You’re a busy teacher (or parent) and you just don’t have time to spend hours prepping your STEM lessons every week! Lucky for you, we have a list of no-prep STEM activities right here that will help save your time and sanity in and out of the classroom. So keep scrolling and get ready to find something else to do with your time after grabbing these no-prep STEM activity ideas!
And when you have a bit more time, don’t forget to check out our complete list of STEM activities for kids, Easy STEM activities for elementary, STEM activities for kindergarten, and STEM projects for toddlers!
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How No-Prep are These STEM Activities, Really?
These lowprep STEAM activities for kids are about as no-prep as you can get. Most of the supplies required for these hands-on STEM activities are things you already have in the classroom. Many of these activities are even easy STEM activities with paper!
And when you use our STEM challenge worksheet to go along with each experiment for kids or activity for kids, you can save even more time in planning. Just print the worksheet, gather the supplies, and get started on your no-prep STEM activities!
Most of these no-prep STEM activities are child-led, which means the children are responsible for thinking of a solution to a problem.
Use these no-prep STEM activities to offer stem challenges about the weather, earth science, chemistry, engineering, math, physics, light, and coding.
How to do the No-Prep STEM Activities
For maximum benefit, you can create a scenario ahead of time for kids to use as a reason for completing your no-prep STEM activities.
For example, kids could do the walking rainbow in a jar activity as a solution for how to get water from a low area to a high area, as might be required on certain farms.
Kids can do the paper airplane design challenge as an answer to the problem of what is the most aerodynamic shape for a real plane design.
Think of a problem, offer the no-prep STEM activities as a solution, and let the kids solve the problems on their own. Since these are open-ended STEM challenges, kids can come up with their own answers.
Supplies for No Prep STEM Activities
If you want a certain number of days of lowprep STEAM activities and no prep STEM activities, then you’ll want to make sure you have some common science for kids supplies to set up your prep STEM teacher toolkit.
While no prep STEM is designed to use materials you already have on hand, like a catapults bridge building challenge or a paper chain challenge, if you are going to do these no prep STEM activities with a group of kids, you may just want to double check your craft/STEM supplies just in case.
Here are the STEM supplies for the classroom that I always keep on hand:
STEM Teaching Resources
These teaching resources will make your STEM classroom more fun and rewarding for your students!
Must-Have STEM Supplies for the Classroom
Find a list of our favorite STEM supplies for the classroom from our affiliate partners below!
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The Complete List of No-Prep STEM Activities
Don’t have time for extended lesson planning?
Try any of these no prep STEM activities with your students, and don’t forget to grab the FREE STEM extension worksheet to go along with your no prep STEM activities.
No-Prep Weather STEM Activities
These no prep STEM activities are all about weather.
Weather STEM Project Kits
Use these resources to go along with any weather STEM lesson to cover all aspects of weather and climate. Click on each image below to be taken to the site where you can learn more details about each weather STEM kit.
Weather Cycle Posters Classroom Kit
Weather STEAM Lesson Plan Bundle
Learn about capillary action with just water, food coloring, and paper towels in this walking rainbow experiment.
Make your own snow storm in a jar and learn about weather patterns when you do this no prep snow storm in a jar experiment.
Learn about the water cycle when you teach students how to make a cloud in a jar.
Learn how clouds work with this easy cloud in a jar experiment!
Ever wanted to learn How to Make Instant Ice in 5 Seconds? Now you can!
If you have snow (or make shaved ice) you can try this super fun and no prep Snow Volcano Experiment!
If you want even more weather STEM activity ideas, check out this list of Weather Science Experiments for Kids.
STEM Classroom Decorations and Bulletin Boards
Here are some fun STEM themed classroom decorations and bulletin boards that will make any classroom more fun!
Science Has All the Solutions Decorating Kit
What is a Scientist Decorating Kit
Science is All Around Us Decorating Kit
Scientific Method Classroom Posters
Science sayings bulletin board decor
Forces of motion bulletin board set
Scientific thinking bulletin board set
The Best Weather Related Toys
Here are some of the best weather related toys that your students or kids at home will love playing with all while learning about the weather to go along with any STEM weather activities you are doing at school!
What’s the Weather Stuffed Hand Puppets
Weather Glitter Squish Jellies
Educational Wooden Weatherboard for Kids
STEAM Powered Girls Weather Station
No-Prep Earth Science STEM Activities
Make earth science fun with these earth science no prep STEM activities.
