Hearts Pumping Blood for Science - Halloween STEM for Kids!
Quick links if you’re too busy to scroll:
Blood & Hearts Science Videos for Kids:
How Does the Heart Pump Blood? from Mystery Science
Largest Blood Factory in the World from Operation Ouch
Blood & Hearts Science Books for Kids:
A Drop of Blood written by Paul Showers, illustrated by Edward Miller
A Doctor at Heart written by Joan Schoettler, illustrated by Steffi Walthall
Blood & Hearts Science Activities for Kids:
Make a Stethoscope from Science Sparks
Measure Your Heart Rate with Exercise from We Are Teachers
Beat the Heartbeat from Primary Theme Park
Blood & Hearts Science - Halloween STEM for Kids
“Always give 100% - unless you’re giving blood.”
Credit: Alexandru Acea on Unsplash
Halloween can be spooky and scientific! Keep reading to learn all about blood from an expert (spoiler: it’s a vampire!), and make your own stethoscope out of a cardboard tube.
(Just a reminder - I am never paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.)
Blood & Heart Science Videos for Kids
from Mystery Science
The heart can be so mysterious to kids since they can’t really see it! Enter this video, with its cool clips of a heart beating inside a glass frog with transparent skin, and a great analogy of a heart pumping blood like a rubber ducky sucking in bath water and squeezing it back out. This one is really great for the young preschool & kindergarteners.
from Operation Ouch
This one’s for the older kids who aren’t too squeamish! Watch Dr. Zand donate some blood as he explains that your body (specifically your bones) is a blood factory, able to make new blood to replace any blood that you’ve lost. Then we get a tour of the largest blood factory in the world, where human blood donations are tested and separated into red blood cells, plasma, and platelets, all used for different medical procedure. I was honestly surprised at the scale and volume of this factory!
Heart & Blood Science Books for Kids
A Drop of Blood written by Paul Showers, illustrated by Edward MillerKids can hear all about blood from an expert- a vampire! They’ll learn how shining a flashlight through their hands and ears lets them see red from their blood. They’ll learn how blood transports oxygen from their lungs and food from their intestines to all the other parts of their bodies. They’ll also learn about white blood cells fighting germs and platelets helping them stop bleeding from cuts.
written by Joan Schoettler, illustrated by Steffi Walthall
Now let’s turn from the spooky to the inspiring! This is the true story of Vivien Thomas, who overcame racial and financial barriers that prevented him from getting a college education, to becoming a pioneer of children’s heart surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Heart & Blood Science Activities for Kids
from Science SparksTry just a cardboard tube first, then try adding a funnel to hear someone’s heart beat. Use your new stethoscope to help you out with the next activity!
from We Are TeachersPractice counting how many times your heart beats in a minute. There’s a great math tie-in here, with all that counting. Plus you could even graph your data like the picture shows.
from Primary Theme ParkHere’s one for the kids who want to rise to the challenge! Since the heart pumps about 1.3 gallons of blood per minute, can they beat that and scoop out 1.3 gallons of water in less than a minute?
Looking for more Halloween STEM that’s fun and only lightly spooky for kids? Check out my whole list of Halloween STEM books and STEM activities here:
Read these spooky fun Halloween STEM read alouds, all about skeletons and spiders and brains!
Until next time, keep lighting sparks of curiosity!
Amy Wung Tsao
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