This Spooky Ghost Sounds STEM Halloween Activity is a fantastic way to incorporate a simple physics experiment with some Halloween fun!
We paired a book with a simple physics activity for kids to make a spooky ghost sounds STEM activity!
Fall, especially Halloween, is our favorite time of year! We raided our local library a few weeks ago and checked out a ton of fun Halloween books for kids and had a blast brainstorming some fun activities to pair with them!
My big girls love to get involved in planning activities for Our Family Code mostly because they dream of hosting their own YouTube channel!
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One of our favorite new books that we read this year is How to Scare a Ghost by Jean Reagan. In the story, the kids follow steps to attract a ghost, including making scary sounds.
We found that we could indeed make scary ghost sounds with a fun, simple physics activity! You probably have all of the supplies you need around the house too!
How to Make Spooky Ghost Sounds
Squeeze the hex nut through the mouth of the balloon. Make sure that the hex nut falls into the balloon so that there is no danger of the hex nut being sucked out while you are blowing up the balloon.
Blow up the balloon. Make sure your balloon isn’t too full otherwise it will pop easily. Tie off the balloon and draw a spooky ghost face on your balloon!
Hold the balloon in your palm with your fingers and thumb going down the sides.
Swirl the balloon in a circular motion. The hex nut will bounce around at first, but it will begin to roll along the inside of the balloon after a few tries.
Once you get the hex nut spinning around the inside of the balloon, use your other hand to hold the balloon still. The hex nut will continue to spin for about 10 seconds.
Check out this video to see the spooky ghost sounds that you’ll hear!
All of my kids (even my 3yr old!) and I tried this activity and it was super fun!
We popped two balloons during the activity because of the heat that builds up as the hex nut is spinning inside the balloon, but it’s always fun to see science in action!
The Science Behind this Spooky Ghost Sounds STEM Activity!
The hex nut follows a circle inside of the balloon. This is due to centripetal force, the inward, center-seeking force on a body that causes it to move in a circular path.
The different sides of a hex nut cause it to bounce and vibrate along its path inside the balloon. This is what makes the screaming ghost sound.
If you spin your balloon too much, the hex nut will create heat inside of the balloon (due to friction!) and your balloon will ultimately pop!
Clean up all of the pieces of your balloon and try the experiment again! You can also try blowing up different sized balloons to see if it makes a different sound or use small objects, like marbles, to see the effect that the different objects have on the sound produced!
You can experiment more with centripetal force by looping a string through the hex nut and spinning around.
Make sure to find a wide, open space to swing your string and tie your string ends tightly before you begin.
Once you start spinning, you’ll feel the force of tension on the rope that pulls the hex nut toward you in the center. How neat is that!?
How to Make Spooky Ghost Sounds
Spooky Ghost Sounds Halloween STEM Activity for Kids
Tools
- Sharpie
Instructions
- Squeeze the hex nut through the mouth of the balloon. Make sure that the hex nut falls into the balloon so that there is no danger of the hex nut being sucked out while you are blowing up the balloon.
- Blow up the balloon. Make sure your balloon isn't too full otherwise it will pop easily. Tie off the balloon and draw a spooky ghost face on your balloon!
- Hold the balloon in your palm with your fingers and thumb going down the sides.
- Swirl the balloon in a circular motion. The hex nut will bounce around at first, but it will begin to roll along the inside of the balloon after a few tries.
- Once you get the hex nut spinning around the inside of the balloon, use your other hand to hold the balloon still. The hex nut will continue to spin for about 10 seconds. Check out this video to see the spooky ghost sounds that you'll hear!
Notes
The hex nut follows a circle inside of the balloon. This is due to centripetal force, the inward, center-seeking force on a body that causes it to move in a circular path.
The different sides of a hex nut cause it to bounce and vibrate along its path inside the balloon. This is what makes the screaming ghost sound.
If you spin your balloon too much, the hex nut will create heat inside of the balloon (due to friction!) and your balloon will ultimately pop! Clean up all of the pieces of your balloon and try the experiment again!
You can also try blowing up different sized balloons to see if it makes a different sound or use small objects, like marbles, to see the effect that the different objects have on the sound produced!
You can experiment more with centripetal force by looping a string through the hex nut and spinning around.
Make sure to find a wide, open space to swing your string and tie your string ends tightly before you begin.
