Free STEM Activities for Grade-School Kids

NexTech Hawaiʻi gathered these free, trusted resources for parents and educators. Every link comes from a museum, university, or national program. All of them are free to use. We sorted them by grade band and marked which ones need a device and which ones only need supplies from around the house.

Grades K-2

ScratchJr (MIT) — Device needed Kids ages 5 to 7 build simple stories and games by snapping code blocks together. It runs on a tablet or phone. Free. https://www.scratchjr.org

Code.org Hour of Code — Device needed More than 50 short coding activities, including options for pre-readers. Each one takes about an hour. Free. https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

NASA Kids' Club — Device needed Games, puzzles, and space activities for young learners. Free. https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Exploratorium Science Snacks — Mostly screen-free Short hands-on experiments built around everyday phenomena. Many use kitchen and recycling-bin materials. Free. https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks

Grades 3-5

Science Buddies STEM Activities — Mostly screen-free Hundreds of hands-on projects you can filter by grade and subject. Most use household materials. Free. https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities

PhET Interactive Simulations (University of Colorado) — Device needed Free science and math simulations that let kids test ideas on screen. Strong for energy, forces, and circuits. Free. https://phet.colorado.edu

Smithsonian Science Education Center Game Center — Device needed Free STEM games and simulations vetted by curriculum experts. Play online or download. Free. https://ssec.si.edu/game-center

Scratch (MIT) — Device needed Kids build interactive stories, games, and animations with block-based code. Free. https://scratch.mit.edu

All Grades (K-5)

FIRST At-Home STEM Activities — Screen-free Free activity guides built around the engineering design process. The activity cards suit ages 6 to 13 and use familiar materials like LEGO. Free. https://info.firstinspires.org/at-home-stem-curriculum-series-access

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Ready, Set, STEM — Screen-free A free handbook of activities for elementary and middle school. The program encourages families to use it at home. Free. https://www.invent.org/at-home-learning-resources

A Note for Parents and Educators

Some sites ask kids to create accounts. Scratch and Code.org are examples. Federal law protects children under 13 online, so set up any account with your child and keep it in your name. When in doubt, choose a screen-free activity from the list above.