![](https://thehomeschoolscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/check-out-our-math-worksheets-for-early-learners-650-x-200-px.png")
Favorite Back-to-School Science Activities and Giveaway
After the summer routine of having fewer or no academic assignments, easing back into a school schedule can be a little bumpy. Our list of back-to-school science activities will get your children engaged and thinking creatively.
But before we get to all of the fun activities, we also have a very special Back-to-School Giveaway listed below.
Whether you’re living on one income or are buying curriculum for multiple kids, homeschooling can put financial strain and stress on a family. So I’ve gotten together with a great group of homeschool bloggers to give you a chance to win a gift card to a major online homeschool retailer. We are going to bless THREE homeschool families (although we wish we could bless many more) so they can decrease that burden and buy the curriculum and supplies they need.
Three people will win a $200 gift card to their favorite homeschool curriculum company, so you can select the place to shop for homeschool curriculum and resources.
Chemistry Back-to-School Science Activities
Everyday Elements Activity: If chemistry is your science focus this year, this activity is good for teaching students that elements are all around them. It can be difficult for students to connect the Periodic Table to everyday items containing one or more elements. Check out the free printable and the additional free chemistry lesson packet.
Vitamin C and Apple Experiment: Younger children will learn about the concept of cause and effect by observing how applying vitamin C to apples prevents them from turning brown. They can explore the idea that when apples are exposed to air, they start to change color, but by using vitamin C, they can see how the browning process is slowed down or stopped. Older students will learn about enzymes their role in food preservation, and how simple kitchen ingredients can prevent browning and keep fruits fresh and appealing. Download the free lesson printable and review the activity here.
Testing the Properties of Water Activities: How many drops of water can you fit on a penny? How can you make a paper clip float on water? Your children will explore these questions and more via six super-simple activities. You can easily set up as stations and teach your children about polarity, surface tension, adhesion, cohesion, and capillary action. Those may sound like advanced concepts, but even younger children will enjoy making a rainbow with water, food coloring, and paper towel. Check out the 6 easy activities here..
Grab a few oranges and try these 6 experiments
Grab some glow sticks at the dollar store and try this glow stick experiment.
Animal Science Back-to-School Science Activities
Children love animals! It’s one of the most popular science topics at The Homeschool Scientist. When a topic of study touches on a child’s interest, they are naturally drawn to the information and activities. When getting into the back-to-school groove, why not start by studying your child’s favorite animal(s)?
An animal study also fits in nicely with a geography or habitat study. Here are a few ideas:
- Are you starting the year with animal classification and then distinguishing between vertebrates and invertebrates? Here’s an easy “make a model of a vertebrate” activity.
- If you’re studying the ocean habitat, consider studying sea turtles, sand dollars, sharks, blue whales, or sea otters. Look at sand under a microscope.
- If you’re studying Asia or a specific country in Asia, study elephants, read about red pandas, or talk about why tigers are endangered.
- If you’re studying wetlands, add a study about frogs or if you’re studying the desert, learn about lizards.
- We now have a doe living in the woods behind our house. Along with our resident fox, she is frequently seen scampering across our yard into a grove of persimmon trees. While the weather is still warm, enjoy the wildlife in your yard by making an animal track trap, observe backyard birds and make some easy DIY birdfeeders, or study bats.
- Do you have a bug collector in your family? Enjoy some back-to-school science activities about insects and spiders:
Physics & Engineering Back-to-School Science Activities
Ease into back-to-school science with a blast—literally! Try these rocket activities.
These two activities are an engaging way to talk about Newton’s Laws:
Engineering challenges allow our children to test their ideas, figure out why something they created didn’t work, and adjust by tweaking their design or starting with a new design. Here are a few engineering challenges to try:
This activity uses paper, tape, and a lot of imagination – Paper Structures Engineering Challenge Paper Structures Engineering Challenge.
Grab the free challenge cards. No email required.
Grab some foil, water, and imagination and host a foil boat STEM challenge. Add some additional challenge with the free challenge cards.
