Halloween is not a very big holiday in South Africa, but I love it! And if you teach any of the sciences, it allows you to have some fun with your classes. It doesn’t need to take a lot of time and prep or cost a small fortune. Here are some fun Halloween ideas for your science classes.
Firstly, embrace the chaos. Your students are going to be excited. There will be a lot of sugar being consumed. Just go with it and have fun! Things will calm down again… eventually!
Here are some of my favorite ideas for Halloween week.
Color-by-Number Activities
If you are looking for a low prep, no mess Halloween science activity, this one is for you! My students thoroughly enjoy these activities around any holiday. They are great for review and will actually have a calming effect on your students (always a bonus after that sugar high!). Need an emergency sub-plan? These work great!
You can try this Halloween-themed one on Counting Atoms and Elements for free!
Lab Ideas
If you are feeling more adventurous and want to do a lab, there are loads of options out there. Why don’t you get your students to create a dichotomous key for their Halloween candy? You may as well put all those treats to good use!
Another fun and easy lab is to use chromatography to separate the dyes in different candies. You can even create a crime scene with some candy dye evidence.
Pinterest always has a gazillion ideas. It really depends on how adventurous you want to get.
The American Chemical Society and Arbor Scientific also have some great ideas and resources. One of my favorites is the Dry Ice Crystal Bubble.
I hope you have a wonderful Halloween with your students! Remember to get your free Color-by-Number activity here!
