Second grade fun activities: Fun learning games and activities for 2nd graders

Опубликовано: August 21, 2023 в 2:33 am

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Категории: Miscellaneous

50 Fun and Easy Second Grade Science Experiments & Activities

Kids love science, especially when it involves hands-on experiments. These second grade science experiments are guaranteed to bring excitement and enthusiastic vibes into your classroom. They are easy to do and most use materials you probably already have handy. Your students will learn basic concepts about physics, chemistry, biology, and more while having a blast!

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1. Brew up tie-dye slime

Slime is more than just an ever-popular toy. It’s also got a lot of great science behind it. Mix up some eye-popping tie-dye slime and take the opportunity to learn about polymers and non-Newtonian fluids.

Learn more: I Heart Arts and Crafts

2. Make a bouquet of chromatography flowers

Use chromatography to split secondary paint colors into their original hues. The results are both pretty and fascinating!

Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me/Chromatography Flowers

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3. Concoct a foaming rainbow

Every kid loves the classic baking soda and vinegar chemical reaction experiment. This version makes a foamy rainbow, thanks to some added food coloring.

Learn more: Messy Little Monster

4. Sculpt pipe cleaner constellations

Help kids find the constellations in the night sky by making these models from pipe cleaners. The little star beads are such a clever touch!

Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me/Pipe Cleaner Constellations

5. Tell time with a sundial

How did people tell time before clocks and watches? Help second grade science students find out by making their own sundials from paper plates.

Learn more: Paging Supermom

6. Power up a lemon battery

Here’s another classic science experiment every kid should try. They’ll be amazed to learn a citrus fruit can generate an electric current!

Learn more: Education. com/Lemon Battery

7. Race clothespin cars

Explore simple machines by building race cars from basic supplies like clothespins and drinking straws. It’s a really fun way to learn about wheels and axles.

Learn more: The Primary Brain

8. Pollinate like a bee

Use pipe cleaner bees to discover how these pollinators pick up and move cheese powder “pollen” from one juice box flower to the next. Simple, fun, and adorable!

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/Cheese Powder Pollination Activity

9. Build a body from play dough

Play-Doh activities are always fun to do! Visit the link below for free printable mats to use as you have your second grade science students sculpt the bones, organs, and muscles of the body.

Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me/Play-Doh Body

10. Grow a sprout house

This two-part science project first challenges kids to use their engineering skills to construct a miniature house made of sponges. Then, they plant chia, alfalfa, or other quick-sprouting seeds and keep the sponges moist until they start to grow.

Learn more: The STEM Laboratory

11. Re-create the water cycle in a bag

This simple but effective experiment explores the water cycle. Fill a plastic bag partway with water and set it on a sunny windowsill to see how the water evaporates up and eventually “rains” down.

Learn more: Grade School Giggles

12. Turn pom-poms into crystal balls

Every kid loves making crystals! They’ll learn about supersaturated solutions as they make these cute little crystal pom-pom balls.

Learn more: A Dab of Glue Will Do

13. Conduct a cookie dunk experiment

Introduce or review the scientific method with a fun and easy experiment to determine which cookies float or sink when dunked in milk. Then you can eat the results! (Find more great edible science experiments here.)

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/Milk and Cookies Scientific Method Experiment

14.

Test sunscreen for effectiveness

Kids might wonder why they need to wear sunscreen when they’re at the park or playing soccer. This experiment shows them the power of the sun’s rays and the protection sunscreen provides.

Learn more: JDaniel4’s Mom

15. Create an earth model from play dough

Play-Doh has so many uses in the classroom! Use it to teach second grade science students about the layers of the earth by building a fun and colorful model.

Learn more: The Crafty Classroom

16. Design and build an index card tower

Challenge your second grade science students to a little early engineering. Given only index cards, how tall and/or strong of a structure can they build?

Learn more: Education to the Core

17. Use bread to learn about hand-washing

There’s never been a better time for an experiment involving the importance of washing your hands! All you need for this one is bread, plastic bags, and some dirty hands.

