15 STEM Activities for Middle School Students

If you are in middle school, trying STEM activities can be one of the best ways to learn new things in science while having fun. These activities can help you learn how to tackle problems, come up with creative ideas and solutions, and work with other people. The more you practice now, the easier it will feel when you take harder classes in high school. You also get to explore what you really enjoy in science, technology, engineering, or math, and see how these are applied in practical situations.

What are STEM activities for middle school students?

STEM activities are projects you actually do instead of just reading from a book or filling out worksheets. They let you test, build, or create something on your own. For example, you might mix ingredients in your kitchen to test a reaction, design and code a simple game using Scratch, or build a small robot or bridge model. These projects are active and practical, so you get to learn by experimenting and making mistakes. It feels more like creating than studying, which makes them so enjoyable and rewarding.

With that, here are 15 STEM activities for middle school students!

15 STEM Activities for Middle School Students

1. Build a Homemade Electromagnet

In this activity, you create an electromagnet by wrapping copper wire around an iron nail and connecting it to a battery. By testing how many paper clips the nail can pick up, you see how electricity produces a magnetic field. This experiment introduces the concept of electromagnetism and shows how electricity and magnetism are linked in physics.

Materials/Investment Required: Copper wire, iron nail, battery, paper clips

Suitable for: Beginners

2. Design a Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube Goldberg machine is a creative chain reaction that completes a simple task in a complicated way. By using items like dominoes, toy cars, and string, you’ll explore energy transfer, momentum, and cause-and-effect relationships. Building the machine takes planning and iteration, making it a fun way to apply physics and engineering principles. It also encourages teamwork and problem-solving.

Materials/Investment Required: Computer, internet access (free Scratch account)

Suitable for: Beginners

3. Make a DIY Water Filter

This activity challenges you to build a water filtration system using gravel, sand, and activated charcoal. You’ll pour dirty water through the filter and observe how each layer removes different particles. It’s a great introduction to environmental engineering and the science behind clean water systems. You also learn about mixtures and physical separation techniques.

Materials/Investment Required: Plastic bottle, gravel, sand, activated charcoal, coffee filter

Suitable for: Beginners

4. Do research with Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program

Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program is a selective mentorship opportunity for middle school students between the ages of 12 and 14 who want to explore STEM in depth. The program runs for 8 weeks and pairs you one-on-one with a PhD-level mentor from universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Oxford. During the first four weeks, you and your mentor go through an exploration phase, sampling different STEM topics like environmental science, physics, medicine, or artificial intelligence to find what interests you most. In weeks five and six, you work on defining a specific question or concept to investigate. The final two weeks are focused on developing your project, which may involve writing, analyzing data, or building conceptual models, all with guidance from your mentor.

Materials/Investment Required: Computer, internet access, application fee

Suitable for: Motivated students with an interest in STEM topics

5. Build a Balloon-Powered Car

You’ll design a small car that’s powered by the release of air from a balloon. As the balloon deflates, the car moves forward, demonstrating Newton’s Third Law of Motion. This activity combines simple materials with physics concepts like force, motion, and propulsion. It’s an engaging way to understand how stored energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Materials/Investment Required: Balloons, straws, bottle caps, cardboard, tape

Suitable for: Students learning physics basics

6. Explore Chemical Reactions with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Mixing baking soda and vinegar creates a fizzy reaction that’s both exciting and educational. You’ll observe how an acid (vinegar) reacts with a base (baking soda) to produce carbon dioxide gas. This is a safe way to explore chemical reactions and understand the concept of gas formation. It’s a popular experiment for learning about chemical changes and reaction rates.

Materials/Investment Required: Baking soda, vinegar, plastic container, optional food coloring

Suitable for: Beginners

7. Design a Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube Goldberg machine is a creative chain reaction that completes a simple task in a complicated way. By using items like dominoes, toy cars, and string, you’ll explore energy transfer, momentum, and cause-and-effect relationships. Building the machine takes planning and iteration, making it a fun way to apply physics and engineering principles. It also encourages teamwork and problem-solving.

Materials/Investment Required: Dominos, string, toy cars, cardboard, tape, household objects

Suitable for: Students with a basic understanding of physical science

8. Build a Paper Roller Coaster

Create a marble roller coaster out of construction paper, tape, and creativity. You’ll design loops, drops, and turns while learning about gravity, acceleration, and energy conservation. As you test and adjust the track, you’ll see how slope and friction affect speed. This project blends physics with hands-on engineering design.

Materials/Investment Required: Paper, tape, scissors, marbles

Suitable for: Students with some geometry or physics knowledge

9. Code a Chatbot Using Python

In this activity, you'll write a simple chatbot that can answer user questions or simulate a conversation. Using Python, you'll practice string manipulation, input/output commands, and conditional statements. It’s a good introduction to how natural language processing works at a basic level. You’ll also gain experience writing and debugging your own code.

Materials/Investment Required: Computer, internet access, Python software (free)

Suitable for: Students with basic coding knowledge

10. Create a Solar Oven

By building a solar oven from a pizza box, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap, you can cook something simple using only sunlight. This project demonstrates the greenhouse effect and the basics of solar energy conversion. You’ll also explore concepts in heat transfer, insulation, and renewable energy. It’s a low-cost activity with tasty results.

Materials/Investment Required: Pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, black paper, tape

Suitable for: Beginners

11. Build a Working Model of a Lung

You’ll use a plastic bottle and balloons to model how the lungs and diaphragm work during breathing. When you pull on the bottom balloon (the “diaphragm”), the lung balloons inflate and deflate. This simple model demonstrates how air pressure causes your lungs to expand. It’s a clear and visual introduction to human biology and respiratory anatomy.

Materials/Investment Required: Plastic bottle, balloons, straws, rubber band, tape

Suitable for: Beginners

12. Simulate an Oil Spill Cleanup

You’ll create a mock oil spill in a container and try cleaning it up using cotton balls, dish soap, and other materials. This simulates real-world environmental challenges and helps you understand the science behind oil spills and clean-up efforts. You'll compare the effectiveness of different tools and methods. It's a practical way to explore environmental science and pollution control.

Materials/Investment Required: Water, vegetable oil, dish soap, cotton balls, container

Suitable for: Beginners

13. Build a Bridge Out of Spaghetti

Challenge yourself to build a bridge using only uncooked spaghetti and glue, then test how much weight it can hold. This activity introduces you to structural engineering and the forces of tension and compression. You'll need to think critically about design, angles, and how weight is distributed. It’s a fun way to apply math and physics to solve a real problem.

Materials/Investment Required: Uncooked spaghetti, glue, or a hot glue gun

Suitable for: Students with knowledge of geometry or physics basics

14. Model the Spread of a Virus

Using colored water and droppers, simulate how a virus might spread through a group of people. Each "interaction" leads to more people being "infected," showing exponential growth. This experiment helps you understand basic concepts in epidemiology and public health. It’s also a good conversation starter about disease prevention and hygiene.

Materials/Investment Required: Cups, food coloring, droppers

Suitable for: Students interested in biology or health sciences

15. Learn Binary Code with Beads

Turn a computer science concept into a craft by using beads to represent binary numbers. You’ll learn how letters and numbers are translated into 1s and 0s using the ASCII code. This activity shows how computers store and process data, even without using a screen. It’s a simple, hands-on way to understand digital communication.

Materials/Investment Required: Beads, string, binary code chart

Suitable for: Beginners

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

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