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Autumn science lab

Pumpkins & Potions

Gooey slime, bubbling cauldrons and glowing eyeballs, plus the real science of autumn. Friendly experiments with kitchen ingredients, rated by how spooky they get.

Start with the goo ↓How spooky is it? ↓

Autumn is a season of change: the leaves turn, the evenings grow dark and pumpkins appear on doorsteps. This lab collects our favourite experiments for the season. Some are a little bit spooky, none are scary, and every one has real science inside: polymers, acids and bases, light and shadow.

The spook-o-meter

  • Cute

    Pumpkins, potions and colours. Nothing scary at all.

  • Mildly gross

    Goo, eyeballs and monster snot. Giggles guaranteed.

  • A bit creepy

    Bones and spiders, but still friendly.

Bubble, bubble

Goo & Potions

Squishy, stretchy and fizzy. Each one shows how ordinary kitchen ingredients can behave in surprising ways.

Six homemade slimes on a wooden table: a white slime ghost, chia frog spawn with a blue toy frog, green monster snot in a jar, a marshmallow mummy, red jelly goo in a bottle and an orange slime pumpkin, guarded by a plastic tarantula

How to Make Slime: 6 Easy Recipes (5 Without Borax)

Six recipes, five without borax: ghost slime, monster snot, frog-spawn potion and more.

Hands lifting long drips of blue oobleck from a tub dotted with googly eyes, with a plastic tarantula on the rim

How to Make Oobleck: The Goo That's Solid and Liquid

Zombie goo that turns solid when you punch it and melts when you stop.

A homemade volcano science activity

How to make a Homemade Volcano - STEM Science for Kids

Make it a bubbling cauldron: a black pot, green foam and a few plastic spiders.

Swirls of food coloring spreading across the surface of milk in the colorful milk experiment

Magic Milk Experiment: Why Soap Makes Colors Move

Drag the bursting colours into a spider web with a toothpick.

A homemade lava lamp

How to make a Lava Lamp

Mix an orange and purple potion bottle full of rising, glowing blobs.

A homemade playdough science activity

How to Make Homemade Playdough (Easy Science Recipe)

Knead pumpkin orange and midnight black, then sculpt friendly little monsters.

Just outside the window

Autumn Science

Falling leaves, browning apples and the first frosty morning all have a scientific story behind them.

Two apple slices, one browned by oxidation and one kept fresh with lemon juice

Apple Oxidation Experiment: Why Apples Turn Brown

Why a bitten apple turns brown, and which kitchen trick slows it down.

Colored rice, an indoor activity for kids

How to Make Colored Rice (Easy Rainbow Sensory Activity for Kids)

Dye it orange, purple and black for an autumn sensory bin.

Homemade sensory bottle with blue liquid and glitter - how to make a simple sensory bottle

How to Make a Sensory Bottle for Babies and Toddlers

Fill one with tiny leaves, acorns and gold glitter for a calm autumn bottle.

Homemade sugar crystals

How to Make Sugar Crystals (Rock Candy) - Easy STEM Experiment

Grow sparkly crystals that look like the first frost on the grass.

When the evenings get long

Night & Glow

Autumn brings early darkness. Use it for shadows, glowing eggs and a little candlelit mystery.

A bouncy glowing egg made in vinegar

Egg in Vinegar Experiment: Make a Bouncy, Glowing Naked Egg

Turn the naked egg into a glowing monster eyeball with a torch.

A cardboard smartphone projector

How to Make a Cardboard Projector using Smartphone and Magnifying Glass

Project shadow stories onto the wall on a dark evening.

A lit candle under an upturned glass, drawing colored water up as the flame goes out

Candle in a Vacuum Experiment: Why Water Rises

A candle, a glass and water that mysteriously climbs upward.

Free 4-page printable

The Pumpkins & Potions lab pack

Print it, grab a pencil and turn the kitchen into a lab. Children record their guesses and results like real scientists.

Potion lab with a pH rainbowSlime and oobleck testsAutumn colour huntSpider rescue race10 cut-out potion labels

The Pumpkins & Potions lab pack

4-page A4 PDF · 652 KB

↓ Download free

No email or sign-up

Lab rules

  • An adult stays in the lab for every experiment.
  • Googly eyes, plastic spiders and other small parts are not for children under 3.
  • Potions are for looking at, not drinking, unless the recipe says taste-safe.
  • Wash hands when the experiment is over.

Brewing next

  • Witch's colour-changing potions
  • Rescue the frozen spiders
  • Why leaves change colour

Behind every spooky effect there is a question worth asking. Happy experimenting!