Shark STEM Activities
These Shark STEM activities are perfect for kids to enjoy Shark Week! All you have to do is combine some of these great activities while they’re tuning in to the week-long shows about their favorite ocean animals!
You can also check out my list of shark activities for kids as well, these are great to supplement your child’s other learning activities.
We love STEM activities. Kids get to learn and have hands-on experiences with them. These STEM-themed activities allow the kids to be creative while they get to know more about one of their favorite ocean creatures – sharks!
All these activities are easy and fun, providing great learning experiences for your child, and when they’re ready to dive deeper into shark knowledge, these activities are perfect!
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Shark STEM Activities
Since we do have a ton of learning activities at home, we love changing into different types of activities all the time. STEM activities are some of our favorites because it offers such a wide variety of choices. The kids enjoy a lot of these activities because these are the ones that they can easily do at home.
You’ll be able to see how much they have improved by doing these. I love seeing my kids get that confidence in learning.
Fun Shark Facts
Kids might already know that sharks have an incredible sense of smell. They even can regenerate thousands of teeth in their lifetime. Here are some other cool facts about sharks that you might not know yet:
- Sharks have been around for over 400 million years — long before the dinosaurs!
- Some sharks, like kitefin and lantern sharks, can actually glow in the dark.
- Hammerhead sharks can see a 360-degree view of their surroundings because their eyes are on the sides of their hammer-like heads.
- The shortfin mako shark can zoom through the water at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest sharks out there.
What is STEM?
STEM is a compilation of learning resources and activities for kids, including science, technology, engineering, and math. You may also hear the term STEAM, which is the same four mentioned before but with Art factored in as well.
STEM learning has become a lot more popular within the past few years because of all the ways that kids can learn. Being able to use technology and online resources really opens the door for the kids to learn more and more.
We tend to use STEM learning almost daily in our house because the kids do a great job of reacting to that type of learning environment and activities.
Some of our favorite learning lessons are focused on STEM and STEAM learning. We’ve had great success with the kids wanting to learn more about it.
Here are more fun STEM activities for kids.
Recommended Shark Books
No matter if we’re doing science activities, STEM activities, or just fun hands-on play, we always make sure that we include fun books as well. These shark books are great for kids to dive in and start to read more.
These books are especially great to use during Shark Week as the kids can pick up a book and read during any breaks or commercials! Sometimes we even play a game during the breaks and have everyone find two cool facts about sharks in their books to tell everyone in the family.
Having books about sharks is fun to pair with STEM activities because it just gives them the option to learn even more about this fun topic and activity.
So Cool! Sharks (So Cool/So Cute)Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist (Women in Science Books, Marine Biology for Kids, Shark Gifts)National Geographic Kids Sharks Sticker Activity Book: Over 1,000 Stickers! (NG Sticker Activity Books)Super Shark Encyclopedia (Super Encyclopedias)How to Make a Shark Smile: How a Positive Mindset Spreads HappinessHark! A Shark!: All About Sharks (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)
The Importance of STEM Learning
I often hear people talk about the fact that they don’t understand how STEM activities differ from other daily homeschooling activities and resources.
My thought for this is that we love STEM learning and have no intention of stopping! STEM learning is something that we love doing for so many different reasons!
One of the biggest reasons that we love STEM is that it allows the kids to really do the work with their skills. Since all of the activities have some sort of learning function, it’s a great way for the kids to dive in, start learning, and build confidence in learning as well.
STEM learning is also great for kids because it’s fun and engaging. What other types of activity dealing with teaching are so hands-on and fun? When you can introduce ways to build, create, read, write, and solve – why not?
See my list of fun ocean activities for kids for more STEM learning activities.
Recommended Ocean Printables
Junior Scientist Science Study: Sharks
Learn more exciting fun facts about sharks, illustrations and full-color pictures, coloring pages, puzzles, and more with this shark printable. Children will find shark stem activities more enjoyable if you partner it up using this!
Junior Scientist Science Study: Ocean
Learn more about the ocean and its wonders with this ocean printable. Get to meet and discover fun facts about the other ocean creatures and enjoy all the exciting activities!
