200 Quick & easy experiments

Crazy chemistry experiments

Electronics & Robotics

Engineering & Building

Motion & Mechanics

Anatomy & Biology

Toy & game design

Math made fun

STEM Activities

750+ Quick & easy craft ideas

Recycled creations

Fun & functional projects

Jewelry & Fashion design

Handmade cards & gifts

Art & Creativity

Fun & Games

Hands-on learning

Sound & Music

Pretend play

Play & Learn

Kitchen science

Fun with food

Sweet & salty snacks

Treats & Dessert

Cooking for kids

Cooking & Baking

Animals & Bugs

Plants & Rocks

Seasons & Weather

Radical rainbows

Outdoor Adventures

Space exploration

Nature & Adventure

Birthday fun

Pi Day

Earth Day

Easter

Holiday & Events

luminary

Halloween

Halloween decorations

Halloween crafts

craft

homemade craft

fall

indoor project

Candles make for a perfectly eerie Halloween glow. Watching them dance in the center of the dinner table last night, I was inspired to create this "ghostly" Halloween project. I molded ghosts from some air dry clay to illuminate Halloween dinner-time stories. These ghosts fit in nicely with Halloween room decor, and can serve as fun gifts! 

a327820035325.jpg

To make a mold for your ghost luminaries, place a ball (foam, plastic, or aluminum) on a cup. Make sure the ball is bigger than the opening of the cup. Then, use tape to secure them together. We used a foam ball and a few aluminum balls we made ourselves. To make an aluminum ball, crumple up a sheet of aluminum foil and push down any sharp edges.&nbsp;

If you use a softer ball, it will be easier to separate the clay from the ball once dry.

a3950f028f899.jpg

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the mold and tape it in place.

a77c662331c4b.jpg

Roll out the clay into a 2D circle with a 1/8" thickness. Use a plastic knife to cut off uneven edges if needed.

Before you roll out the clay, tape a piece of wax paper onto your work surface to prevent the clay from leaving marks on your table.

ae9de4a6ebee7.jpg

Carefully lift the clay from the table, and drape it over the mold. Try to line up the center of the clay with the top of the mold for the ghost to stand up straight later on.

When you drape the clay over the mold, don't press your clay against the space between the ball and the cup. This will make it easier for you to take the ball out of the mold once your clay has dried.

a50042eb9a18e.jpg

Use a large straw to punch holes out for the eyes of the ghost. Then, let your ghost(s) dry for a few hours. Depending on your air-dry clay, you may have to wait just a few hours or all night for the ghost to be completely dry. Repeat steps 1-5 to make a few friends for your spooky little ghost! Try making different size molds to make larger and smaller ghosts. 

a4cad435338c3.jpg

Once the ghost is dry, carefully remove it from the mold.

a0e54b18c5840.jpg

Finally, place your ghost over a tea light, turn off the lights, and get a little spooked! 

air-dry clay

straws (in various sizes)

cups

soft balls (or aluminum foil)

plastic wrap

rolling pin

Tape

wax paper (as a mess mat)

battery-powered tea light

Ghost Tealights

bugs

costumes

pretend play

easy craft

reused craft materials

Release your child’s inner nature-lover this Halloween with this darling &amp; simple snail costume!Looking for more creative costumes for your little one? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/motorized-wings-costume-project-kit/4547" target="_self">Motorized Wings</a> let their imagination take flight with a set of flapping wings!

Snail_1.jpg

Snail_2.jpg

Cut 6 feet (1.8 meters) of kraft paper and crumple it up.

Snail_3.jpg

Uncrumple and roll the kraft paper lengthwise. Then twist it up.

Snail_4.jpg

Tightly roll the twisted kraft paper into a spiral and use hot glue to secure the roll as you go. Hold the roll in place for a couple minutes each time you add glue.

Snail_5.jpg

Repeat Steps 1-4 to make a second spiral.

Snail_6.jpg

Cut two 1 foot (30.5 cm) pieces of kraft paper. Then roll and twist them. These will be the tentacles for the snail’s eyes!

Snail_7.jpg

Glue the pom-poms to the top of the tentacles and add on googly eyes if you have them. Then glue the tentacles to the headband. It works best if you wrap the ends around the bottom of the headband. Be sure to hold them in place to secure the glue for several minutes!

