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The whole world is one big science classroom. Recycled Tumbler With Handle
The only thing more fun than hands-on science is taking it outside! These outdoor science activities are perfect for taking advantage of sunny days. Fly kites, dissect flowers, experiment with sound and water, and so much more! There is something on our list for everyone from adults all the way down to toddlers. You’ll only need simple supplies for most of these, so any teacher or family can head out to learn about chemistry, biology, physics, and more.
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Look up and take some time to admire the clouds. Craft this cute “cloud viewer” and find a cloud in the sky. Then, identify what type it is, and learn more about how clouds form.
Learn more: Cloud Viewer—Little Bins for Little Hands
You can learn a lot about physics when you make and fly your own kite. Experiment with different designs to see whose kite flies the highest or the longest.
Learn more: Inner Child Fun
You’ve probably seen videos of this making the rounds online, so why not try it out yourself? This is one of those outdoor science activities that’s easy to do, but make sure you wear safety equipment like goggles.
Birds build intricate nests, and they make it look easy. Can you do the same? Gather some materials outdoors, and try to make your own nest.
Learn more: Views From a Step Stool
There’s an amazing amount of life in every square foot of nature. Grab your magnifying glasses or microscope, and take a closer look at the ground you walk on every day.
Learn more: One Square Foot—Little Bins for Little Hands
Find out how some plants spread their seeds far and wide with this cool balloon experiment. Fill it with seeds and air, then pop it outside on a breezy day and watch the seeds fly!
Learn more: Around the Kampfire
This is one of those outdoor science activities that simply can’t be done anywhere other than outdoors. Kids will marvel at the chemical reaction that sends diet soda shooting high in the air when Mentos are added.
Learn more: Soda Experiment—Scholastic
Food waste is a big problem, contributing to much of the material that winds up in landfills. Teach kids how to compost with kitchen scraps in a plastic bottle, and use the compost to feed your plants.
Learn more: Busy Mommy Media
If you’re looking for outdoor science activities that are sure to excite your students, try this eye-popping chemical reaction demonstration. You only need simple supplies like sugar, baking soda, and sand, but the element of fire makes this experiment best done outdoors.
Climate change can be a contentious topic, so start by teaching kids about the greenhouse effect, which is easy to see and understand using this simple experiment. Then, urge them to explore data collected by scientists so they can learn to make informed decisions about topics like global warming.
Learn more: Teaching Science With Lynda
This outdoor science project is similar to building a battery from a lemon, but you also get to dig in the dirt! Kids learn about electric currents and conductivity.
Learn more: Dirt Battery—Teach Beside Me
We slather kids in sunscreen when they’re playing outside, but do they understand why? Try this fun little experiment, which demonstrates how sunscreen protects from the sun’s harmful rays.
Learn more: STEM Sunscreen Experiment—JDaniel4’s Mom
Explore the power of the sun when you build your own solar ovens and use them to cook some yummy treats. The link below has complete instructions.
Fun fact: Pine cones open and close according to the weather in order to protect or disperse the seeds inside. Use that fact to your advantage and create a pine cone weather station in your backyard.
Learn more: Pine Cones—Science Sparks
Are you looking for outdoor science activities for kids who love to build with LEGO? Explore the power of water with a cool homemade LEGO water course that includes a dam and a water wheel. This engineering project is fun to play with when you’re done.
Learn more: LEGO Course—Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
A simple adapter kit lets you turn an empty plastic bottle into a soaring rocket. Kids learn about pressure and Newton’s third law of motion with this perennially popular outdoor science project.
Learn more: Bottle Rockets—Science Sparks
This DIY microscope isn’t very powerful, but it does magnify small objects so you can see details. It’s also really simple to make. (Looking for a stronger microscope you can take on the go? Try this portable model that hooks up to your cell phone.)
Learn more: Mini Microscope—Childhood 101
Stroll through the great outdoors and have kids collect interesting natural objects. Use recycled soda or water bottles to display their specimens.
Learn more: Discovery Bottles—Little Bins for Little Hands
You’ll need to buy special paper for this outdoor science project, but it’s easy to find. Kids will love creating their own patterns and experimenting to find which objects work best.