This is another favorite, and we have lab sheets for older students. Grab some gumdrops and toothpicks – that’s it! Gumdrop Structures Engineering Challenge
Design, build, and test paper airplanes Build An Aircraft Engineering Challenge
Start the year off with books from the Fairy Tale Physics series. We love them!
Biology Back-to-School Activities
If you plan to start your back-to-school science studying weather, our solar system, earthquakes, rocks, etc., here are some easy and hands-on ideas:
If you’re starting biology this year, cell biology is key. Learn the parts of a cell and build a cell model as part of your back-to-school science activities. Creating a Cell Model with FREE Biology Flashcards and Labeling Worksheets
- Add a “cool and gross” factor to your back-to-school by growing mold on food. You may already have a good jump on this activity right in your refrigerator. There are lessons for everyone in Make a Mold Terrarium activity. Your children will quickly see why handling and storing foods is important. Make A Mold Terrarium!
- Growing bacteria is definitely another “cool and gross!” back-to-school science activity. This does take a little preplanning since you need to purchase a kit like this one. However, this is a super-engaging activity that teaches students about the importance of proper cleaning habits. We have done this activity numerous times, and the whole family was invested in this one! Growing Bacteria in Agar Activity with Free Lesson Printable
- Flowers are still in bloom during back-to-school time (in the Northern Hemisphere, for the most part :)), so do a simple flower dissection.
Earth Science & Solar System Back-to-School Activities
- Help your children visualize the rock cycle with this hands-on activity and printable pack. The Rock Cycle Explained – Activities & Worksheets – The Homeschool Scientist
- If you’re starting an earth science unit, start with this pendulum activity that blends earth science, physics, and art. In years past, how did scientists prove that the earth really did rotate? That’s what the Foucault pendulum helped demonstrate. Make your own pendulum with 4 common household items. Make a Pendulum Science Activity
Here are some weather-related back-to-school science activities:
- Learn the types of clouds with this free viewer printable
- Using Clouds To Predict The Weather – Free Cloud Viewer Template
- Make a thermometer
- Make a Thermometer Weather Activity
- Make a rain gauge How to Make a Rain Gauge
Here are some solar system and astronomy back to school science activities:
- A comprehensive solar system study for younger students
- Solar print paper is a unique and super-fun activity. Have your children go on a nature walk or a scavenger hunt in your house to select small items to use in their solar paper design. Solar Printing Science Activity for Kids
- UV beads are another interesting activity that brings a more abstract concept to light–pun intended! You do need to preplan a little and purchase the UV beads. UV Beads Experiment & The Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Pipe cleaner constellations are super-easy and a very visual way for young children to understand the concept of creating patterns in the sky with stars. Pipe Cleaner Constellations
- Any activity involving vinegar and baking soda is always a hit, and this fizzy moon rocks activity adds color and sparkle to the mix! This is a blend of chemistry and the Moon!
Enter the Back-to-School Giveaway!
Our Back to Homeschool Giveaway has officially started, and YOU could win a $200 gift card to stock up on curriculum, supplies, or extras that make homeschooling easier.
3 winners. 3 gift cards. Endless possibilities.
To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Now I know this is quite a few entries, but each of these bloggers has generously chipped in their own money to make this giveaway possible, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries. And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are of winning!
Giveaway ends August 8, 2025, at 11:59pm. Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada to enter. Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers (see the Terms & Conditions on the Rafflecopter form).
Looking for more ideas?
Check out these math mystery books. We love these too!
Here are our favorite experiment books where there are lots of ideas for back-to-school science activities.
I hold a master’s degree in child development and early education and am working on a post-baccalaureate in biology. I spent 15 years working for a biotechnology company developing IT systems in DNA testing laboratories across the US. I taught K4 in a private school, homeschooled my children, and have taught on the mission field in southern Asia. For 4 years, I served on our state’s FIRST Lego League tournament Board and served as the Judging Director. I own thehomeschoolscientist and also write a regular science column for Homeschooling Today Magazine. You’ll also find my writings on the CTCMath blog. Through this site, I have authored over 50 math and science resources.