Learn more: Parenting Isn’t Easy

18. Explore erosion with sugar cubes

Simulate the effects of erosion by shaking sugar cubes in a cup with some pebbles to see what happens. Get more ideas for second grade science activities about erosion and weathering at the link.

Learn more: The First Grade Roundup

19. Find out which liquid is best for growing seeds

As you learn about the life cycle of plants, explore how water supports their growth. Plant seeds and water them with a variety of liquids to see which sprout first and grow best.

Learn more: Lessons 4 Little Ones

20. Repel glitter with dish soap

Every teacher knows that glitter is just like germs … it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage, and show students how soap fights glitter and germs.

Learn more: Living Life & Learning

21. Build a folded mountain

This clever demonstration helps kids understand how some types of mountains are formed. Use layers of towels to represent rock layers and boxes for continents. Then pu-u-u-sh and see what happens!

Learn more: The Chaos and the Clutter/Folded Mountain

22. Drink root beer floats to learn about states of matter

What’s easy to make, delicious to eat, and demonstrates all three states of matter at once? Root beer floats! This will easily be your students’ favorite science lesson of the year.

Learn more: Learning Lab Resources

23. Learn about osmosis with gummy bears

This is one of those classic experiments your second grade science students will love to see in action. Soak the gummies in water to watch them grow through the power of osmosis!

Learn more: Nurture Store UK

24. Build magnet-and-paper-clip trees

Experiment with magnet properties like polarity and strength by building cute little trees. This is also an excellent way for kids to find out which items are magnetic and which are not.

Learn more: Preschool Powol Packets

25. Bend objects to test flexibility

Explore one of the properties of matter with this easy experiment. Kids plan how to test flexibility, then try it out with a variety of basic objects.

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/Flexibility Science Experiment

26. Freeze and observe liquid expansion

As you explore the states of matter, experiment to see if some types of liquid expand more than others when frozen.

Learn more: Education.com

27. Discover density with saltwater solutions

This simple experiment covers a lot of second grade science concepts. Learn about solutions, density, and even ocean science as you compare and contrast how objects float in different water mixtures.

Learn more: Science Kiddo

28. Explode a balloon seed pod

After you learn about pollination, take the next step, and explore how plants disperse their seeds far and wide. One way is with exploding seed pods. Use a balloon to see how it works.

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/Seed Dispersal Activity

29. Watch a leaf “breathe”

Plants “breathe” through transpiration, and you can see the process in action simply by submerging a leaf in water.

Learn more: Edventures With Kids/Leaf Transpiration

30. Grow a self-sustaining ecosystem

Plant seeds inside a sealed plastic bottle and observe both the water cycle and the plant life cycle in one simple second grade science experiment.

Learn more: Carly and Adam

31. Compare and contrast animal habitats

Build a variety of habitats (woodland, arctic, savanna, etc.). Then have kids compare to see how they are similar (all have water) and how they are different (trees, temperatures, etc.).

Learn more: Edventures With Kids/Animal Habitats

32. Use crackers to learn about properties of matter

Practice sorting, comparing, and classifying using properties of matter in this tasty experiment. All you need is a variety of snack crackers and inquiring minds! (These magnifying glasses would be fun too.)

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/Properties of Matter Cracker Lab

33. Discover plate tectonics with graham crackers

Use graham crackers as the earth’s crust floating on a bed of whipped topping “mantle” to learn about how tectonic plates interact.

Learn more: Playdough to Plato

34. Collect and classify rocks

Take a nature walk to pick up rocks of all kinds. Bring them back and have kids examine them closely and sort them into groups by properties (color, size, shape, texture, and so on). This is a fantastic lead-in to learning about the types of rocks.

Learn more: Rhythms of Play

35. Blast off drinking straw rockets

Engineer rockets from drinking straws and have a blast when you send them flying! Kids can tweak the design to see whose can fly the highest.

