Engage your teens with this list of more than 100 hands-on activities for middle school and high school students!

Hands-on learning is the best kind of learning. There are limitless ideas for hands-on activities for preschool and elementary-aged students. Unfortunately, as kids get older, the ideas for hands-on projects seem to dwindle in favor of more traditional textbook-style learning.

However, teens learn just as much from hands-on activities as young kids do, and almost anything can be educational: acting in a play, running a lawn-care business, creating pieces of art, cooking, baking, and even babysitting! Because it helps to start with a list to get your own ideas flowing, I’m sharing more than 100 hands-on activities for middle school and high school students! 

How to Modify Hands-on Activities for Teens

I do want to include one caveat – not all of these activities are specifically geared toward older students. But activities for younger kids are beneficial to older students with some modifications.

To make hands-on activities more challenging for older students:

• Turn all the planning and execution of the project over to the student.
• Require more detail. (Simplified example: a young student might label only the basic parts of a flower such as stem, petal, and leaves, while an older student would be expected to include anthers, stamen, ovaries, etc.)
• Use more complex materials. (For example: a younger student might make a cardboard rainstick while an older student would use bamboo and nails.)
• Ask your teens to explain what they did, how they did it, why it works, and what it represents. (Younger kids should be able to do this, too, but older kids should be more detailed in their narrative.)

I hope you find this list helpful! Be sure to bookmark it so you can return to it later when you need more ideas and inspiration! Please leave a comment if you have more ideas for me to add to this article. 

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Hands-On Activities for Middle School and High School Students

Art

Andy Warhol Art Project – A Warhol-inspired project using a template or your own photo.

Mary Cassatt Hats – Make paper mache hats as you learn about American artist, Mary Cassatt.

Zentangle Dragonfly – Stretch the imagination and create Zentangle Dragonfly Art.

Marbled Clay Ring Dish – Beautiful clay dishes you can make at home.

Shibori Dyeing Technique – Create art you can wear with this Japanese tie-dyeing technique using indigo dye.

Aluminum Foil Stained Glass Art – Recreate any picture using aluminum foil and Sharpie markers.

Free Art Lessons and Tutorials – An entire Pinterest page of art tutorials.

Paper Jungle – A paper art project inspired by the works of Henri Rousseau.

Self-Portrait Collage – Some art projects should require endurance. This one will have to be completed in several steps over time.

Getting Started in Chalk Pastel – A free e-book full of art tutorials using chalk pastels.

Jackson Pollock Inspired Abstract Art – Experiment with splatter and drip painting.

Science

Biology

How to Make an Edible Cell Model – This was probably one of the most fun projects we’ve ever done. It’s definitely one of the most popular on the blog. We did an animal cell, but it could easily be adapted to a plant cell.

Hands-on Genetics Study for Kids – An excellent resource for studying Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics. This site includes a free, printable download and activity and resource suggestions.

Build a DNA Model – Use Twizzlers and gumdrops for a tasty, hands-on experiment with DNA.

Candy Math and Science – Create bar graphs and practice taxonomy with candy.

Human Body Systems – Hands-on activities for studying human anatomy.

Bean Classification – Who says taxonomy has to be boring?

Edible Skin Layers Cake – Make a model of human skin using some sweet treats.

Articulated Hand – Make a model of the hand that actually moves like a human hand.

Functioning Heart Model – This is a cool project that uses household items to make a functioning heart model.

Anatomy of the Eye – Study the anatomy of the eyeball with a cake pop.

Another Edible Cell – Prefer cookies over cake? Try this edible cell!

Extracting DNA From Strawberries Experiment – This one looks almost as much fun as the time the kids and I extracted our own DNA.

Project-Based Learning: Microbes – Bacteria – I love this tutorial for building a model of a bacteria cell.

The Lab Report – Flower Dissection – Includes video, resource links, and a free download.

Earth Science

Ocean Zones in a Jar – Learn about ocean zones and liquid density by making these hands-on activities for middle school and high school students.

Metamorphic Edible Rocks– This hands-on metamorphic rock activity will have you learning about earth science with food.

Make a Lava Lamp – A simple tutorial for making a lava lamp with information on why it works.

