Science Party Ideas & Printables

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I’ve got some awesome, easy and affordable science party ideas for you today for the nerdy kid in your life! Just kidding, the really cool thing is I’m pretty sure all kids would LOVE a party like this! And I’m here to make it super simple for you. I think I’ve got everything you need in fact. Right here, in this very post. No need to go clicking all over the place. You’re welcome, friend!

Science party ideas, games, food, decoration and more! Pin Me!

Science Party Invitation

I was a bit giddy with how these invitations turned out when I finished designing them. Because the name is personalized with periodic table elements I can’t really provide a free template, but I am happy to make one for you ($10 payable via paypal or venmo). Just email the details to partylikeacherry@gmail.com and you will receive a digital JPG file you can have printed wherever you print your photos.

5X7 Science Party Invitation, email partylikeacherry@gmail.com to order

I usually just print them at Walmart (budget option) or Basic Invite (high quality option) as 5X7 cards. The Basic Invite cards are really beautiful and you can use code partylikeacherry for a discount!

DIY Science Party Decorations

Wall Sized Periodic Table

DIY wall sized periodic table

My first idea for decorating for the science party was a ginormous wall sized periodic table. I did a lot of brainstorming because, as usual, I was trying to do this all as cheaply as possible. We could print out posters for each element but that would have been very pricy.

I ended up just printing 8X8 elements (so I could use my home computer) and mounting them on 10X10 squares of black construction paper (which I cut from some 12X18 sheets I had).

Science Party Decorations

In the middle of the Periodic Table I put the birthday boys name written with elements (like on the invitation). I did those in a different color and font than the rest of the elements so it would pop more. I used sticky tack to hang them each up on the wall. I ended up doing 5 rows, and then the Hydrogen and Helium in the top corners with the balloon garland in the middle.

I made a smaller version of this that says “happy birthday” that is available in my Science Party Bundle.

Science Party Bundle
This science party printable bundle will help you bring your party to life! Includes periodic table happy birthday banner, cupcake toppers, blank invitation (you can add text in canva), and generic lab coat badges. If you'd like items personalized you can purchase the custom party bundle.

DIY Beakers

The beakers were so much fun to make! I cut them free hand out of some black craft paper. Then I just used regular elmers glue to glue on some green scrunched up tissue paper. Finally I added the clear balloons to make it look like it was bubbling over.

Make these awesome science beakers with some tissue paper, craft paper and balloons for a big wow factor! Great for parties or science night at school.

If you’ve never done a balloon garland, the key is to use garland tape. Then you just stick your balloons in and they stay together in a nice shape. I used 3M hooks and U Glue dashes to hang it on the wall and have it keep its shape.

Science Party Tablescape

Science Party Tablescape

Tablescapes are so fun for me! Dreaming up the place settings and centerpieces is the stuff that occupies my mind in school pick up lines and grocery store check outs. I have never bought a party pack before but actually bought a science party pack from Oriental Trading because it had a lot of elements that I was looking at individually. That is where the tablecloth, plates, napkins and favor boxes came from.

Science Party place setting

I was able to borrow the beakers and test tubes from a local science teacher and the blue liquid is sugar free powerade (I thought it had a better color to it than the regular powerade).

Use beakers instead of cups for your science party tablescape
(just wash them really well first!)

Each place setting also had a petri dish (that I ordered from amazon) with Jell-O and gummy worms inside. I learned it works better if you put the two gummy worms in first, than slowly pour the jello into each dish. The kids devoured them!

Fill petri dishes with gummy worms and jello for a fun snack at a science party

I used the favor boxes at each place setting as a way to indicate who was sitting where. I didn’t get a photo of the contents! But inside I had: silicon periodic table bracelets, candies, a calculator (cheap $1.50 ones from walmart), sticky note pads, a dropper (they came with the petri dishes and I didn’t need them so I threw them in), and a balloon with the helium periodic table element on it (I had left over colors I didn’t want to use in my garland so I put them in the favor boxes).

Science Party favor boxes

Attached to each favor box was their personalized security clearance ID badge. I can personalize these for your party: Digital file is $10 (up to 20 names) or you can purchase the generic version in my science party bundle.

Science Party Personalized ID Badges, email partylikeacherry@gmail.com to order

I punched holes in the top and used these retractable ID badge holders to clip them onto their lab coats. The kids thought the retractable badge holders were pretty nifty.

Look for mens white button down shirts at your thrift store to repurpose as lab coats!

Speaking of the lab coats, I got mens white button down short sleeved shirts from the thrift store and used my cricut to add the Jackson Labs logo. You can order lab coats like these from amazon, but I was trying to find a cheaper route. I got lucky and found 4 identical mens dickies work shirts at our thrift store. I can design a logo with your child’s name and send you precut heat transfer vinyl that you just iron on. If interested send me an email partylikeacherry@gmail.com. I hung their lab coats and safety goggles on the back of their chairs.

