Summer is a great time to get outdoors, play, explore and learn at the same time. I often find that if I set up some outdoor science experiments, my children keep coming back to them over a period of weeks or days, each adding their own twist to the activity.
What makes a great outdoor science activity?
Anything using water or ice is always great fun outside and opens up opportunities for learning about changes of state.
Larger activities like water walls and messy activities are also perfect for outside, as it’s easy to contain any mess.
Here are 10 of my favourite outdoor science experiments!
Teddy Zip Line
We’ve had zip lines set up in our garden for weeks. Children can experiment by using different materials for the zip line, changing the gradient, designing different harnesses and using different shapes and sizes of riders!
This is a fantastic activity for learning about the effect of gradients on speed, gravity and friction.
Giant Oobleck Tray
A giant oobleck tray is always fun! You just need a big tray, a large amount of cornflour and some water. Kids can try to run across the gloop before they sink.
Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid that is solid when pressure is applied and returns to a liquid state when the pressure is released.
Take care with this one as the surface can be slippery.
Fruity Boats
These fruity boats are super easy to make and great fun to use on a water table. Children can use lemons, limes, melons and any other fruit they fancy trying.
How Tall is a Tree?
Take a trip into the forest to find out how tall a tree is. While you’re there, ask children to look for animal footprints and listen to animal sounds.
Build a Mud Kitchen
Set children a challenge to create their own mud kitchen using planks of wood or even a cardboard box. Once the kitchen is done, kids can make fizzy potions or just mud pies!
Straw Shooters
Straw shooters are a great outdoor summer science activity and can be themed in lots of different ways. We’ve made rockets, spacemen, spiders, and even Father Christmas-themed shooters before. They’re also a great way to learn about aerodynamics.
Giant Bubbles
Make your own bubble mixture and then try to create GIANT bubbles! Children can also look for rainbows in bubbles, which is a great way to learn about the colours of the rainbow and what happens when white light is split into its constituent colours.
Science with Scooters
Grab a scooter and try some fun scooter science! Investigate how long it takes for the scooter to roll down different hills or to stop after a certain number of pushes.
Create a Water Wall
Water walls are great fun and easy to put together. You just need some plastic tubing, funnels, buckets and something to attach it to!
Splatter Patterns
Our fun splatter pattern activity is fantastically messy. Drop paint-filled balloons and observe the splatter pattern they make as they hit a white sheet of paper. The pattern should change depending on the height from which the balloon is dropped.
Syringe painting is also great fun for a sunny day! Fill syringes with paint and fire them at a sheet hung on the fence or a large sheet of paper.
Can you think of any more outdoor science experiments for us?
Last Updated on June 18, 2025 by Emma Vanstone