Learn more: PBS for Parents
Scientists use anemometers to measure wind speed. Build this DIY version and do some weather science with your class.
Learn more: Pi’ikea Street
It’s easy to mix your own soap bubble solution with just a few ingredients. Let kids experiment to find the best proportion of ingredients to blow the longest-lasting bubbles with this fun outdoor science activity.
Learn more: Science Buddies—Bubble-ology
Bubbles are part of many fun outdoor science activities. Once you’ve blown the longest-lasting bubbles, move on to creating the largest bubbles you’ve ever seen! Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these bubble-blowing wands.
Learn more: Giant Bubbles—Scholastic
Young kids will simply adore building this basic catapult and watching Ping-Pong balls soar! Older kids can experiment by changing the position of the fulcrum, the length of the board, and the objects being flung.
Learn more: Catapult—Buggy and Buddy
Speaking of foamy messes, elephant toothpaste (OK, it’s not really used by elephants) creates a huge exothermic reaction that will blow kids away.
Give your nature walk more direction by giving students specific items to seek out. You can make your own boards, or hit the link below for free printables for every season.
Learn more: Massachusetts Audubon Society
Gather a variety of materials (try tissues, handkerchiefs, plastic bags, etc.) and see which ones make the best parachutes. You can also find out how they’re affected on windy days or find out which ones work in the rain.
Learn more: How To Make a Parachute—Inspiration Laboratories
Nature journals are a great way to partner writing and outdoor science while building kids’ observational skills. You can use any sturdy notebook or check out the link below for free printable journal pages and a fun DIY carry-along journal project.
Learn more: Nature Journal—Edventures With Kids
Use recycled materials to create “seed bombs.” Then plant them in the schoolyard or send kids home to use them in their own gardens. Students learn about ecology, recycling, and plant life cycles.
Kids love to pick up rocks, and there are plenty of great science experiments you can do with them. In this one, you pour vinegar over a rock to see if it bubbles. If it does, you’ve found limestone!
Learn more: Limestone Rocks—Edventures With Kids
Use a cell phone to snap pictures of everything you find on a nature walk, then report those sightings to Project Noah. This citizen science project is dedicated to documenting every living thing on Earth! (Teachers, get ideas for using Project Noah in your classroom here.)
All you need is a plastic bottle, a ruler, and a permanent marker to make your own rain gauge. Monitor your measurements and see how they stack up against meteorology reports in your area.
This simple project demonstrates how plants get rid of excess water they don’t need, a process known as transpiration. The supplies and method are simple enough for anyone to try it.
Learn more: Transpiration—Teach Beside Me
When you do this experiment right, you won’t make a mess at all. But while kids are still getting the hang of swinging glasses of water around their heads, you’ll probably want to make this an outdoor science activity.
Give trees a closer look and learn to identify them by their leaves and seeds. These jars preserve the leaves and seeds for future study too.
Learn more: Identify Trees—Edventures With Kids
Take kids outdoors to use their five senses with this free printable scavenger hunt activity. They’ll hone their observation skills and learn so much about the world around them.
Learn more: Nature Scavenger Hunt—Childhood 101
You may have heard that monarch butterflies are struggling to keep their populations alive. Join the fight to save these beautiful insects by planting your own butterfly garden, monitoring monarch populations, and more. Get all the info you need at the link.
Your students might know you can count tree rings to find out how old the tree is, but do they know why that’s true? Students will undoubtedly get a kick out of exploring dendrochronology.
Learn more: Tree Rings—Edventures With Kids
Have you ever noticed that birds can be difficult to spot, even though signs of them are all around? This free printable scavenger hunt helps you find evidence that birds live nearby. Just look for nests and food sources and listen for their sounds.
Bring all the birds to the yard with this easy recycled bird feeder project. Kids can learn to identify common backyard birds in your area. Visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s educators’ resource page for more ideas.
Some birds are easy to identify, but others stump even longtime bird-watchers. If you’re looking for outdoor science activities for kids who love feathered friends, check out the free Merlin Bird ID app. Snap a pic, answer a few questions, and the app will provide you some probable identifications, just like that.
