It’s summer! To a scientist, that means the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun. And to young Australians, it means lots of school holidays! To celebrate, we’ve hand-picked 20 hands-on STEM activities that go well with lots of sunshine and quality time with family and friends.
Cheery chemistry
Make egg-free meringues – ‘tis the season for pavlova… but would you make your pav with chickpeas?
Cook without heat – enjoy a cool dish from Latin America, thanks to the chemistry of citrus.
Homemade ice cream – don’t wait around for the ice cream truck, make it yourself!
Balmy biology
Colour changing flowers – give a colourful gift using flowers, food dye and some patience.
Eat glitter grape candy – how many of these sour “lollies” can you eat this summer?
Create a terrarium – capture a little bit of nature to enjoy indoors.
“Phestive” physics
How bright is the Sun? – The Sun seems awfully bright this time of year, so why not work out exactly how bright?
Make a solar system to scale – a perfect sunny summer day activity for the park.
Foam bubble blower – make thousands of bubbles that you can shape!
Merry maths
A Christmas packing puzzle – can you solve this 3D puzzle? (This is a great challenge for a lazy afternoon.)
Make a pie chart – put some holiday treats to use (and then eat them).
Swap the blocks – can you swap the red and green blocks?
Tropical tech & engineering
Build a solar oven – harness the summer sun to cook up a chocolate-y treat.
Launch a stomp rocket – invite your friends over and see how high your rockets can fly!
Heron’s fountain – while you can’t jump in this fountain, it works without any electricity!
Build an automatic fishing machine – discover an Indigenous fishing technique that can make fish fly!
Bonus activities: conscious conservation
Make beeswax food wraps – a customisable gift you can feel extra good about.
Composting – summer is a great time to start this sustainable habit.
Turn a t-shirt into a bag – here’s a crafty activity to carry all your presents.
Build a bee hotel – set your garden abuzz with beneficial native bees!
If you’re after even more hands-on STEM activities suited to summer, check out our festive list here.