Fall is when we hit that long stretch of teaching where there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Labor Day feels like it happened forever ago, and Veterans Day still seems so far away. But as the weather cools, the leaves begin to turn, apples and pumpkins pop up everywhere, and the days get shorter, it’s the perfect time to bring a little seasonal fun into your science classroom.
So here’s a roundup of fall science activities that are low-prep, hands-on, and tied to the units you’re probably already teaching this time of year.
Fall Science Ideas during Halloween Time
1. Solar oven s’mores
Early fall, like the end of September, is still warm enough to use the sun, so build simple solar ovens out of pizza boxes and foil and melt some s’mores. It’s energy transfer and the sun as an energy source, plus a snack, which never hurts engagement. NASA Climate Kids has a kid-friendly solar oven guide you can hand to students.
2. Apple browning investigation
Slice some apples and have students test what slows the browning: lemon juice, water, plastic wrap, nothing. It’s a clean, low-cost intro to chemical change and controlled variables, and it works great as a science-at-home activity for families too. Science Buddies has a good oxidation project page for reference. As an extra bonus, they can do this at home with their parents, with their approval of course, and use different edible liquids around their house and come back with their data results to compare with other students. This gets the family involved with their learning.
3. Leaf chromatography
This one answers the question autumn already put in their heads: why do leaves change color? Students separate the pigments in a leaf with a coffee filter and a little rubbing alcohol and see the hidden colors that were there all along. Mixtures, separation, and a satisfying reveal. Science Buddies has a great write-up on this.
4. Pumpkin sink or float
Grab a few pumpkins of different sizes and have students predict whether each will sink or float, then test it. The big one floating always surprises them, and it opens a real conversation about density. Predict, test, explain, all with a pumpkin. This was a fun one I did with my students when density was taught as a full California science standard before we moved to the NGSS standards.
5. STEM Pumpkin Chunkin
This one is a reliable hit, the kind of challenge that keeps students engaged all class period. Students design and build a catapult or launcher to fling a small pumpkin (or a mini one) as far as they can, then test and improve it. You get force, motion, energy transfer, and the full engineering design process in one challenge, and it makes an unbeatable fall STEM day.
I have everything you need for this engineering design practice activity where students also practice thinking like scientists. Grab my STEM Pumpkin Chunkin challenge. I do it as a full week activity; however, it can be simplified to do in 1-2 days.
6. Rotting pumpkin observation
Set a carved or whole pumpkin somewhere safe and have students observe it decompose over a couple of weeks, recording what they see. It’s a slow-burn look at decomposers and matter cycling, and it’s weirdly mesmerizing for middle schoolers. A time-lapse photo each day makes a great discussion piece. Better yet, have them make their own jack-o-lanterns and then use different suggested techniques they find on TikTok, IG, YouTube, or the web for preserving their Jack-o-lanterns so they make it through Halloween. This would be a great scientific method or prove the claim activity.
7. Halloween candy lab
I find students love any lab that involves candy, so the post-Halloween candy pile is a gift. Students test dissolving rates, separate the coating on candy-coated chocolates, or sort physical versus chemical changes. It’s high engagement, low cost, and pure scientific method practice. This is a perfect activity the first day back after Halloween when they are already on a sugar high and have candy to spare.
You could use one of mine from my 3 candy lab activity.
8. Holiday Genetics Monster
This one bridges fall nicely into the holiday stretch. Students “inherit” traits by flipping coins for alleles, then build a monster based on its genotype and phenotype. They’re doing real genetics, dominant and recessive traits, genotype versus phenotype, while thinking they’re just designing a creature, and it sneaks in some of the trickiest vocabulary of the year.
Grab my Holiday Genetics Monster activity if you want it ready to run.
9. Fall CSI mystery
Round it out with a seasonal crime-scene investigation. A fall mystery hooks students into claim, evidence, and reasoning the same way the rest of the season hooks them into phenomena. It’s a natural lead-in to a spookier forensic case in October.
[PRODUCT LINK NEEDED — Kristi, paste your CSI Mystery product link(s) here (Lemonade / Dead Fish “Solve the Case”). I’ll attach them.]
Make any of these a CER moment.
Every activity here gets deeper the second you add CER. Don’t just have students observe the apple browning; have them make a claim about what slows it, back it with their evidence, and explain the reasoning. That one move turns a fun fall activity into the kind of scientific argument that builds the skills they’ll use all year.
Drop one or two into the next few weeks.
You don’t have to run all nine. Pick one or two that fit what you’re already teaching, lean on the season’s natural curiosity, and let your students get their hands dirty. Let me know which ones you tried or if you have any other fall activities you do. I’d love to hear from you. Pin this post so it’s ready when the leaves start to turn.
