Water is the best way to beat the heat! Grab beach towels and sunscreen, fill up the water balloons, and roll out the hose. Here are the best 50+ water activities to get kids—from toddlers to teens—learning and having fun in the summer sun.
Housing a Forest
1. Turn a plastic bottle into a sprinkler
No sprinkler? No problem! Upcycle a plastic water bottle and use your DIY sprinkler for all kinds of water activities.
Grab the sidewalk chalk and plant a garden of colorful alphabet flowers. Then fill a watering can and “water” the flowers, calling out the letters along the way.
A sealed plastic bag is the perfect environment for re-creating the water cycle. Hang it in a sunny window and watch evaporation, condensation, and precipitation in action.
Water balloons are fun, but they’re wasteful and messy too. These reusable “water bombs” are cheap, easy to make, and can be used for water activities over and over again.
Brush up on your engineering skills and assemble a water wheel with paper plates and cups. Try it out in the sink, or take it outside and use a hose instead.
This trendy toy is all over the web, but there’s no need to spend big bucks to buy one. Instead, get some plastic sheeting and a hose and make your own.
STEM water activities are fun, educational, and perfect for summertime exploration! Scoop up water from a creek or lake, then see how different types of filtration work.
Add a new twist to the classic game of tag! The kid who’s “It” gets the water bottle and chases the others down. If you’re hit by the spray, it’s your turn to be “It”!
Save bottle caps and paint letters on them. Then mix them all up in a big bowl of “soup” and let kids have fun scooping them out with spoons, ladles, or other tools.
This is one of those STEM water activities that you simply have to see to believe. Pierce a water-filled bag again and again without spilling a drop of water!
This colorful, tuneful activity is sure to be a hit with kids of all ages. Experiment with different water depths and mallet styles to make all kinds of beautiful music.
It’s so much fun to turn classic games into water activities. In this take on Duck, Duck, Goose, the tagged person gets a good splash of water before they run.
Take a nature stroll on a sunny day and pick up a variety of objects. Then bring them home and find out which ones float and which sink. Some of the results may surprise you!
You don’t need a pool to get wet with these noodles! Tape them together and poke some holes, then connect them to a hose for the coolest sprinkler around.
How clever is this? Write letters on sponges and float them in the pool. Kids swim out and grab letters, then bring them back to spell the best word they can.
Attach pool noodles to a pegboard using zip ties, then pour water to see where it lands. Simple water activities like this one can keep kids busy for hours!
Toddlers and big kids love playing with water and jugs. Set up a pouring station and let them go to town pouring and mixing. Add food coloring to turn this into an art activity.
Ice cubes, a bowl, and tongs are the only things you’ll need for this activity. It seems simple, but sometimes simple is all kids need (and ice cubes, of course).
Use all the materials you have—hoses, sprinklers, buckets, and more—to create a water obstacle course. Even better, have the kids set it up and manage how they move through it.
Get out all the painting materials and let kids go to town painting the patio, driveway, bricks, etc. By the time they’ve finished painting one area, they can go back and start again on the areas that have dried.
This is a great way to maximize outdoor play or a sandbox. Use foil to create a river and use whatever you find in the backyard to create obstacles, bridges, and other features.
