Summer STEM Activities: Blocks in a Kiddie Pool

We love summer STEM activities! Engineering with blocks in a kiddie pool is a fun way to add STEM play and learning to a normal summer activity.

A summer STEM activity that encourages preschoolers to engineer with blocks in the pool.

This week we are joining up with a few other bloggers to bring you summer STEM activities your kids will love! If you don’t know what STEM stands for, it is science, technology, engineering and math. Each of us has taken a letter from the STEM acronym and developed a summer activity to represent that aspect of STEM learning. My activity is focused on engineering. Links to the rest of the activities can be found at the end of my post.

Evan had so much fun building with blocks and shaving cream, so I decided to think of other unique ways he could play with blocks.

This could not be more simple, but it is super effective. Evan spent a long time building and engineering structures simply because it was a unique and interesting way to use a common toy he’s played with so many times before.

He didn’t know it, but he was developing critical thinking skills and learning about engineering while playing and having fun in the pool. That’s why I love providing my kids with playful learning opportunities!

Supplies Needed:

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  • Kiddie pool
  • Plastic or foam blocks (we used Mega Bloks) (affiliate link)

Fill the kiddie pool with some water and dump the blocks in. *Tip: Add less water to the pool if you want the structures to be able to stand up. I actually had to let some water out of the pool because everything he built kept floating.

Summer STEM Activity with Blocks

I showed Evan the pool full of blocks and he was thrilled. He thought it was really neat that I put his blocks in the pool. He jumped right in and started building.

Blocks in the kiddie pool!

He built towers and buildings. The next project was a bridge that went over the water. Then he decided to build boats. Perfect idea for the pool! There are so many new ways to build when you add water to the mix. It inspired him with new ideas and prompted him to create things he had never created before.

Summer STEM activity for kids in the kiddie pool.

Summer STEM engineering activity for kids.

It also inspired me to find new places for him to play with old toys. What might he do with cars in the mud or dinosaurs in the water table?

Check out all of the other summer STEM activities below!

5 Ways to Learn Patterns Outside from Bambini Travel

Kids, Screens, and Summertime from Planet Smarty Pants

Summer Sink or Float Fun from Crafty Kids at Home