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5 Thrilling Halloween Science Projects for Fall Science Fun

The leaves are starting to change color and that means it’s time for my favorite season, fall, and my favorite holiday, Halloween.  If you’re looking to sprinkle a little seasonal magic into your lessons, I’ve got five Halloween science projects that are just right for fall. 

fall science activities

#1: Pumpkin chunkin' with catapults

One of my all-time favorite Halloween science projects is “Pumpkin Chunkin’ with Catapults.” It’s a fun way to explore physics with your students. My students have to think as engineers as they learn about catapults, do an online simulation, and then build their own catapult device. Their challenge to to be able to lauch pumpkins (marshmallows) and knock over a tower of cups.

fall science activities pumpkin chunkin

Basic Idea of How It Works:

To complete the full engineering design process you will want to challenge your students to make adjustments to their catapult to improve it.  Maybe they increase the tension in the rubber bands or tweak the angle of the spoon. I always tell my students, there’s always room for improvement.

#2. Pumpkin Boat Races

Another fun Halloween science project that can be done anytime during the fall season is “Pumpkin Boat Races”. This is a modified activity based on traditional pumpkin races</font color> that take place all over the country. For this activity students hollow out small pumpkins and carve them into boats. From there they have two challenges. In challenge 1, we see which boat can hold the most weight before sinking.  In challenge 2, they have to use Newton’s 3rd law to make their boat glide on the water and we have a boat race.

Basic Idea of How It Works:

To complete the full engineering design process you will want to challenge your students to make adjustments to their catap to improve it.  Maybe they increase the tension in the rubber bands or tweak the angle of the spoon. I always tell my students, there’s always room for improvement.

#3: monster genetics

Another class favorite is “Monster Genetics</font color>” with Punnett squares. If you teach genetics during this time then you will really want to do these fall science activities. In activity one we use punnett squares to create a monster family.  Students have to fill in the punnett squares using the genotypes of the monster parents and then create their four monster offspring based on the results.  In the second activity students flip coins to determine allele combinations for the jack-o-lantern offspring.  They then draw what their jack-o-lantern looks like based on the genotype and phenotype results.

fall science activities monster genetics

Basic Idea of How It Works:

One thing I like to do to add more fun to this activity is have my students decorate cookies in the forms of their jack-o-lanterns.  For many of my students it is the first time they have decorated cookies so its an experience they always remember.

#4. Building a skeleton hand

For those that are teaching about the human body, “Building a Skeleton ” is a fun Halloween science project the students will love. With simple materials like cardstock, straws, and string, students create a model of the human hand. As they build, they learn about bones, joints, and tendons and how they work together as a system.

Basic Idea of How It Works:

You can extend this activity by having students research common hand injuries or conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome. They can present how these conditions affect hand movement and discuss why understanding hand anatomy is important in fields like medicine and robotics.

#5. Animal Adaptations in Fall

If you are teaching ecology or ecosystems then you might have them do this fall science activity on “Animal Adaptations in Fall” to explore how animals prepare for the colder months. Students research an animal and its fall adaptations—whether it’s hibernation, migration, or camouflage—and then create a poster or model to showcase what they’ve learned.
fall science activities animal adaptations

Basic Idea of How It Works:

To extend the project you can have students compare and contrast their animal to other animals in a similar biome or ecosystem.

These five Halloween science projects are great for fall science activities because they’re hands-on, engaging, and they help reinforce key concepts. If you try one out I would love to hear how it goes.

If you’re looking for more ideas, be sure to check out related fall science activities on Adventures in iSTEM.