Snail_8.jpg

Cut a piece of cardboard so the length is slightly larger than the kraft paper spirals and the width is slightly smaller than your child’s back.

Snail_9.jpg

Poke holes in the corners of the cardboard. Measure around your child’s arms (like your fitting a backpack) and adjust the length of the rope or ribbon. Tie the rope or ribbon onto the cardboard.

Snail_10.jpg

Glue the kraft paper spirals together. Once the glue has dried, turn them on their side and glue the snail shell onto the cardboard. You’ll need a lot of glue to secure the shell so be sure to hold it in place for several minutes!

Snail_Hero_4x5.jpg

Most land snails are pretty small, but did you know certain species can grow to be much bigger? The African Giant Snail is about 8 inches long (20 cm) on average. That’s longer than a brand new pencil!<img data-image="34qzt9fb9txn" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt5d966d0d1776691c/blt483895d299b2ed82/615b86b615005a5ff8fbcdb4/shutterstock_1257388279.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="blt483895d299b2ed82" alt="shutterstock_1257388279.jpg">

kraft packing paper

Cardboard Rectangle

rope or ribbon

headband

hot glue gun

large pom poms

googly eyes (optional)

Snail Costume

pumpkin

baking soda experiments

science experiment

chemistry

eruptions

chemical reactions

backyard science

If you have a ton of rotting pumpkins on your porch, try this to get one last use out of them before you throw them away!&nbsp;Want more spooktacular Halloween fun without the hassle of gathering materials? Explore Halloween science and art projects from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/halloween" target="_blank">KiwiCo Store</a>!

ab9908562c5a9.jpg

Gather your materials, put your safety goggles on, and head outside!

a036e9b730a2f.jpg

Open up the top of your pumpkin and pour in 1 tablespoon of dish soap. 

a447625b4712a.jpg

afe8f78a2721e.jpg

a41196c3608aa.jpg

Mix 1 tablespoon of dry yeast and 3 tablespoons of warm water for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

ae7301e4dedec.jpg

Quickly and carefully pour this mixture into one of the holes in the jack-o’-lantern. Then, watch your pumpkin begin to leak! Keep experimenting! Try doubling the recipe or using a jack-o’-lantern with smaller or bigger holes. 

Different amounts of the ingredients used in this project can change how your leaky pumpkin foams up. Turn this project into an experiment by using more or less yeast, or more or less dish soap. What effect does this change have on your leaky pumpkin’s foam?

ab83e4f06f588.jpg

This leaky pumpkin foams up all over the place because of a special organism called yeast. Yeast is a type of fungus, and it’s normally used by people to make bread rise and make drinks ferment. For the leaky pumpkin, we use it to make all the bubbles for the foam. A little bit of warm water is all that’s needed to get the yeast ready to work. Yeast makes a special molecule that reacts with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is like a molecule of water that has one extra oxygen on it. When the yeast reacts with the hydrogen peroxide, it strips off one of those oxygen atoms and turns the hydrogen peroxide into water. H2O2 becomes H2O + oxygen gas. The yeast does this reaction VERY quickly - one yeast can break apart over a million H2O2 molecules in one second. As all that oxygen gets released by the yeast, it bubbles into the dish soap and makes a thick foam. The speed of the reaction pushes the foam out of the holes in the pumpkin, giving this spooky Halloween tradition an added fright factor!

jack-o'-lantern

hydrogen peroxide (6% or 20 volume)

dry yeast (1 tablespoon)

warm water (3 tablespoons)

dish soap (1 tablespoon)

food coloring

small cups

measuring cup

tablespoon measure

safety goggles

Puking Pumpkin

rain

weather

This DIY rain cloud costume is so cute, and beyond easy! All you need is a few basic materials you probably already have at home.

Cloud_1.jpg

Cloud_2.jpg

Using spray adhesive or hot glue, attach polyester batting to the hat in small clumps. Keep adding on until your cloud is the shape and fluff your kiddo desires!

Cloud_3.jpg

Fold over the felt sheets and trace large rain drops using a pencil. Then cut out the raindrops so that you have two of each.

