Pumpkin Activities

There are a lot of ways to use, and reuse, pumpkins to celebrate Halloween this year. Carve a nature-inspired spooky scene using one of our stencils, make a pumpkin bird feeder, run a pumpkin experiment, or try something new!

Carve a Nature-Inspired Pumpkin

Print out these stencils and use them to add fun, creative designs to your pumpkin carving.

Make a Pumpkin Bird Feeder

A carved pumpkin makes a great bird feeder. These step-by-step instructions will show you how to build your very own pumpkin bird feeder.

Materials

• One leftover pumpkin
• Wooden barbeque skewers
• Garden twine
• Birdseed

Instructions

1. Cut a pumpkin into the shape of a shallow bowl.
2. Stick three or four barbeque skewers through the pumpkin shell. The skewers should go through as much pumpkin flesh as possible so they don’t wiggle. Leave one or two inches of one end of each skewer sticking out of the pumpkin.
3. Tie a piece of twine to each one of the skewers. Take the opposite ends of the twine and tie them together to make a hanger.
4. Hang the pumpkin birdfeeder outside. Put one or two handfuls of birdseed inside the bowl.
5. Watch the feeder to see who comes to visit!
6. When the bowl is empty, or after three or four days have passed, toss what’s left of your birdfeeder into the compost.

Run a Pumpkin Experiment

Pumpkins can be pretty heavy. Do you think pumpkins float or sink in water? Try this fun experiment to find out!

Materials

• Several pumpkins of different sizes
• One jack o' lantern or carved pumpkin
• Bathtub
• Towels to keep the floor dry

Instructions

1. Fill your bathtub with water.
2. Gather a few pumpkins of various sizes and weights. For each pumpkin, make a prediction—will it float or sink?
3. Gently place the pumpkins in the water and see what happens. Was your prediction correct? Why do you think the pumpkins floated or sank?
4. Now try the experiment again with a jack o’ lantern or carved pumpkin. Make your prediction—will it float or sink? Was your prediction correct? Is this the same or different from what the whole pumpkins did? Why or why not?