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Spooky Halloween STEM/STEAM Activities (Updated for 2026!)

  • Writer: Amy Wung Tsao
    Amy Wung Tsao
  • 6 days ago
  • 2 min read

Get into the spooky season mood with some spooky kid science experiments with creepy brains, crawly spiders, and scary skeletons! 


Keep reading for easy, hands-on Halloween STEM/STEAM activities and experiments that work great in the classroom or for a fun home activity. 


Collage of photos of kids’ science experiments. The collage is titled “Halloween Science Experiments” The photos have labels that read “make a spider web”, “craft a brain”, “draw a skeleton hand”, and “make a skeleton”.

Kids’ Brain Science Activities for Halloween


  • Photo of pink, yellow, blue, green, grey playdoh making up a clay model brain. The different colored sections are labeled “frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, and cerebellum.”
  • Printable puzzle worksheet of the human brain with different sections colored red, blue, green, purple, yellow, and brown.

Craft a brain, with paper or clay from Crafty Classroom and Science Sparks I know some of you out there already have a brain Jello mold in your kitchen that you pull out every Halloween. (Props to you - you know who you are!)


For the rest of us, here are two different ways for even preschoolers to get hands-on play with the human brain: 

(1) You can print out this paper brain puzzle, cut it out and reassemble. Or, 



There’s so much juicy brain science for kids. Check out brain games and spooky brainy read alouds perfect for Halloween!


Picture book cover illustration of a smiling and friendly looking zombie wearing a chef's hat, apron, and oven mitts. The title reads "Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack."

Kids' Spider STEM/STEAM Activities for Halloween


Two young kids: a younger brother preschool age in a green and blue superhero outfit with a book logo on his chest, and an older sister in a Wonder Woman costume. Both kids are standing on opposite sides of a spiderweb made from black yarn tied between two chair backs, with a small spider crafted out of pom poms and paper. 

Explore Spider Web Vibrations from Buggy and Buddy

Make your own spider webs out of yarn or string. (Or try both, and see if that effects how the web vibrates!) This example is a bit elaborate, but you could start with a single strand of yarn between two chairs, and then see if the kiddo is interested in weaving something fancier. 


By plucking the web with a finger, you can make it vibrate like a trapped bug makes real spiderwebs vibrate. Pluck different parts of the web and see how that changes the vibrations. It’s a physics experiment and life sciences activity rolled into one!


(Teachers, spiders changing their environment by building webs naturally supports NGSS K-ESS2-2!)



For even more kid-friendly spider science, check out the books and videos in this post!


Picture book cover with a close-up photo of a spider with huge eyes. The title reads "Scurry! The Truth About Spiders."

Kids' Skeleton Science Activities for Halloween


from Art4Kids Hub

My youngest loves the art tutorials from Art4Kids Hub, especially the folding surprises. And look, they have this Halloween art tutorial that’s even anatomically correct! 


I love how the act of drawing makes you understand skeletal structure in a whole new immersive way.  This might be a bit advanced for young preschoolers though. 



from The Winkle

A great science + art project using pipe cleaners and plastic drinking straws! Kids can craft along with the video, learning about the names of bones and their proportions. Younger ones will definitely need some help with this project.  



Can’t get enough of dem bones? Find fun skeleton science books to read aloud and videos here!  


Picture book cover illustration of a skull on the sea floor looking at the fish around him. The title reads "Give Me Back My Bones!"


I hope your spooky season is full of curiously spooky science too! 


Check out more fall science experiments with clouds, germs, worms, and more!


Collage of photos of kids science experiments. The collage is titled “Science Experiments for Fall” The photos are laid out in groups, labeled “weather science”, “worm science”, “germ science”, “migration & hibernation”, and “fungi science.”

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