Cloud_4.jpg

Cut pieces of yarn or string in varying lengths. Glue one piece of yarn or string between each raindrop pair.

Cloud_5.jpg

Glue the ends of the yarn or string on the brim of the cloud hat. Be sure to leave a gap for your little one’s face!

Cloud_6.jpg

Add more polyester batting to the underside of the hat’s brim to make the cloud look extra fluffy!

Cloud_Hero_4x5.jpg

Lookin’ for some kid-friendly weather science? Learn all about the water cycle and how meteorologists make their forecasts in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ce2FjyS3wQ">this video.&nbsp; </a><iframe style="width: 500px; height: 281px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0ce2FjyS3wQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

wide brim hat

polyester batting

Felt

string or yarn

spray adhesive glue (optional)

Rain Cloud Costume

space

space crafts

arts & crafts

household craft

Turn your little one into an astronaut ready to blast off with this simple DIY costume.

JetPack_1.jpg

JetPack_2.jpg

Spray paint your bottles. It may take a few coats for bottles made of colored plastic.

JetPack_4.jpg

Make your straps. We stuck two pieces of duct tape together to make our straps, but you could also use yarn, ribbon or felt!

JetPack_3.jpg

Tape your bottles together with a band of duct tape. (Optional: A few dots of hot glue can be added between the bottles for extra stability!)

JetPack_5.jpg

Attach one end of your straps to the back of the bottle with duct tape. Call over your little astronaut to measure out how long the straps need to be, then secure the other end of your straps using duct tape.

JetPack_6.jpg

Make your flames. Cut several pieces of red, orange, and yellow tissue paper, and attach to the insides of the bottle openings using more duct tape (or hot glue)!

JetPack_7.jpg

Add additional decorations! We added a star using silver duct tape. You can also get creative and add some control panels to the straps!

Jetpack_Hero.jpg

While jet packs aren’t currently in use by NASA astronauts, in 1984 NASA tested out a device they called a Manned Maneuvering Unit. It had two aluminum tanks full of nitrogen that astronauts could use to propel themselves in space!<img data-image="2stq9s630ysk" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt5d966d0d1776691c/bltb5c4117d1de91466/615b872bc34d415711f7e629/Bruce_McCandless_II_during_EVA_in_1984.jpg" data-sys-asset-uid="bltb5c4117d1de91466" alt="Bruce_McCandless_II_during_EVA_in_1984.jpg">
Image courtesy of NASA.

2 empty plastic bottles

silver spray paint

tissue paper or felt

duct tape

Jet Pack Costume

outdoor game

backyard games

game

launcher

At KiwiCo, we love launchers because they're a super fun way to play with physics! With this project, your kids can turn a few rubber bands into a stretchy web that launches spiders across the room. While they make their launchers, you can talk to you kids about potential and kinetic energy!

There are a lot of different kinds of launchers: cannons, slingshots, catapults. And while they may look different, they all get their power the same way! And rubber bands are a great way to demonstrate this. Ask your child to stretch out one of the rubber bands by holding one side with their left hand and pushing out the other side with their right pointer finger. Make sure no one is around, and then tell your child to release their left hand so that the rubber band flings forward. Now, you can explain that two different types of energy are used to make a rubber band fly. When the rubber band is stretched out, but not moving yet, potential energy is building up. When the rubber band is let go, all that potential energy makes the rubber band move — fast. That's kinetic energy!

a25489fb8f2b6.jpg

a8de8193777de.jpg

Cut the construction paper to fit the tube. Then, wrap it around the cardboard tube and glue it down.

aa7d17bbeb498.jpg

Glue the lollipop sticks around the outside of the tube, creating a square. Let the glue dry completely for approximately 1 to 2 hours before beginning the next step.

a4abca7b4bbad.jpg

Stretch one rubber band around all four posts. Then, twist each corner of the rubberband and re-stretch it around each post. 

Panda Crate

Sprout: Koala Crate

Labs: Kiwi Crate

World: Atlas Crate

Studio: Doodle Crate

Labs: Tinker Crate

Studio: Maker Crate

Labs: Eureka Crate

29 creative halloween crafts projects for kids

Screen-free fun!