Games provide an exciting introduction to science! Science is all about observation and experimentation. Add in a game element and your kid is sure to have fun while learning about science! Check out 50 science games in the areas of natural science, social science, and computer science.
50 Science Games for Kids!
Have you ever wondered how to turn science into a game? It takes a scientific principle or question, a goal, and rules!
These games are for different ages. My toddler and I have tried out the games for little kids, and they have been big hits! My son loves mixing playdough colors and matching it to objects in the house, racing objects on homemade ramps, and playing the touch and feel guessing game. I’m saving the chain reaction game for a rainy day because I know it will be a favorite! And the dinosaur measuring game will be perfect when neighborhood kids come over to play later this week. I’m looking forward to when my son is old enough to make a light with a potato or realize how cool it is to walk across cartons of raw eggs. I’m saving the space games to correspond with space week at our local library and the recycling sorting game to correspond with Earth Day. And we will be playing rock games today after nap because it’s finally cool enough here in Texas to go outside! Hashtag happy fall, y’all!
PHYSICS GAMES
Help your little ones explore the physical world with these games. They will have a blast as they learn about physical properties such as shape, color, and weight, as well as how objects fit together and interact with one another!
Kids will enjoy learning about primary and secondary colors as they mix play dough and match it to objects they find around the house.
Teach your kids how friction works through tug of war!
- Race objects on homemade ramps via PBS Kids
My toddler loves playing with blocks and he loves racing, so building a ramp to test the velocity of different objects is right up his alley. As you build the ramp, talk about how the different shaped blocks fit together to make a ramp. Then race cars and balls on the ramp and discuss why some objects move faster than others! Consider the weight and shape of each object.
- Touch and Feel Guessing Game via PBS Kids
Gather everyday objects from around the house, such as a wet washcloth, a comb, a hot piece of toast, and an apple. Put the objects in a bag and have your child describe each object. Is it wet or dry? Cold or hot? Smooth or rough? This game will help with language development as your child learns about different scientific properties and has fun!
Your little one can discover how the shape of an egg makes it strong enough to support the weight of a person by having her walk across rows of raw eggs! Add an extra element to the game by racing your child, or having children race one another, on a second row of eggs.*
*You should probably cover your floors for this one 🙂
- Craft stick chain reaction via Kiwi Co
Your child can learn about chain reactions using craft sticks! Turn this into a game by seeing how long a chain your kid can make before starting the chain reaction and watching it collapse. What’s the scientific force at work in this game? Tension!
Kids. Love. Dinosaurs. Teach your kids how long dinosaurs were with this measuring activity. Turn it into a game by having your kids guess how many of their footprints could fit into a dinosaur footprint or guess how many lengths of their body would fit the length of a dinosaur. Then check to see who is closest. You only need string, a yardstick, and kids!
SCIENCE GAMES ABOUT ENERGY
Energy is an especially fun concept to introduce to kids because energy is everywhere. It will boggle their minds to think of energy as a source of movement, while still objects also contain energy. Energy is the source of light, while a light switched off also contains energy. That’s because there are two kinds of energy: potential and kinetic. Potential energy is stored whereas kinetic energy is active. Explore both types of energy in these games!
You need a can and a balloon for each child to learn about static electricity and enjoy a fun game! For a little background knowledge on static electricity, check out this short TED talk cartoon by Anuradha Bhagwat.
For this game, kids get to build, decorate, and race carriages! It’s a perfect game for teaching kinetic and potential energy because the cars move after winding up wheels attached by rubber bands. This Peekaboo Kidz video is a helpful refresher on the two kinds of energy. Place Cinderella or other dolls into the carriages and race!
Kids can transfer energy with this electric circuit activity. Turn it into a game by having kids experiment with lemons, oranges, and potatoes, taking a guess as to which food will work best! Here’s a video that explains why a potato works better than a lemon by ScienceC.
If the potato battery game is too simple for your kids, try having them create their own paper circuit board game! Kids can learn about circuits and conductivity while designing and building their own game.
Kids can learn about sound energy in this super simple guess the can game! Put different types of objects in cans, cover the cans, and let kids guess what’s inside. Pair with a lesson on sound energy and see your kid grow in her knowledge of science!
Learn about gravitational energy, a form of potential energy, with this favorite balloon game. Give each player three balloons to see who can keep the balloons in the air the longest!
After reading an explanation of thermal energy by Steam Powered Family, have your kids make solar updraft towers! To turn it into a game, have them make their towers different ways– use other materials or paint these materials. See which tower creates more energy.
SCIENCE GAMES ABOUT EARTH AND SPACE
Help your kids better understand the earth, outer-space, and the environment with these games!
This is a great game to help your kids with space-related vocabulary— they will unravel each “asteroid” to find a picture of a space-related object inside. As a bonus, this game will help with their fine motor skills.
- Interactive online games via NASA
Kids can explore the earth and space with computer games developed by NASA!