The Lab Report – Enzyme Experiment – See enzymes in action and discover an experiment challenge for you to do on your own.

Let’s Make A Mold Terrarium! – Because, really, who doesn’t want to grow mold?

Learning Summer Constellations – Do you and your kids love constellations as much as I do? Capitalize on that with these great study tips and activity ideas.

Baking Soda Stalactites & Stalagmites – Watch crystals grow each day as engaging hands-on activities for middle school and high school students.

Volcano in a Cup – There are many great hands-on volcano activities other than the traditional baking soda-and-vinegar stand-by. (Although that one never gets old!) So, check out this idea for a change of pace.

Charcoal Water Purifying Experiment – Can charcoal purify water? Experiment and find out!

Using Clouds To Predict The Weather – Turn your kids into weather forecasters! Teach them to recognize the types of clouds and what they tell us about the weather.

Compost Cups Science Projects – Learn about decomposition and composting.

The Lab Report – Air Pressure – Learn about air pressure in this video presented by the student herself.

Chemistry

Acid or Base Experiment – Simple, but effective experiments that illustrate the acidity of household products.

Red Cabbage Litmus Experiment – Use red cabbage to determine which foods and beverages are acids and which are bases.

Periodic Table of Elements Cookies – Learn the elements and their chemical symbols by making and decorating cookies.

Testing The Properties Of Water – Experiments for learning about surface tension and cohesion.

Oxygen and Fire Experiment – Test the relationship between oxygen and fire with this simple, but fun experiment, and learn why the experiment works.

Atomic Cookie Skillet Model – The best hands-on activities for kids are the edible ones and this atom model is no exception!

STEM and More hands-on activities for middle school and high school

Steel Wool and a 9-Volt Battery Experiment – You shouldn’t play with fire – unless, of course, it’s this really cool experiment. Check out the video!

Polishing Pennies Experiment – Learn about oxidation. Includes a free printable.

Squishy Science Experiment With Warblettes – What are Warblettes, you ask? They are nifty little water-absorbing polymers.

BioFilm Experiment – Make the study of microbiology a bit more interesting with this experiment. Includes free printable.

How to Make Plastic – Make your own gelatin bioplastic.

10 Hands-On Science Activities for Kids – These 10 generic hands-on activities for middle school and high school students are easily adaptable for a wide variety of projects and age ranges.

Circuit Bugs – Use circuits and batteries to bring these bugs to life.

5 Easy Beach STEM Activities – Heading to the beach? Try some of these activities with your middle schoolers.

Invisible Ink – Unlock the secrets of invisible ink with this activity.

How to Make a Paper Mache Earth Model – Another one of our all-time favorite hands-on projects, this model is suitable for middle school and easily adaptable for high school.

Pumpkin School – Bookmark this one for fall so you’ll be ready to learn about pumpkin pi. (Do you see what I did there?)

How to Record an Experiment – It’s crucial that middle and high school students know how to properly record science experiments.

History

World

Make an Ancient Egyptian dress – Sew an ancient Egyptian dress for an 18″ doll.

How to Mummify a Chicken – Is it possible to study ancient Egypt without mummifying a chicken?

Middle Ages Unit Study for Middle School – Living book suggestions along with resources and activity ideas.

Greek Mythology Character Cubes – Illustrate Greek myths with this 3-D display.

The U.S.

Slavery and Civil War Unit Study – A literature- and project-based unit study.

History Quest: Civil War Uniforms – A tutorial for creating an authentic-looking Civil War uniform.

George Washington’s Camp – Recreate George Washington’s camp out of paper.

Settling the New World: Colonial History Unit Study – A unit study for upper-elementary and middle school ages.

Timeline Accordion Book – Record any time period with this accordion book.

Underground Railroad Quilt Code Game – Learn more about the Underground Railroad with this game.

How to Make Berry Ink – Step back in time and make your own ink.

13 Colonies Map Puzzle Activity – You’ll find the directions for making your own 13 Colonies puzzle map at the end of this post.

Maple Syrup Snow Candy – If you’re studying pioneer life, this is a yummy treat to make in the winter and is one of the best hands-on activities for middle school and high school students for the colder seasons.

