I love Halloween! It’s probably my favorite holiday. I dress up for school every year, and I try my best to bring some Halloween spirit into my classroom. It doesn’t take much, but if you plan ahead you can do some really cool chemistry experiments!
I’ve set up mysterious messages, captured ghosts (gas in a bottle), timed a story with the clock reaction, elephant toothpaste in a jack-o-lantern, slammed my door, and said “turn to page 394!”… anyone else ever do that one?
Taking a little time to acknowledge the day makes my day every year (whether it’s 5 minutes or the whole period). I love celebrating Halloween with my students it SO much.
You can, of course, do some of the experiments I mentioned above. But if you’re short on time but want to do something for Halloween, here are some links to things I’ve done in the past couple of years.
No Prep Halloween Activities
Real World Monsters – Halloween Video Clips
I put together this google slide presentation for my at-home learners last year. I used it for both my chemistry AND anatomy students. You can show all of the clips if you have a full day “free” from academic learning, or you can show one as your bell ringer for the day! These are from SciShow and are around 5 minutes each.
Early Finishers – Halloween Coloring Sheet
Listen, not everything needs to be academic. Sometimes our kiddos need a brain break. I like to offer seasonal coloring pages for kids who need some stress relief! This one is super cute and FREE!
Periodic Table Review Mystery Picture Worksheet Activity
Another coloring sheet, but this one has some periodic table review. Students answer the questions about the periodic table and then it’s just color-by-numbers. You can quickly see if they got the questions right. I make my students do the review questions and then the coloring is optional. I do this activity on paper, but the creator has a digital option now, so the picture reveals itself as they answer the questions. Self-grading and Halloween-themed? Yes, please!
Halloween Articles
This short Zombie Ant Article details the life cycle of a fungus that turns ants into zombies! You can get in some literacy practice and learn about something creepy for Halloween. That’s a win-win in my book!
Not into zombies? Never fear, the author also has an article for a different Halloween creature: the vampire bat! Both articles are short and come with reading comprehension and a Key!
Available on TPT, created by Acorn Science
Monster Maladies
I used this activity in my anatomy class, but I think it would work well for any science class! Match the halloween monster to the life conditions. Put those critical thinking skills to use!
Have a little more time to prepare?
Set up Halloween Stations Lab…
Set up demos or activities as a station lab for your students! Don’t worry about ordering anything – just set up demos or lab stations with items you already have! Here are a few that you can pull together super quick.
- Dancing Ghost (tissue paper, balloon, head of hair)
- Frankenstein’s Hand (latex or rubber glove, baking soda, vinegar)
- Ghost Message or Glowing Skull (laundry detergent, sponge or paint brushes, black light)
- Ghostly “ectoplasm”
Interested in setting up some other stations? Check out the American Chemistry Society Halloween Activities.
…Or Try this Halloween Story!
Picture this; your students enter a dark room. You have some glowing flasks on your desk. Maybe some dry ice creating fog in your sink. After the bell rings, you tell your students the story of a young kid trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Throughout the story, you perform several spooky chemistry demos [lycopodium powder demo done in a pumpkin, genie in a bottle demo, bloody image demo, Halloween colors demo, floating napkin demo].