Once you start spinning, you'll feel the force of tension on the rope that pulls the hex nut toward you in the center. How neat is that!?
Rock the STEAM Community Initiative
This activity was used as part of our Rock the STEAM community initiative. The Rock the STEAM Team is dedicated to providing free monthly STEAM activities to families in local towns. We decided to kick off our STEAM dream in our own town of Stoughton, Wisconsin.
We challenge our readers and schools that visit our site to reach out to the community and use our free activities to spread STEAM learning opportunities to kids that might not have access to these materials or lessons. To make it easy, you can print lessons from our website that we’ve used for our Rock the STEAM initiative.
You can also print this activity for your own use as well!
We do not give permission for this activity to be sold or used for commercial purposes.
Ghost Town at Sundown
For older kids, this spooky ghost sounds activity is part of our Magic Tree House book activity series based on the Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne.
This activity is a great way to pair a STEAM concept with book number ten, Ghost Town at Sundown.
FIND MORE MAGIC TREE HOUSE ACTIVITIES
- Learn the Science of Mummification with Apple Mummies
- Can You Build a Working Drawbridge? Castle STEAM Challenge
- Deciphering Dinosaur Names with Greek and Latin Words
- Rocket Ship Decomposition Unplugged Coding Activity
Find some more Halloween STEAM Activities for Kids!
- 13 Nights of Halloween STEAM Activities!
- How to Make a Crayon Resist Art Project for Halloween
- Learn about Static Electricity with this Zombie Crossing Activity!
- Exploding Pumpkin STEAM Challenge
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THIS GHOST SOUNDS PHYSICS ACTIVITY!
More Magic Tree House Activities
Find more Magic Tree House book activities!
Dinosaurs Before Dark
Have you ever wondered why dinosaurs are named the way they are? Scientists use greek and latin words and word parts to describe animals, plants, and more including dinosaurs.
This Magic Tree House activity explores dinosaur names by breaking them down into the latin and greek words that are used to form them.
The Knight at Dawn
Castle STEAM Challenge - This castle STEAM challenge pairs art and engineering to challenge kids to make a working drawbridge for a castle!
Mummies in the Morning
Learn the Science of Mummification with Apple Mummies - Learn about mummification by making apple mummies with the Ancient Egypt science experiment and explore the Magic Tree House Mummies in the Morning book!
Pirates Past Noon
Ahoy Algorithms Treasure Hunt Unplugged Coding Activity - Pair this pirate algorithm activity with the Magic Tree House!
Use your coding skills to find the treasure in this treasure hunt unplugged coding activity!
Night of the Ninjas
Balance Ninja STEAM Challenge - This balancing ninja activity is designed to help kids understand what the center of mass is and encourage critical thinking to solve the ninja’s balancing problem.
Afternoon on the Amazon
Layers of the Rainforest Unplugged Coding Activity - Explore the layers of the rainforest and code the correct animals to each layer using logical reasoning!
Sunset of the Sabertooth
Stone Age STEAM Challenge - Learn about Stone Age tools, animals, and people by downloading this free Stone Age STEAM challenge cards activity!
Midnight on the Moon
Rocket Ship Decomposition Unplugged Coding Activity - This rocket ship decomposition unplugged coding activity is designed to teach kids the concept of decompositions and algorithms!
Lions at Lunchtime
How to Code a Lion - Can you follow the algorithm and draw a lion in this directed drawing unplugged coding + art activity?
Vacation Under the Volcano
How to Code a Volcano - Learn about variables, sequences, algorithms, and loops and code a volcano! Learn how to communicate with a robot with clear steps and commands.
Day of the Dragon King
Learn about dragon curve fractals and how to make dragon curve fractal art with this awesome STEAM activity!
Meet Toni, the Maker Mom behind Our Family Code
Hey there, I’m Toni! I’m a software engineer and Maker Mom that finds my joy in unleashing my children’s curiosity by exploring STEAM concepts with my fantastic five!
When I’m not chasing toddlers or raising tweens, you can find me tearing things up and putting them back together over here at Our Family Code.
I am the owner and content creator of multiple educational websites designed to increase access to STEAM & STEM education with a focus on teaching computer science and coding to kids of all ages!
You can also find out more about me by visiting ToniGardner.com!