Ben Franklin & Electricity – Ben Franklin had many roles that included statesman, writer, scientist, and inventor. Explore static electricity with this experiment. You can also try your hand at replicating some of his inventions with the resource, Amazing Ben Franklin Inventions You Can Build Yourself.

10 Hands-On History and Geography Activities for Kids – A list of generic, versatile ideas for all ages.

Create a Biographical Trailer – Use iMovie or another tool to create a trailer about a historical biography.

Geography

Paper Art Landforms – Make learning about landforms fun with this paper art project.

Making an Edible Map – This edible map tutorial uses cookie dough as the base with icing to represent lakes. Adding other candies to represent various landforms and landmarks would expand this project easily for older students.

Making a Paper Mache Map – Tutorial for making a topographical map from paper mache.

How to Make a Salt Dough Map – Salt dough maps are a family favorite and easily adaptable to a wide student age range, which is why they make great hands-on activities for middle school and high school students.

How to Make a Compass – A tutorial for making a homemade compass and determining magnetic north using the completed project.

Plate Tectonics – A tasty way to learn about continental drift and plate tectonics.

Model of the Earth’s Layers in a Jar – A simple, but fun and effective way to represent the layers of the Earth in a colorful spice jar!

Soil Layers with LEGO – Use LEGO brick to build a model representing the soil layers of the Earth.

U.S. Geography Scavenger Hunt – Make learning to use an atlas fun with these ideas. Includes a free printable.

Math

Paper Airplane Math – Practice graphing the fun way – with paper airplanes!

100+ Living Math Activities & Link-Up – Activities are broken down by grade level and include those for middle school and high school.

Graphing Facebook Birthdays – If paper airplanes aren’t your style, try your hand at graphing your Facebook friends’ birthdays instead.

M&M Math – M&Ms are more than just counters for young children learning basic math. Older kids can practice fractions with M&Ms; mean, median, and mode; and graphing.

Cost of a Pumpkin Algebra Lesson – Bring algebraic equations to life with this activity.

Hands-on Geometry – Math is always more meaningful when kids can see real-life applications, so try these hands-on geometry ideas.

Gumdrop Structures Engineering Challenge – A fantastic STEM activity that can be made more or less difficult based on the parameters you decide to set.

Pythagorean Theorem Lego Proof – Help students visualize the Pythagorean Theorem using LEGO bricks.

Interactive Notebook Entry: Graphing Using Slope-Intercept Form – Templates and instructions for creating an interactive notebooking page for graphing using slope-intercept.

Language Arts

The Phantom Tollbooth Activities – Journey through The Phantom Tollbooth with these hands-on activities for middle school and high school students.

Calpurnia Tate Book Activities – Get hands-on with the popular book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, and its sequel, The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate.

The Secret Garden Activities – These fun learning activities will help bring The Secret Garden to life.

Around the World in 80 Days Activities – These free printables are geared to younger students, but there are lots of great activities to do with tweens and teens.

5 Ways to Bring Any Book to Life – These are some of our favorite ways to bring books to life for children of all ages.

Shakespeare Activities – Thirty hands-on activities for a variety of the Bard’s works.

Library Scavenger Hunt – Teach your student about literary genres with this scavenger hunt.

Fun Activities for Subject-Verb Agreement in High School Classes – This is intended for a classroom but could be adapted for homeschool use.

Electives

A Nature Study Photography Project for Any Age – Photography makes a fantastic high school elective, so use these tips to combine it with nature study.

Home Economics: Budgeting – No homeschooled student should graduate without learning this vital life skill.

Beginner Sewing Projects & Project Resources – This would make a great addition to a home ec course.

Experimenting with Flexibility – Add this resource to your health class notes.

How to Use Current Events in Your Homeschool – Current events can provide a springboard for some great hands-on activities for middle school and high school students.

Stop Action: {Easy} Movie Making with LEGOs – If you’ve got a LEGO lover, stop-action movie making could be a great digital technology course.

We hope these awesome hands-on activities for middle school and high school students will help your children engage more with their lessons and actually enjoy the subject! Learning can be fun!

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