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Pumpkin Poppers {Halloween STEAM activity}

1 Comment Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade

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These Pumpkin Poppers are a perfect Halloween STEAM activity that blend art and engineering for the holiday. (STEAM = science, technology, engineering, art, and math.)

I created my own pumpkin popper ahead of time to see how it worked. And when my kids saw it the were totally gung ho to make their own.

Once they created their poppers, we had a ton of fun taking videos of our pumpkin poppers in action. (The slow-motion videos were especially awesome!)

Give this Halloween STEAM activity a try because your kids will love these!

Note: For more Halloween STEAM projects, see my Halloween Activities for Kids page.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

How to make Pumpkin Poppers

Take a look at this short video showing our pumpkin poppers in action.

If you prefer to see things in writing, continue below for step-by-step written directions.

 

To make these pumpkin poppers, you’ll need the following materials:

  • White, disposable paper cup
  • Orange paint
  • Paint brush
  • Scissors
  • Black marker
  • Orange balloon
  • Tape
  • Pom poms or other small objects to shoot

Start with your disposable paper cup.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Give it a good coat of orange paint.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Let it dry.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Then add a jack-o-lantern face! (That’s the art part of this STEAM activity.)

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Next comes the engineering part of the activity:

You’ll need to remove the bottom of the cup. We did it by punching a hole in the middle and cutting lines to the edges.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Then we used our fingers to tear the individual sections off.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity
 

Next, grab an orange balloon and a pair of scissors.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Cut a bit off the top of the balloon.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Then tie a knot at the bottom.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Stretch the cut part of the balloon over the bottom of your cup.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Use clear tape to adhere the balloon to your cup.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Grab some pom poms.

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Put them in your cup and get ready for some pumpkin popping fun!

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

And that’s one awesome Halloween STEAM activity!

Looking for more Halloween projects that incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM)? Then you’ll love STEAM Kids Halloween. This e-book includes 50+ pages of spooky fun STEAM activities that will wow the boredom right out of kids!

steam-kids-halloween-collage-rev

More Halloween Fun & Learning

Halloween STEM/STEAM posts from Gift of Curiosity:

  • Grow a candy jack-o-lantern
  • Flying teabag ghosts
  • Mason jar jack-o-lantern
  • Candy experiments
  • Pumpkin decomposition experiment
  • Describe a pumpkin using all five senses

You can find more Halloween activities and printables on my Halloween Activities for Kids page and Halloween Activities for Kids Pinterest board. 

Pumpkin poppers Halloween STEAM activity: This Halloween activity blends art and engineering to create a fun pumpkin popper that "pops" out pom poms! | #STEAM #Halloween #handsonlearning #giftofcuriosity || Gift of Curiosity

Filed Under: Preschool, Arts and Crafts, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, Halloween, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, STEAM

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Reader Interactions

1 Comment

  1. Barbara Gonzales

    October 25, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    Totally FUN!!! Thank you!

    Reply to this comment

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