Learn more: Merlin Bird ID
Choose a sunny day and grab some sidewalk chalk—your students are about to become sundials! They’ll practice measuring skills and learn about the movement of the sun across the sky.
Learn more: Rhythms of Play
Wind turbines have become common sights in some parts of the country as we explore alternative energy sources. Build your own to learn how they work with this outdoor science experiment.
Learn more: Build a Wind Turbine—Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
Vinegar and baking soda experiments are always a big hit with kids, and this one is no exception. They’ll love seeing the bags pop from the chemical reaction, and you’ll be glad the mess is outside.
Kids work in pairs to estimate the height of a tree in this project that puts the M in STEM. Get a free printable at the link below to walk you through the process.
Learn more: From ABCs to ACTs
Kids can entertain themselves for hours with a big empty cardboard box. Channel that energy by turning a box into a place to learn about light refraction and reflection, using colored water in plastic bottles.
Learn more: True Aim Education
Here’s another experiment using the classic baking powder and vinegar reaction. This one uses it to power these cute little DIY boats! A kiddie pool is the perfect spot for this outdoor science project.
Learn more: The OT Toolbox
Here’s another classic outdoor science project you won’t want to move inside—the egg drop. Challenge kids to engineer a container that will protect an egg from a long fall (this is especially fun to do from upper-story windows).
Learn more: Egg Drop—Buggy and Buddy
Head out to the playground, gather up a variety of objects, and hold races to see which ones make it down the slide first. This is a fun introduction to friction and inclined planes.
Learn more: Friction Science—Buggy and Buddy
Learn about the challenges of cleaning up polluted water sources like rivers and lakes with this interesting outdoor science activity. Pair it with a visit to a local water treatment plant to expand the lesson.
Learn more: Water Pollution—JDaniel4’s Mom
Once you’ve “cleaned up” your water, try testing it to see how clean it really is. Then head out to test other types of water. Kids will be fascinated to discover what’s in the water in their local streams, ponds, and puddles. Water-testing kits are readily available online—try this set available on Amazon.
Learn more: The Homeschool Scientist
This project is equally fun as a sensory experience and as a science experiment. Fill a kiddie pool with water, then place inside metal mixing bowls of different sizes. Finally, let kids experiment with different combos of waters, bowls, and drumsticks (i.e., wooden spoons).
Learn more: And Next Comes
Head outside and have kids trace the outlines of their shadows. Then mix up some homemade chalk paint and let kids get creative painting their shadows.
Learn more: Rhythms of Play
While this video isn’t a specific experiment, it advocates for kids getting outside and having a chance to explore. Kids can gather things that catch their eye and then sort leaves, flowers, shells, etc., by pattern, shape, or anything else they wish.
Is there anything prettier than a rainbow? Your students will undoubtedly love seeing that they can make one themselves!
This experiment could be done inside too, but we think it would work even better with more space outdoors. Give kids a wide variety of materials so they can work diligently to build something to transport a plastic Easter egg safely across the zip line.
Learn more: The Secret Life of Homeschoolers
Your students will be so fascinated to learn just how much is hidden under the exterior of their favorite flower. Have some magnifying glasses on hand so your students can get a closer look at all the different parts of the flower and even the pollen.
You’ll need cornstarch, water, a bowl, a spoon, and ice cube trays to make this oh-so fun sensory science experiment. If you really want to get wild, include some food coloring and glitter since kids will enjoy personalizing their oobleck. Once the oobleck is frozen, bring it outside and let it melt. As it melts, have students study the consistency changes.
This experiment is best suited for older kids or perhaps as more of a demonstration for younger kids. This is a great lesson on static electricity and it will certainly leave your students stunned!
As far as outdoor science activities go, this one is so simple yet such a fun way for the tiniest learners to discover nature and trees in particular. Grab some tape, peeled crayons, and paper, then head outdoors!
Want to amaze your students while also teaching about Bernoulli’s principle? The basic idea is that fast-moving fluids have lower pressure than slow-moving fluids. Balance a beach ball in just the right spot above the leaf blower, where the forces of gravity and air pressure are equal. This will result in a floating ball!
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