Fall STEM Activities Inspired by Children’s Books
- Isabella Key
- Sep 7
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 14
What This Blog Offers
This blog shares ready-to-use activities that pair children’s literature with hands-on STEM challenges perfect for the classroom or makerspace. Each activity is designed to spark creativity while building skills in teamwork, problem-solving, design thinking, and data collection.
Novel Engineering: Designing Solutions Through Stories
Novel Engineering is a creative approach that blends literacy with STEM, inviting students to use stories as springboards for problem-solving. Instead of simply reading a book, learners step into the world of the characters and tackle the challenges they face. By treating story problems as real-world problems, students practice engineering design, critical thinking, and collaboration in an engaging and imaginative way.
Table of Contents
"Why Do Leaves Change Color?" by Betsy Maestro: Leaf Chromatography Activity
“Fall Weather: Cooler Temperatures” by Martha E.H. Rustad: Build a Rain Gauge Activity
“Pumpkin Soup” by Helen Cooper: Soup Ladle Engineering Activity
“The Biggest Pumpkin Ever” by Steven Kroll: Build a Pumpkin Bridge Activity
“The Little Scarecrow Boy” by Margaret Wise Brown: Build a Scarecrow Activity
"Seeds Move! " by Robin Page: Seed Sorting and Classification Activity
“Too Many Pumpkins” by Linda White: Illustrate a Comic Activity
"From Seed to Pumpkin” by Wendy Pfeffer: Pumpkin Dissection Activity
Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro
This nonfiction book explains the science behind autumn leaves. Young readers discover how shorter days, and cooler temperatures cause leaves to stop producing chlorophyll, allowing hidden pigments to appear.
STEM Challenge: Leaf Chromatography
Objective: Students will explore the pigments found in leaves by using chromatography to separate and observe the hidden colors inside.
Materials Needed:
Fresh leaves
Coffee filters
Rubbing alcohol
Small cups or jars
Plastic wrap
Rubber bands
Scissors
Pencil
Steps:
Tear or cut the leaves into small pieces and place them in a cup.
Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol to cover the leaf pieces.
Cover the cup with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.
Place the cup in warm sunlight (or under a lamp) for about 30 minutes.
Cut a strip of coffee filter and hang it in the cup with the bottom touching the liquid, securing it with a pencil laid across the cup’s rim.
Watch as the pigments travel up the strip, separating into different colors.
Guiding Questions:
Why do leaves look different in the fall than in the summer?
Do you think different trees will show the same colors or different ones?
Read-Aloud: Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro – Mrs. Tempel’s Storytime (6:55).
Fall Weather: Cooler Temperatures by Martha E.H. Rustad
This nonfiction story introduces early readers to the changes in weather that come with autumn. It highlights cooler temperatures, shorter days, and seasonal shifts in rain and wind patterns, making weather science accessible and engaging for young learners.
STEM Challenge: Build a Rain Gauge
Objective: Students will design and use a simple rain gauge to observe and measure rainfall, learning how scientists collect and analyze weather data.
Materials Needed:
Empty plastic bottle (2-liter recommended)
Scissors or craft knife (teacher use)
Ruler
Permanent marker
Tape or stones (to stabilize the bottle)
Steps:
Cut the top off the plastic bottle (about one-third from the top).
Invert the top piece to act as a funnel and place it inside the bottom section.
Tape the ruler vertically on the side of the bottle.
Place the rain gauge outdoors in an open area, weighing it down with stones to prevent tipping.
After rainfall, measure the collected water and record the data.
Guiding Questions:
How does measuring rain help scientists predict weather patterns?
Did the rainfall match your expectations based on the clouds you saw that day?
How might rain measurements differ in other places or seasons?
Read-Aloud: Fall Weather by Martha E.H. Rustad – Stories for Kids (4:52).
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
This story follows three animal friends—Duck, Squirrel, and Cat—who cook pumpkin soup together every day. When teamwork breaks down and arguments arise, the friends must learn about cooperation, compromise, and the joy of sharing traditions.
STEM Challenge: Soup Ladle Engineering
Objective: Students will design and test a homemade ladle to explore principles of engineering design, problem-solving, and measurement.
Materials Needed:
Paper or plastic cups
String, tape, and rubber bands
Craft sticks, straws, or chopsticks
Aluminum foil (optional)
Large bowl of water (to represent “soup”)
Measuring cups or graduated cylinders (for testing volume)
Steps:
Present the challenge: build a ladle that can scoop and pour “soup” with minimal spillage.
Allow students to brainstorm and sketch a design before building.
Construct ladles using the provided materials.
Test each ladle by scooping water from the bowl and pouring into a measuring cup.
Record how much “soup” was successfully transferred without spilling.
Guiding Questions:
What design features made your ladle easier or harder to use?
How did you make sure your ladle could hold liquid without leaking?
If you could redesign your ladle, what changes would you make?
Read-Aloud: Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper – Enchanted Storyboat (6:38).
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
This story follows two mice who each care for the same pumpkin without realizing it. When the pumpkin grows to an enormous size, the mice must work together to move and share it, teaching lessons about teamwork, cooperation, and problem-solving.
STEM Challenge: Pumpkin Bridge
Objective: Students will apply engineering design principles to build a bridge capable of holding a pumpkin.
Materials Needed:
Popsicle sticks, straws, or cardboard pieces
Tape, glue, or rubber bands
Small to medium-sized pumpkins
Ruler or scale (to measure dimensions and compare weights)
Steps:
Introduce the challenge: design and build a bridge that can support the weight of a pumpkin without collapsing.