Learn more: Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls 

36.

Demonstrate heat energy with chocolate kisses

Give each student two chocolate kiss candies to hold onto for five minutes. Students should keep one palm open, while closing their other around the kiss. See what happens simply from our body heat.

Learn more: Sandy Fiorini at TPT 

37. Make a watermelon explode

How many rubber bands does it take to make a watermelon explode? Find out while observing the concepts of potential and kinetic energy with your students.

Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me/Exploding Watermelon Science

38. Make edible dirt cups

Help your students remember the four types of soil with this tasty second grade science experiment. Layer pudding, graham crackers, and Oreos for a mouthwatering, memorable lesson.

Learn more: The Kitchen Is My Playground

39. Simulate how animals help plants grow

Students will love creating an animal model to learn more about how animals help seeds disperse throughout nature. The seeds will stick to the animals at first, but watch what happens as they are moved around!

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/Animal Attachment Seed Activity 

40. Discover how fish breathe underwater

We all know that fish breathe through gills, but how exactly does it work? This fascinating second grade science experiment shows your students how it happens.

Learn more: Around the Kampfire/How Fish Breathe Underwater

41. Make a cloud poster or booklet

Help your students remember the different cloud types with this creative activity. Head outside afterwards and allow your students to observe and journal about the daytime sky. 

Learn more: Having a Fields Day at TPT

42. Turn an egg into a bouncy ball

Simply soak an egg in vinegar for 48 hours for this amazing chemical reaction. This is guaranteed to blow your students’ minds!

Learn more: Cool Science Experiments Headquarters

43. Build a solar oven to make s’mores

Observe the power of solar energy while baking a delicious, gooey dessert in the process. Yum!

Learn more: Desert Chica

44. Conduct an egg drop

In this STEM project, your students will create a protective egg holder from simple materials. They will love seeing if their contraption keeps their egg in one piece during the competition. 

Learn more: Buggy and Buddy

45. Create a solar system out of play dough

This is a perfect culminating project for your space unit. Your students can display their models at home when the project is complete.

Learn more: Good to Know

46. Drop a Mento in soda and watch it erupt

Here is another second grade science experiment that will make your students explode with excitement. Drop a Mento candy in different types of soda, and see which one causes the tallest geyser.

Learn more: Steve Spangler Science

47. Count how many water drops will fit on a penny

How many water drops fit on a penny? Find out with this fun and easy experiment that focuses on surface tension. Your students will be amazed by the results!

Learn more: Little Bins for Little Hands

48. Project stars on your ceiling

Everyone loves visiting a planetarium. Turn your very own second grade science classroom into one with this simple DIY star projector from our friend Mystery Doug.

Learn more: Mystery Science

49. Write secret messages with invisible ink

Make your own invisible ink from just baking soda and water, then have your students write messages to one another. Reveal the secret messages with a flashlight once the ink is dry.

Learn more: ThoughtCo

50. Build marshmallow and pretzel structures

Get creative while practicing engineering skills by building structures with marshmallows and pretzels. Sweeten the deal by eating them afterwards!

Learn more: The STEM Laboratory      

Looking for more? Try these 25 Second Grade STEM Challenges To Help Kids Think Creatively.

Plus, check out 30 Meaningful Second Grade Math Games Kids Will Enjoy.

2nd Grade Kids Activities – Fun Online Learning

Second grade activities take learning and skill to the next level. More confident of their abilities, second graders have longer attention spans, making learning an easier task.

Here are some interesting educational activities and worksheets for second graders to get the learning started!

Reading Activities for 2nd Grade:

  • Tree of Books


  • Supper Time Reading

  • Finding the Blends

  • Mad Poet

  • Two Sounds of G

  • Can You See Hard and Soft C?

English Activities for 2nd Grade

  • Practicing Idioms


  • How Does it Look?


  • Captions and More


  • Draw a Paragraph!


  • It’s Fiesta Time!