- Build a spaceship, space station, or satellite via Science Kids
Turn this into a game by giving kids questions to think through as they play. What factors could influence their design? Kids will consider different materials and design while using their imaginations.
Kids can experience what it feels like to use their hands while wearing astronaut gloves. Fill a box with stacking rings and other small objects such as cups and marbles. Have child interact with these toys as normal– trying to stack rings or move marbles from one cup to another– while wearing yellow kitchen gloves! Your kid will use fine motor skills while imagining what it might feel like to work in space.
This game combines knowledge of planets with luck to create a great science review game for kids! Later, you can use the Bingo cards for a game of memory and double the fun.
For this game, hide a few human-made items on the trail for your kids to find. Talk about the different between natural and human-made objects and what belongs on a natural trail.
In this game, kids cut out objects from magazines and then sort them into garbage and recycling containers. This game would also be fun to play as a follow-up to the trail walk! Once kids find human-made items on the trail, they can categorizing the items into recycling and garbage piles. Kids will have fun sorting different items while learning how these choices impact the earth’s environment.
This free printable contains four fun rock games that require varying degrees of knowledge. A diverse age group can play these geology games together!
- Water cycle dice games via NASA
This dice game demonstrates how the earth’s water system works. It’s a group game, so you will need to gather up some kids to play. Check out this explanation of the water cycle by Bill Nye the Science Guy.
BIOLOGY GAMES
Teach your kids about the life cycle and living organisms with these fun games!
In this game players move blood cell, food, and waste tokens around the body. Whichever team delivers or disposes of all their tokens first wins the game.
In this game, kids learn about the full body system. In addition to free and printable cards, you’ll need a set of plastic bones. This game is similar to spoons, a crowd favorite in my house!
With this free printable, have your kids race to label different parts of skeletons! Afterward, see if the kids can replicate their skeletons using food. So fun!
Teach your kids about their organs with this Bingo game!
Cut out pictures of organisms using this free printable and let your kids discover different food chains. It’s a fun way to learn about how energy flows through the ecosystem.
Try out this fun (and free! and printable!) human body trivia game.
Go to a butterfly garden, read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and then play this fun butterfly life cycle game!
CHEMISTRY GAMES
I don’t usually think of chemistry and games together. But there are many ways to play with matter and learn how elements mix together. Start here!
Make compound naming and formula writing into a fun game using this free printable.
Battleship using the periodic table? Yes, please!
This crossword puzzle is a perfect, low-key chemistry game with very minimal set-up. Just print it out and let your kid play while learning the elements.
In this game, players race to create atoms!
Using knowledge of chemistry, create homemade bouncy balls! Games possibilities are endless. Start with this list.
Kids make molecules in the piston move faster or slower to guide bugs to a hungry chameleon. What fun!
SOCIAL SCIENCE GAMES
Social science is the scientific study of the relationship between society and social relations. It includes anthropology, history, economics, geography, political science, sociology, and psychology.
Anthropology is the scientific study of humans and societies. Games tell quite a bit about particular societies– so much so that there is an academic subfield that specializes in anthropology through games. Capture your kid’s attention with 80 games from around the world.
This game requires your kids to use knowledge of history to repair their time machine and escape a room. I might be showing what a history nerd I am, but this game tops the charts for me!
This is a super simple game for teaching kids about money. Simple games are sometimes the best! There are variations to make this game appropriate for a mix of older and younger kids.
Help your kids cultivate geography and visual literacy skills with this simple homemade map game! You will draw a floor plan of your home and mark where you have hidden treasures around the house. Your child will use the map to lead her to the treasures! Check out other map games on Kids Activities Blog as well.
A rummy-style game that teaches kids U.S.presidential chronology? Yes, please. Check out this free printable.
The concept of empathy is an important one for kids to grasp. This game asks kids to imagine different situations and how those situations would make them feel.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Computer science is the study of computer technology. Computers are vital to everyday life, and we can expect that branch of science will only continue to grow. One area of computer science is computer programming, or coding. Luckily, there are several free (and fun!) online games that can give your kids an extra boost in learning to code.
This game focuses on concepts such as variables, loops, conditionals, expressions, and functions.
Code Combat is a computer science program in which kids type Python and JavaScript to make their characters move. Kids progress from basic syntax to recursion while they play!
LightBot teaches programming logic through puzzles!
- Scratch via MIT
With Scratch, kids can create interactive stories, games, and animations!
Blockly Games teaches programming through eight types of games. These games focus on loops and conditionals, control-flow, mathematical equations, and functions. Kids learn JavaScript as they play!
Code.org has a great variety of games for grades K-12 and beyond. Your kids can learn to code while having a “dance party” with Katy Perry or playing Minecraft. My nieces would love this website.
Kids can connect visual code blocks to help Pixel the puppy get back home.
Create and solve a color code maze!
There you go! 50 fun science games. Tell us what your kids are learning about science on our Facebook page!
Source: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/129093/50-science-games-for-kids/
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