Allow students to brainstorm and sketch potential bridge designs (beam, truss, arch, etc.).
Construct bridges using the provided materials.
Test each bridge by gradually adding weight (pumpkins or substitute objects).
Record results: Which design held the most weight? Which lasted the longest before breaking?
Guiding Questions:
What materials or connections made your bridge stronger?
How does working together to build a strong design relate to the teamwork shown in the story?
Read-Aloud: The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll – Mrs. Tempel’s Storytime (7:20).
The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown
This story tells of a young scarecrow who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a brave and fierce scarecrow. As he grows, he learns important lessons about patience, courage, and discovering his own strength.
STEM Challenge: Build a Wind-Responsive Scarecrow
Objective: Students will design and test a model scarecrow that can move in the wind, exploring concepts of balance, stability, and motion.
Materials Needed:
Paper (construction or tissue)
Straws, craft sticks, or pipe cleaners
Lightweight fabric or paper scraps for clothing
Tape, glue, or string
Small base (cardboard square, cup filled with clay, or block of Styrofoam)
Fan
Steps:
Introduce the challenge: build a scarecrow that reacts to wind movement.
Students sketch their designs, thinking about how arms, head, or clothing might catch the wind.
Construct scarecrows using the provided materials and attach them securely to a base.
Test the models in front of a fan.
Observe how much each scarecrow moves, how sturdy it remains, and what features enhance its “scaring power.”
Guiding Questions:
Which parts of your scarecrow moved the most in the wind?
Did your design remain standing, or did it tip over? Why?
Read-Aloud: The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown – KV Teach (6:29).
Seeds Move! by Robin Page
This nonfiction book shows the many creative ways seeds travel in nature—by wind, water, animals, and even by hitchhiking on fur or clothing.
STEM Challenge: Seed Sorting & Classification
Objective: Students will observe, compare, and classify seeds based on physical characteristics, learning how seed structures relate to their methods of movement.
Materials Needed:
A variety of seeds (e.g., sunflower, pumpkin, beans, dandelion fluff, maple “helicopter” seeds, acorns)
Trays or shallow containers for sorting
Magnifying glasses
Chart paper
Labels or sticky notes for categories
Steps:
Provide each group with a tray of mixed seeds.
Invite students to observe the seeds closely using magnifying glasses.
Sort the seeds into groups based on characteristics such as size, color, texture, or shape.
Discuss possible ways each seed might travel in nature (e.g., blown by wind, eaten by animals, floating on water).
Optional: Match the seeds to pictures of the plants they come from.
Guiding Questions:
What similarities and differences do you notice between the seeds?
How might the shape or texture of a seed help it move to a new place?
Read-Aloud: Seeds Move! by Robin Page – Emily (6:14).
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
This story follows Rebecca Estelle, a woman who dislikes pumpkins but finds herself with an overwhelming harvest after accidentally growing them in her yard. At first, she feels burdened, but then she discovers how pumpkins can bring joy to her neighbors and community.
STEM Challenge: Pumpkin Storyboard
Objective: Students will use creativity and problem-solving to imagine multiple solutions for handling an overabundance of pumpkins, connecting storytelling with real-world applications of STEM and sustainability.
Materials Needed:
Blank paper or comic strip templates
Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
Optional: scissors and glue for collage-style illustrations
Brainstorm chart of pumpkin uses (recipes, composting, decoration, sharing, building)
Steps:
Discuss Rebecca Estelle’s problem: too many pumpkins!
Brainstorm as a class different ways pumpkins could be used—both silly (pumpkin houses, pumpkin hats) and practical (baking pies, composting, sharing with friends).
Have students create a comic strip or illustrated storyboard showing their own sequence of events: What would YOU do with too many pumpkins?
Share finished storyboards with the class, comparing the mix of creative and realistic solutions.
Guiding Questions:
What are some fun and imaginative ways you could use a mountain of pumpkins?
How can pumpkins be used in helpful, real-world ways?
Read-Aloud: Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White – The Story Harbor (10:47).
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
This book explains the life cycle of a pumpkin, from planting seeds in spring to harvesting bright orange pumpkins in the fall.
STEM Activity: Pumpkin Dissection & Measurement
Objective: Students will investigate the structure of a pumpkin, collect data, and analyze whether pumpkin size relates to the number of seeds inside.
Materials Needed:
Several pumpkins of different sizes
Measuring tape or ruler
Scale (to weigh pumpkins)
Large trays or newspaper (for messy work)
Plastic knives or teacher-prepared cut pumpkins
Bowls for seed collection
Graph paper or chart paper for data recording
Steps:
Introduce the activity by asking: Do you think a bigger pumpkin has more seeds?
As a class, measure each pumpkin’s circumference and record the data.
Weigh each pumpkin and note its weight.
Cut open the pumpkins (teacher-assisted for safety).
Have students scoop out seeds, clean them, and count them by groups (10s or 20s for easier counting).
Record data for each pumpkin: size, weight, number of seeds.
Create a class graph comparing pumpkin size/weight to number of seeds.
Discuss patterns and results.
Guiding Questions:
Did the largest pumpkin always have the most seeds?
Why might pumpkins of similar size have different seed counts?
What part of the pumpkin helps it grow into a new plant?
How does studying real pumpkins connect to what we learned in the book?
Read-Aloud: From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer - Stories for Kids (4:52).
Bringing Stories to Life
When literature and STEM come together, students don’t just read about problems—they imagine, design, and build their own solutions. These activities encourage curiosity, creativity, and collaboration while helping learners see that stories can spark real-world ideas.