Halloween is the perfect time to explore fun and engaging science experiments! From exothermic reactions to blood composition, students can learn important science concepts while getting in the Halloween spirit. We’ve rounded up our favorite Halloween activities that are perfect for young scientists:
1. Static Electricity Dancing Ghosts and Bats
Ghosts and bats are hallmarks of Halloween, and this experiment brings them to life through static electricity. Static electricity is the buildup of an electrical charge on the surface of an object. And in this activity, the balloon’s static electricity will attract the ghosts or bats made of tissue paper to make them “dance.”
2. Halloween Optical Illusions
Now you see it, now you don’t! Optical illusions can use color, light and patterns to create images that are misleading to our brains. And this simple activity is a great way to teach the science of optical illusions. Using simple materials like pencils, index cards, crayons and tape, students can create their own optical illusions and distort reality.
You can’t celebrate Halloween without spiders and their elaborate webs. And this creepy activity explores how spiders use vibrations in their web to catch prey and steer clear of predators. All you need for this activity is yarn and scissors to create a simple web and eager children to pluck the yarn to produce vibrations.
4. Wizard’s Brew Chemistry Experiment
Nothing says Halloween like a bubbly potion. And your little witches and wizards can concoct their own brew with the help of an exothermic reaction. This is a chemical reaction that releases energy by light or heat. And in this experiment, the reaction between the hydrogen peroxide and yeast produces a fizzy, foaming brew!
Halloween is an ideal time for students to get their hands “bloody,” and explore what blood is made of. In this activity, they will use the following materials to create blood:
- Red water beads = red blood cells (that carry oxygen)
- Ping pong balls = white blood cells (that fight germs, bacteria, and viruses)
- Red foam pieces = platelets (that help heal cuts)
- Water = plasma (helps the blood move through veins and arteries)
Put it all in a plastic bin and watch things get bloody!
In this fun experiment, young scientists will mix baking soda with vinegar to bring gummy worms to life! This reaction between baking soda and vinegar forms carbon dioxide gas, which makes the worms float and wriggle until the reaction stops.
Wrapping up our list is another baking soda and vinegar experiment, but this time we’re inflating ghosts! In this experiment, your budding chemists will produce the acid-base reaction inside a plastic bottle and observe as the resulting carbon dioxide gas inflates the attached “ghost.”
Halloween is filled with opportunities for your students to explore science. For even more Halloween activities, check out 8 Spooktacular Ways To Celebrate Halloween With Students.