Recommended Shark Toys
Don’t forget about the fun learning toys! You’ll find that the more learning toys you can add, the more that the kids will stay active and engaged! This means that toys can be used for playing and learning, all at the same time.
As you can tell from the list of shark toys below, there are a lot of toy options to consider. From stuffed animals to plastic toys, these are great ways for the kids to learn and use their imagination as well.
I also like to have a variety of toys that require them to use their hands and minds, too. This means that we play games together and find activities that will give them confidence.
Here are some of our favorite shark toys that the kids are certain to love! These are also great ideas for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, school milestones, and more!
Wild Republic Great White Shark plush, Stuffed Animal, Plush Toy, Gifts for Kids, Sea Critters 11 inchesNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Shark Tooth Dig Kit, Excavate 3 Real Shark Fossils Including Sand Tiger, Otodus and Crow Shark – Great Science Gift for Marine Biology EnthusiastsElefun and Friends Shark Chase GameWILD ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Extreme Sharks of the World – Science Craft Kit – Make Models, Dioramas and Study the Most Extreme Animals – For Ages 6+Pinkfong Baby Shark Let’s Go Hunt Musical Fishing Game, for Families and Kids Ages 4 and UpShark Bite — Roll the Die and Fish for Colorful Sea Creatures Before the Shark Bites Game! by Pressman Blue Sky, 5
More Shark Activities
Want more shark-themed fun? Try some of these shark crafts, games, worksheets, and activities. These are a great way to mix creativity, learning, and entertainment into your shark lessons.
- Shark Paper Plate Craft
- Shark Games for Kids
- Shark Science Activities
- Shark Activities for Elementary Students
- Sharks and Whales Venn Diagram
- Shark Worksheets for Kindergarten
- Popsicle Stick Shark Craft by Life with Darcy and Brian
- Shark Week Fast Facts by 3 Boys and a Dog
If you’re looking for a gift for your little one who loves sharks, you can get ideas from my list of Shark Gifts for Kids.
Below you’ll find some of the best STEM Shark Activities that the kids are going to love. Each activity provides a great variety for all ages of kids.
Shark STEM Activities
These shark STEM activities offer endless learning opportunities and many fun and engaging shark-themed activities for the kids!
Learn about the anatomy of sharks and label the different parts of a shark with these worksheets.
Sensory play is great for engaging their senses and creativity. Try making this shark sensory bin with your kids!
See how a shark grows from an egg to an adult shark that rules the ocean with this shark life cycle activity.
Get ready to be challenged and build sharks out of LEGO bricks. This is such a fun activity for the family.
Let kids explore patterns and sequences using this shark pattern worksheet. They get to learn early math skills together with their favorite sharks.
Create this cute shark suncatcher out of tissue paper and contact paper. This is surely worth hanging in your windows!
Learn more fun facts about the different types of sharks with this worksheet. Children will also get to practice their writing and critical thinking skills with this!
A fun launcher you can construct yourself with a fun shark theme for any ocean lovers.
Have fun counting and learning numbers with this printable. Children will be able to bring out their creativity and counting skills with this shark-themed color-by-number worksheet.
Create your own shark habitat with this simple shark bay sensory bin.
Let your kids be on a hunting adventure for sharks with this ice block excavation activity.
Discover how sharks are able to float in the water with this!
Learn how to achieve a stained-glass effect in coloring your sharks using markers.
These shark research worksheets will improve and practice your child's observation and research skills.
This hammerhead shark puppet craft is perfect during pretend play or activity after your shark lessons.
These shark ten frames are a fun way for kids to work on their counting and math skills.
Another fun learning craft to do is this chompin’ shark puppet made out of foam.
If you have left-over pool noodles, you can definitely do this pool noodle shark. Kids can easily do this even on their own.
See how unique and fun these shark activities can be? There are different ways that the kids can dive in and do more shark learning and fun! You can space these out during the week or you can have them do as many in a day as they want! These are fun and a great way to get them pumped up in learning about sharks.
Once you get through this list of activities about sharks, you can then move on and talk more about ocean learning! If you live close enough to the beach, you can easily plan a visit as well!