The end of the school year is quickly approaching, and although many of us feel like we have so much more to teach, our summer vacation is right around the corner. As the year starts to wind down, it is amazing how student behavior changes, and we often feel like we need to do a song and dance to get our class to pay attention. But, there are some fun ways to review topics, keep learning and keep students engaged, especially during science. Including some fun end of year science activities is one way!
5 Engaging And Fun End Of Year Science Activities
These super fun end of year science stations are perfect if you are looking for some end of year science activities. A great way to celebrate the end of the school year while continuing with academic activities your students will love. Plus, they allow the teacher to enjoy the last few days with their students!
Rubber Band Paddle Boats
If you have ever ridden in a paddle boat, you’ll know it is hard work to get moving and to keep moving. Although you may not be able to take your students on a paddle boating field trip, you can still let them create their own and see whose boat can go faster and further. This end of the year science activity uses simple materials like cardboard, duct tape, and scissors. You will need a larger body of water, but don’t go looking for your school’s swimming pool just yet. A larger plastic container of water is totally acceptable! Although, using your school’s pool would be pretty epic!
Sunscreen Lotion vs. Sunscreen Spray
There is nothing worse than getting your own kids to wear sunscreen. If given the option, kids would go without it 99.9% of the time. Luckily teachers do not need to try and force 20 or more upper elementary/middle school students to wear sunscreen when they go outside for recess! There has been an age-old battle between which protects your skin better– lotion and spray? This end of year science station has students figuring out which one works better. This activity always divides the class, and they love seeing who is right!
Balloon Towers
Ballon towers is one of my favorite and falls perfectly into the STEM category. Creating a tower out of balloons is challenging if you have masking tape! Students try to make the tallest tower out of balloons. You can expand on this activity by adding a box fan and seeing which tower can withstand a hurricane or tornado! It is a very easy end of year science station because it requires barely any planning!
Melt An Ice Cube The Fastest
An easy end of year activity that is also super fun to do in a dark classroom because lights obviously help the melting process 😉. Challenge your students to see which will melt ice faster salt, sugar, vinegar, or just the natural melting process. It seems like a simple activity, but upper elementary and middle school students still have so much fun completing this science activity.
Outdoor Chalk Paint
It is always a good time when you create your own chalk, and for this last day of school science activity, students get to make their sidewalk chalk paint using household resources like cornstarch and food coloring. The fun doesn’t stop with just creating the chalk; however, go outside and use the chalk to create masterpieces. Students can even vote on which chalk painting they like best.
Fun End Of Year Science Activities
Your upper elementary students probably already love science stations, so why not add some end of year science activities to those science stations? They are not only fun but easy to prepare and complete! All of the science activities above use everyday household items, making them a breeze for you to prepare for your students.
These science experiments are really great for the end of the year. Still, you can even use them at the beginning of the year to help introduce your students to science stations, or even teamwork, communication, and other skills needed to complete different science labs! These activities are perfect for students and get them using hands-on investigation skills even during the last (or first) few weeks (or days) of school!
If you are looking for some other fun middle school science activities, check out these blog posts:
Science Career Activities For Middle School
Easy Easter Science Investigations & Experiments
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