pollinators? All you need is a tin can, 2 toilet paper rolls, paper and glue. This activity is to build a beehouse for mason bees, which do not sting like other bee species do. Building pollinator homes is good for the environment, and supports K-ESS3-3 in your science curriculum!




Happy Earth Day, everyone! 

Amy Wung Tsao



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