Earth Science Teaching Resources
Here are some earth science resources and earth science supplies that you can use in the classroom or at home to teach earth science concepts!
Learn about salt crystals and ionic bonds when making salt crystal dinosaurs in this salt crystal science experiment.
All you need for this STEM challenge is spaghetti to complete a unique spaghetti engineering project!
Food coloring and water is all that is needed to make this hot and cold water density experiment.
A tornado in a jar is one of the easiest STEM challenges to complete! Learn how to do it in these instructions for making a tornado in a jar.
See if you can remove salt from water and make it drinkable in this desalination science project.
No-Prep Chemistry STEM Activities
Solve the problems of the world with chemistry!
The Mason Jar Scientist: 30 Jarring STEAM-Based Projects
Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jars with Lids and Bands, 16-Ounces (4-Pack)Crisco Pure Vegetable Oil, 32 OunceBarbasol Soothing Aloe Thick & Rich Shaving Cream 10 Oz (2 Pack)Alka-Seltzer PFY BXAS50 80659297 Antacid and Pain Relief Medicine, Two-Pack (Pack of 50)Kadaon 10X Handheld Magnifier Antique Mahogany Handle Magnifier Reading Magnifying Glass for Reading Book, Inspection, Coins, Insects, Rocks, Map, Crossword PuzzleBORAX 20 Mule Team Laundry Booster, Powder, 4 PoundsFine Ground Celtic Sea Salt – (1) 16 Ounce Resealable Bag of Nutritious, Classic Sea Salt, Great for Cooking, Baking, Pickling, Finishing and More, Pantry-Friendly, Gluten-FreeMcCormick Assorted Food Color, 1 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)Food Coloring – 12 Color Vibrant Cake Food Coloring Set for Baking, Decorating, Fondant and Cooking – Upgraded Liquid Concentrated Icing Food Color Dye for Slime Making, DIY Crafts – .25 fl. oz. Each30% Pure Vinegar – Home&Garden (1 Gallon)Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda, 5 lbArgo Corn Starch 16 oz. Box (Pack of 4)
If you have glue and borax, you can make this ocean slime recipe in minutes!
Vinegar and eggs are all that are needed to make this no-prep STEM rainbow rubber egg experiment.
With jars and sugar, you can learn about crystals and ionic bonds in this sugar crystal science experiment.
Kids will love this low-prep STEM challenge activity making a homemade bouncy ball.
No Prep STEM Activities to Teach engineering!
Nothing beats a classic engineering no prep STEM challenge!
cossy STEM Learning Toy Engineering Construction Building Blocks 208 Pieces Kids Educational Toy for Boys and Girls Ages 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Year Old (208 Pcs)Thames & Kosmos Structural Engineering: Bridges & Skyscrapers | Science & Engineering Kit | Build 20 Models | Learn About Force, Load, Compression, Tension | Parents’ Choice Gold Award WinnerIQ BUILDER | STEM Learning Toys | Creative Construction Engineering | Fun Educational Building Blocks Toy Set for Boys and Girls Ages 5 6 7 8 9 10 Year Old + | Best Toy Gift for Kids | Activity GameEngino Discovering STEM Structures Constructions & Bridges | 9 Working Models | Illustrated Instruction Manual | Theory & Facts | Experimental Activities | STEM Construction KitSmart CircuitsPANLOS Robot STEM Toy Engineering Building Blocks Building Bricks Toy kit – for Boys 6 Years Old or Older Tight Fit and Compatible with All Major Brands 570 PCSSTEM Starters for Kids Engineering Activity Book: Packed with Activities and Engineering FactsMEIGO STEM Toys – Toddlers Educational Construction Engineering Building Blocks Set Best Learning Toy Gift Kit for Kids 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Year Old Boys Girls (110pcs)The Mason Jar Scientist: 30 Jarring STEAM-Based Projects
Protect eggs and learn about packaging design in the classic egg drop engineering project.
Use cotton swabs as building materials and recreate landmark bridges in this q tip bridge challenge!
What is the best design for an airplane? Find out in this paper airplane engineering challenge.
No-Prep Physics STEM Activities
Explore global physics with these activities!
Physics STEM Resources
Here are some physics resources and demonstrations that help kids understand the basics of physics in a hands-on way!
All it takes is some milk, food coloring, and soap to complete this no-prep milk surface tension science experiment.
Learn about cartesian divers using a ketchup packet and plastic water bottle in the cartesian diver experiment.
If you have a few common household materials lying around, you can do this liquid density experiment.
No-Prep Light STEM Activities
Play with light in these no-prep STEM activities.