  • Unscramble Halloween

  • Neighborhood Verbs

  • Where’s the Synonym?

  • Crafting Sentences

  • Discussion Diary

  • Easy Reading Aloud

  • Tell Me Your Stories

  • The Spy

  • Words in My Name

  • Edison’s Spotlight on Nouns

  • Snacks Crossword Challenge

  • Beautiful Fruits

  • Blasting Off With Verbs!

  • Two In One

  • Word Play

Fun Short Stories for 2nd Graders

  • Baby Blue’s Day at the Zoo

  • Time for a Treehouse

  • Tweed’s Treasure Hunt

  • Baby Blue’s Magic Broom

  • Miggles and the Hungry Dragon

  • Camping in the Country

  • Miggles the Happy Camper

  • Baby Blue’s Wish

  • No ‘K’ Corral

  • Unday

    Math Activities for 2nd Grade

    • Game of 50


    • Hopscotch

    • Change Change

    • Odd One In

    • Sum War

    • Counting Down

    • Cutlery Patterns

    • Fact Family Flowers

    • Who is the Greatest of Them All

    • Amazing Arithmetic

    • What’s That Number?

    • Freeze!

    • The Cold Facts

    • Pairs of Pears

    • Fraction Action

    • In Between

    • Starfish Surprise

    • A Great Big Bite!

    • Odd n’ Even Bubbles

    • Can You Buy It?

    • What’s the Time?

    • Can Collecting

    • Do You Carry the Ball?

    • Football Fun

    Gross Motor Skill Activities for 2nd Grade:

    • Make a Dip

    Coloring Activities for 2nd Grade:

    • Finish and Color 2


    • Meet Indiana Jones


    • Inseparable Calvin & Hobbes


    • Finish and Color

    • Self Portrait

    Science Activities for 2nd Grade

    • How to Make a Kaleidoscope



    • Homemade Glass Cleaner



    • Weather Wall


    • Diet for Ants


    • Wormery

    • Balloon Matters

    • Planet Positions

    • Musical Bottles

    • Hoppin’ Frogs

    How 2nd Grade Activities are Beneficial

    Activities for second graders are appropriate for kids between the ages of seven and eight. 2nd grade activities help them recognize proper punctuation and grammar, set the foundation for basic math skills, introduce new science concepts and gradually help kids figure out their interests. Their comprehension levels increase and their communication skills see a marked improvement as well.

    A great teaching aid for parents and teachers, second grade activities keep the kids engaged and help parents and teachers monitor each child’s growth. They make the learning process much more enjoyable!

    Different Kinds of 2nd Grade Activities

    Activities for second graders are plentiful. From math activities and science activities to reading and art activities, there is an array of fun and educational activities for second graders. They are more confident with their vocabulary, reading, math, and fine motor skills and enjoy working on different kinds of activities. Second graders finish their tasks faster and are more familiar with different concepts. It is, therefore, important that parents and teachers give them activities that are a little more advanced and that stimulate those active brains!

    Additional information

    See Also

    • 1st Grade Activities

    • Activities for 3 Year Olds

    • 2nd Grade Activities

    • Educational Activities

    • Kindergarten Activities

    • 3rd Grade Activities

    • Activities for 5 Year Olds

    • org/Article”>

      Activities for 4 Year Olds

    • Preschool Activities

    • Math Activities

    • Reading Activities

    • Activities for 6 Year Olds

    • Art Activities

    • Science Activities

    • Critical Thinking Activities

    • Activities for 7 Year Olds

    • Activities for 8 Year Olds

    • org/Article”>

      5th Grade Activities

    • Activities for 9 Year Olds

    • 4th Grade Activities

    • Craft Activities

    • Kids Activities

    • Holiday Activities

    • Baby Activities

    • School Activities

    • English Activities

    • Toddler Activities

    • org/Article”>

      Grade Based Activities

    • Classroom Activities

    • Geography Activities

    • Seasonal Activities

    • Social Studies Activities



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