Star Wars STEM Learning Activities for Kids

Do you have a Star Wars fan in your house? Odds are good that you do… Because we’re huge fans (for proof, check out our Halloween costumes), I’ve rounded up 20+ different ways to play & learn with your favorite Star Wars characters and stories. There’s some Princess Leia math, Darth Vader slime and even Force Awakens coding, all ready for the STEM and Star Wars fans in your house or classroom. This post contains affiliate links.

Lightsaber STEM Activities

Your padawans can begin lightsaber training with these playful & educational activities.

• May the Force Be With You with these lightsaber circuit cards. (Left Brain Craft Brain)
• Build a lightsaber that really works with one trip to the dollar store. (Lemon Lime Adventures)
• Do some awesome hands-on lightsaber math. (Carrots are Orange)
• Pull out your lightsaber (or flashlight) for some shadow fun & learning with these Star Wars shadow puppets. (Childhood 101)

Star Wars Building Activities

Building & Star Wars seem to go hand-in-hand these days, so here are a few new things to try. Kids can build spacecraft, droids and more with these fun invitations to play and learn.

• Build a play dough BB-8 droid. (coming soon from Left Brain Craft Brain)
• Craft an X-wing Fighter from office supplies (Frugal Fun 4 Boys)
• Make some Millenium Falcon Origami (Deagostini Model Space)
• LEGO is one of the best ways to build Star Wars. I love this open-ended Star Wars building game. (Sunshine and Hurricanes)
• Make some upcycled droids (All for the Boys) or craft a Perler bead R2-D2 (Brain Power Boy).

Star Wars Math Activities

One stormtrooper, two stormtroopers, three stormtroopers… From basics to more advanced, there’s a Star Wars math project for every padawan.

• There definitely aren’t enough Princess Leia activities available out there.  But here’s a fun Princess Leia color by number. (Coloring Squared)
• Use geometry to learn how to draw R2D2. (Andertoons)
• This Yoda shape craft (Toddler Approved) and this Chewbacca shape craft (JDaniel4’s Mom) help the littles work on their geometry.
• Pop culture hero math has some fun pictorials using Star Wars characters.  What does Leia + Jabba the Hut equal? (My Modern Met)
• Learn about symmetry with these amazing Star Wars snowflakes. There’s even a new Force Awakens set! (Anthony Herrera)

Star Wars Science & Sensory Play

There are so many cool projects out there that combine the three S’s: Star Wars, Science & Sensory play. Kids can learn about states of matter, non-Newtonian fluids and more all while playing with their favorite characters.

• Glow in the Dark lightsaber slime (Little Bins for Little Hands)
• Use science to make your own Star Wars landscapes (Planet Smarty).
• Recreate the pivotal Darth Vader lava scene with this awesome Star Wars lava slime. (Fun-a-Day)
• Yoda’s Swamp Bubbling Slime World (Epic Fun for Kids)
• Rescue Han Solo from carbonite using a cool science experiment. (Fun-a-Day)
• Star Wars Galaxy Oobleck (Nerdy Mamma)

Star Wars Technology Activities

Technology plays a big role in the storylines and the creation of the Star Wars movies. Here are a few ways to explore tech with these characters.

• Disney and the team behind The Force Awakens have partnered with Code.org to create an easy introduction to coding for kids. Try it for Hour of Code: Star Wars.
• Introduce the world of soft circuits to your kids with this light-up Jawa doll. (Bitter Betty)
• The new Sphero BB-8 robot is definitely some of the coolest Star Wars learning tech right now. But they’re hard to find and harder to afford, so how about watching a silly video of kittens playing with the droid instead :)

Star Wars STEAM Challenge Cards

And be sure to grab a copy of these Star Wars STEAM Challenge Cards.  Need a quick and fun activity for your Star Wars fan? These cards will inspire them to build lightsabers, construct recycled cityscapes, even compare your city to the Super Star Destroyer. You can download them below or read a bit more about them here.

To have the printable Star Wars STEAM Challenge Cards emailed to you, simply fill out the form below.

 

Star Wars STEM Gifts

No time for DIY? These are a few of my favorite educational gifts for young Star Wars STEMists.

• The updated and expanded Star Wars LEGO Character Encyclopedia {affiliate}.
• The Kylo Ren’s Command Center LEGO set {affiliate} is perfect for a post Force Awakens movie night building session.
• There’s a lot of science imagined in Star Wars. Try it out for real with the Lightsaber Crystal Growing Kit {affiliate} or Jedi Force Levitator {affiliate}.
• Pick up the hottest drone of the year, the Air Hog Millenium Falcon {affiliate}.

 

More Hands-On STEM and STEAM Activities for Kids

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that you can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Explorers!! The coolest creative experience for kids is here! It's a digital book of the month club filled with tons of fun stuff for the kids to do and learn. All engineer, teacher, and mom-approved. And most definitely KID APPROVED!⁣

What’s included?⁣

• A monthly digital magazine with cool themes that are fun to read
• Hands-on, exciting projects the kids will love.⁣
• Science, tech, engineering, art, and math learning YOU’LL love.⁣
• Delicious recipes the kids can make.⁣
• Fun printables and games⁣

In December we're exploring Light! Join us we discover how light bends, changes, travels, colors, and celebrates in this edition of STEAM Explorers. The kids will love making a light up flashlight bookmark, growing crystals that glow in the dark, baking cookies that you can see through, learning about light celebrations around the world, and so much more! You’ll love the helpful standards-based learning, printables, and tools that make STEAM exploration easy!

We’ve split the issue into four weekly themes:

• WEEK 1: COLOR & LIGHT
• WEEK 2: MAKE IT GLOW
• WEEK 3: LIGHT REVEALED
• WEEK 4: CELEBRATE LIGHT