Must-Have STEM Supplies for the Classroom
Find a list of our favorite STEM supplies for the classroom from our affiliate partners below!
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All you need is a pencil and a jar to learn about light refraction in the bending pencil experiment.
This electrical engineering STEM challenge teaches kids how to use Squishy Circuits!
Make your own flashlight constellations using paper and a flashlight.
No Prep STEM Activities That Teach Math Skills
Try these fun STEM math challenges!
Shifu Plugo Count – Math Game with Stories & Puzzles – Ages 5-10 – STEM Toy | Augmented Reality Based Cool Math Games for Boys & Girls (App Based)STEM Starters for Kids Math Activity Book: Packed with Activities and Math FactsAmazing Visual MathIntooba Math/STEM Construction KitMonkey Balance Cool Math Game STEM Montessori Preschool Learning Counting Toys for 3 4 5 Year olds First Grade Children Kids Kindergarten Board Game (Upgraded,Common Package Box )CLOUD HOPPER Addition Subtraction STEM game – Alien chase adventure – Fun learning toy for ages 6 and up – Aligned to Singapore math – With 10 faced math dicemiYou STEM Math Toy Educational Balance Game and Counting Frog Set for School Kids Years 3 4 5 6 7ThinkFun Math Dice Junior Game for Boys and Girls Age 6 and Up – Teachers Favorite and Toy of the Year NomineePlay Brainy Fun, Kid-Friendly and Math Educational- Easy Number Game-Toddler Puzzle- 3D Baby Animal Hedgehog Puzzle- STEM Learning Toy- Ideal for Baby, Toddler, and Kids., Multicolored
If you have a deck of Uno cards, you can play this Uno math game.
Making a Mobius strip requires one piece of paper! Learn how to make a mobius strip here.
Use Geomotiles to create 3D geometry shapes in a hands-on geometry challenge.
With dice, you can practice multiplication using the directions from this multiplication dice game.
Fractions can become art in this no-prep STEM challenge math fraction art project.
Learn about probability with a Venn diagram and a dice in this no prep dice probability STEM activity.
No-Prep Coding Activities for Kids
Nothing says STEM activities like coding, and these coding activities require almost zero prep from you.
Coder Bunnyz – The Most Comprehensive STEM Coding Board Game Ever! Learn All The Concepts You Ever Need in Computer Programming in a Fun Adventure. Featured at TIME, NBC, Sony, Google, Maker Faires!Osmo – Creative Starter Kit for iPad – Ages 5-10 – Creative Drawing & Problem Solving/Early Physics – STEM – (Osmo Base Included)Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set, 83 Pieces, Ages 4+ThinkFun Roller Coaster Challenge STEM Toy and Building Game for Boys and Girls Age 6 and Up – TOTY Game of the Year FinalistThinkFun Code Master Programming Logic Game and STEM Toy – Teaches Programming Skills Through Fun GameplayThinkFun Rush Hour Traffic Jam Brain Game and STEM Toy for Boys and Girls Age 8 and Up – Tons of Fun With Over 20 Awards Won, International Bestseller for Over 20 YearsElenco Teach Tech “Mech-5”, Programmable Mechanical Robot Coding Kit, STEM Building Toy for Kids 10+ThinkFun Robot Turtles STEM Toy and Coding Board Game for Preschoolers – Made Famous on Kickstarter, Teaches Programming Principles to PreschoolersThames & Kosmos Kids First Coding & Robotics | No App Needed | Grades K-2 | Intro to Sequences, Loops, Functions, Conditions, Events, Algorithms, Variables | Parents’ Choice Gold Award WinnerLearning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse, Coding STEM Toy, 31 Piece Coding Set, Ages 4+Learning Resources Coding Critters Ranger & Zip, Toy of the Year Award Winner, Interactive STEM Coding Toy, Early Coding Toy for Kids, 22 Piece Set, Ages 4+ThinkFun Potato Pirates Coding Card Game and STEM Toy for Boys and Girls Age 7 and Up – A Fun Card Game of Potato WarFisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar Twist
These coding apps for kids require no input from a teacher or parent, making them entirely no prep!
Use these ready-to-go Ozobot Bit coding ideas for some fun no prep STEM fun!
Binary Secret Message Coding Bracelets
If you have beads, you can create the secret message coding bracelets STEM challenge.
What are your favorite no-prep STEM challenges?
STEM Shirts for Teachers
These STEM shirts are adorable and super fun to wear while teaching STEM or science.