The centerpieces were my pride and joy. Birthday boy requested cake pops. So I made it my mission to make the cake pops into something science related. In the end we got these, which I think look a bit like molecules, what do you think?

A fun way to display cake pops as a centerpiece!

To assemble them I used floral foam as a base, wrapped it in orange tissue paper, then stuck the cake pops in (alternating 4inch lollipop sticks and 6 inch lollipop sticks). Last, I connected each cake pop with a toothpick to make it look like a molecule. I used Sally’s Baking Addiction cake pop recipe. They were sure delicious!

Turn cake pops into molecules for a science party!

I learned (after the fact) that you can thin the candy melts with coconut oil. The green chocolate was really thick which made dipping the cake pops difficult. I guess I know for next time! Also I had extra beakers, and looking back I wish I had filled those beaker with mike & ikes (like I did with a test tube on the dessert table) and put one between each block of cake pops. Ah well! There’s always something I wish I had done differently.

Science party ideas

Science Party Dessert Table

These fun periodic cupcake toppers are available in my science party bundle as well!
Science Party Bundle
This science party printable bundle will help you bring your party to life! Includes periodic table happy birthday banner, cupcake toppers, blank invitation (you can add text in canva), and generic lab coat badges. If you'd like items personalized you can purchase the custom party bundle.

The dessert table featured a microscope with a jello petri dish under it, beakers full of jello, a gian test tube full of mike & ikes (I was able to borrow the beakers and test tubes from a local science teacher), and periodic table cupcakes!

Science party cupcake stand

The fun cupcake stand is actually meant to hold little cones full of treats, but I just stuck the cupcakes on top of those holes. And I’ve made the cupcake toppers available as a free printable! If you’d also like your child’s name personalized as a cupcake topper, just email me at partylikeacherry@gmail.com ($7 digital file).

science party cupcakes

We had a microscope, and actually one of the activities was to look at some neat things under it, but we didn’t get to it! I think they would have gotten a kick out of the rocks and organisms we had to inspect. But at least it made for good decoration ;).

Microscope makes for good decorations at a science party

The tablecloth is an emergency blanket I reused from our space party.

Science party dessert table ideas

I used the left over jello from the petri dishes to pour into these science measuring glasses, and then stuck a stirring stick in.

Fun Science Party Activities

I had a few activities and experiments planned for our little scienctists:

Make Your Own Fluffy Slime

This was recommended to me by the science teacher as one of the kids “all time favorites.” To do this activity you need:

  • 2/3 cup white glue (I just had each kid dump a whole bottle in)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2-3 cups shaving cream (just the cheap stuff)
  • Food coloring

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons of contact solution and mix with a spoon vigorously until thickens. Once it gets really thick and you can pick it up, work it with your hands for another 5-10 minutes. Store in a Ziploc bag.

Make your own fluffy slime for a fun science experiment

I didn’t try this experiment ahead of time and when we first started mixing the ingredients and nothing was really happening I got worried! But stir it long enough and it indeed turns into something quite fun to play with! The kids loved it.

Little scientists hard at work

I definitely recommend doing it outside, I also got big aluminum tins for them to each do their experiment in to reduce mess. And stir, stir, stir! Vigorously!

Use aluminum tins at each work space

Learn about Matter!

You guys, I had to watch a lot of crappy videos before I found this one that I thought would hold the kids interest and did a really good job explaining the fundamentals of atoms, matter and elements. After watching the video and talking about it a bit we did our own demonstration of how elements can react to each other with the Tie Dye milk experiment. This is a quick one, has a big wow factor, and uses materials you probably already have on hand so its a good one!

Tie Dye Milk experiment

We also tried the cereal and iron experiment from the video, but that did not work out too well. Maybe we didn’t have a strong enough magnet?

Watch Flubber

Finally, we watched the Movie Flubber. We were going to make ball and stick molecule models out of grapes and toothpicks, like this and also look at things under the microscope. But they got busy playing so we just left it at that. Hopefully that gives you some good ideas to get started planning your activities!

Science Party Shopping List- Awesome Finds!

Free Printables

I’ve got a few free printables for you below, but if you’d like to purchase the entire bundle you can add to cart with the button below. Thanks so much for your support!

Science Party Bundle
This science party printable bundle will help you bring your party to life! Includes periodic table happy birthday banner, cupcake toppers, blank invitation (you can add text in canva), and generic lab coat badges. If you'd like items personalized you can purchase the custom party bundle.
Free printable science cupcake toppers

Click on the images to download these cupcake toppers. I mounted them on black cardstock and a toothpick.

Make sure you’re following along on Instagram to see all my party prep in real time! And feel free to send me a DM!

4 thoughts on “Science Party Ideas & Printables

  1. Beautiful! This looks like a really fun party! Thanks for all of the helpful ideas and tips. I am planning to order some products from you for my daughter’s 8th birthday party!

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