Science Activities at Home
Everyone can be a scientist!
Looking for quick, fun, at-home STEM and science activities that don’t require a lab? Grab a few materials from around your home, then start experimenting. You may need a grown-up for some of these DIY activities—have fun exploring science together.
Step into the brain of a computer and write an algorithm!
Instructions
Protect your seeds from prey and other external dangers!
Instructions
What do you see when you look up at the night sky?
Instructions
Make an edible model showing how glaciers shape the land around them.
Instructions
Find out what happens to your heart rate when you get scared.
Instructions
Discover how sound waves work by making your own instrument.
Instructions
Observe microscopic mushroom spores by making an art print!
Instructions
What surface is the best for sticking and unsticking an adhesive note?
Instructions
Collect clean water from plants using evaporation and condensation.
Instructions
Look up! Can you find examples of different clouds in the sky?
Instructions
Create your own rainbow in a bottle to explore the physics of light!
Instructions
What sounds can you hear? Where are they coming from?
Instructions
Want to investigate fingerprints, just like a detective? Use chemistry!
Instructions
Become a structural engineer—and see your bricks survive the fall!
Instructions
Grab a grown-up and make a cloud using steam, ice, and a match!
Instructions
How fast can you catch an object? Get a partner and find out!
Instructions
Create your own unique fossil molds and casts at home!
Instructions
Help pollinators find a home by creating a place for cavity-nesting bees.
Instructions
Observe chemical reactions using baking materials in the kitchen.
Instructions
Take real-life science data and turn it into graphs about trout populations.
Instructions
Produce a luminescent spark using only your teeth and a minty treat.
Instructions
Learn to predict the weather by observing changes in air pressure.
Instructions
Alive? Or just acting alive? Use biological and chemical reactions to find out!
Instructions
Create a colorful chemical reaction with milk, food coloring, and dish soap!
Instructions
Use sound waves and a little water to make a wine glass sing!
Instructions
Did you know everyone has a hole in their vision? Can you find yours?
Instructions
Create a neutrally-buoyant "plankton" that barely floats or sinks slowly!
Instructions
Can you poke a sharp skewer through a balloon without popping it?
Instructions
Do you love music? Make your very own membranophone at home!
Instructions
Learn how hot water, sugar, and precipitation creates crystals!
Instructions
Become a phenologist and turn your observations into a moving image!
Instructions
Observe different types of "lava" and how it moves down a mountainside.
Instructions
Invisible microbes are everywhere—make some with Play-Doh!
Instructions
Test your design skills! Will your bridge survive an earthquake?
Instructions
Seeds are alive! Discover if they require light (or not) to germinate.
Instructions
Think you're fast? Find out how your speed compares to a dog!
Instructions
Inflate a balloon with sugar and yeast in this easy kitchen experiment.
Instructions
Use clear language to make a complex idea more understandable!
Instructions
Learn how to separate and uncoil strands of DNA using fruit and juice!
Instructions
Discover how mountains can change the air and cause rain to fall!
Instructions
Go outside and find out out what's living in your backyard.
Instructions
Learn about the pieces of a flower and how pollinators help it reproduce.
Instructions
Discover how the Sun bends space—making planets orbit around it!
Instructions
Discover how to stay warm like a walrus—keeping heat in and cold out!
Instructions
OMSI At Home science videos, activities, and programs are supported by funding from Genentech.
There's More to Explore!
Keep the curiosity going with science videos, activities, or events and programs.