51 Splash-tastic Water Activities for Summertime Fun and Learning

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.

No sprinkler? No problem! Upcycle a plastic water bottle and use your DIY sprinkler for all kinds of water activities.

Get tutorial: Build Your Own Sprinkler

A slip-’n’-slide is always a hit in summer. Make your own with plastic sheeting and stakes to hold it in place for an afternoon of sliding.

Get tutorial: How To Make a Giant Slip and Slide

Buy it: Six-pack of pool noodles, plastic sheeting, and lawn stakes at Amazon

Fun Learning for Kids

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.

Get tutorial: Water the Flowers Alphabet Activity

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.

Get tutorial: The Water Cycle

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.

Get tutorial: How To Make a Sponge Bomb

Buy it: Sponges at Amazon

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.

Get tutorial: Water Wheel STEM Activity

Buy it: Paper cups and paper plates at Amazon

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.

Get tutorial: DIY Water Blob

Go fish! Float foam fish in a water table or kiddie pool. Add a paper clip to each one, and fish for them with a magnet on a string.

Get tutorial: Fishing for Numbers

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.

Get tutorial: Water Filtration Experiment

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”!

Get tutorial: Spray Bottle Freeze Tag

Buy it: Spray bottles at Amazon

A little shaving cream and food coloring are all you need to perform this popular water science experiment about clouds and rain. Simple and fun!

Get tutorial: How Clouds Make Rain

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.

Get tutorial: Simple Bottle Cap Soup Sensory Play

With a pool noodle and a fork for a sword, you can joust for water balloons! It’s lots of fun and good for hand-eye coordination too.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Jousting Game

Buy it: Six-pack of pool noodles and Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

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!

Get tutorial: Water in a Bag Pencil Experiment

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.

Get tutorial: Rainbow Water Xylophone

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.

Get tutorial: Duck, Duck, Splash

Set up letter targets, then toss water balloons marked with letter combinations to make words. Water activities can be a fun way to learn sight words.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Phonics

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

This mini terrarium is a cinch to put together, and kids will be amazed to see how well it replicates the water cycle.

Get tutorial: Hands-On Water Cycle Fun

Dangle water balloons from a clothesline, then swing at them with a bag or stick. Instead of candy, you’re rewarded with a cool splash!

Get tutorial: How To Make Water Balloon Piñatas

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

LEGO bricks are great on their own, but they also can be used for water activities. Use colorful bricks to build a dam, pool, or water course.

Get tutorial: LEGO STEM: Building Water Dams

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!

Get tutorial: Sink and Float Water Play

These water shooters are simple to put together, and kids will be amazed by how far they shoot. Set up targets and test your accuracy!

Get tutorial: PVC Pipe Water Shooter Toy

Buy it: 1.5” PVC pipe, 3/4“ PVC pipe, and six-pack of pool noodles at Amazon

Draw a giant target marked with numbers, then stand back and aim with water balloons. Add up the numbers kids manage to hit to see who can get the highest score!

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Number Target Practice

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

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.

Get tutorial: Ultimate Pool Noodle Sprinkler

Buy it: Six-pack of pool noodles at Amazon

Teams race to transfer water from one bucket to another using a sponge. Everyone is sure to get wet, and they’ll also have a blast!

Get tutorial: Fill the Bucket Water Game

What kid doesn’t love to play with bubbles? Fill a kiddie pool with them, and create a rainbow using liquid watercolor paints.

Get tutorial: Rainbow Bubbles

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.

Get tutorial: Swimming Pool Scrabble

Fill the pool with glow sticks to keep the water fun going after the sun goes down.

Get tutorial: Nighttime Pool Fun

Buy it: Glow sticks at Amazon

Under-fill a water balloon and turn it into a yo-yo! Of course, it won’t last forever, so be prepared to get a little wet.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Yo-Yos

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

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!

Get tutorial: Pool Noodle Water Wall

Buy it: Six-pack of pool noodles at Amazon

Design a car wash with sponges and pool noodles that kids can take their bikes through.

Get tutorial: Tricycle Car Wash

Buy it: Six-pack of pool noodles and sponges at Amazon

A collection of PVC pipes and connectors make totally fun real-life building toys. Add water for an even bigger impact.

Get tutorial: PVC Pipe Water Physics

Buy it: 1.5” PVC pipe at Amazon

Join the fireflies with a nighttime water balloon fight! Simply add a glow stick to each balloon before you tie it off.

Get tutorial: Glow-in-the-Dark Water Balloons

Buy it: Glow sticks and Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

Use a plastic bat or pool noodle and some water balloons to play a game of baseball … for as long as the water balloons last, that is.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Baseball

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

You may need to make sure the adults don’t take over this activity! Fill a trampoline with water balloons and hop till they’re all popped.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Splash

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

A baby pool, two supports, and a board are all you need to set up this pirate walk-the-plank activity. Add an inflatable crocodile for added suspense.

Get tutorial: Walk the Plank

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.

Get tutorial: Pouring Station 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).

Get tutorial: Ice Transfer

This activity that shows students how surface tension works using water droplets is a hit with kids of all ages.

Get tutorial: Surface Tension Water Drop Races

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 tutorial: Outdoor Water Obstacle Course

Ocean animals, sand, and water create a sensory bin that will keep your kid occupied for hours.

Get tutorial: Ocean Small World and Sensory Bin

Buy it: 60-piece ocean animal set at Amazon

This is another simple activity that kids love. Set up dishes and two bins for them to soap up and rinse, then dry them in the sun.

Get tutorial: Washing Dishes Sensory Bin

Turn the classic egg-and-spoon relay into a water activity using water balloons and wooden spoons.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Egg & Spoon Race

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

Freeze mini plastic dinosaurs in eggs and then chip away or smash them to get the dinos out.

Get tutorial: Frozen Dinosaur Eggs

Buy it: Miniature dinosaurs at Amazon

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.

Get tutorial: Painting With Water

Use golf balls, tees, and a water gun to set up alphabet target practice.

Get tutorial: Alphabet Target Practice With Water Guns

Buy it: Ping-Pong balls and water squirters at Amazon

See how powerful water can be by using it to race toy cars down the sidewalk.

Get tutorial: Car Race

Buy it: Water squirters at Amazon

Not just for the county fair, this game is fun for kids to set up and play with water balloons or wet sponges.

Get tutorial: Water Balloon Toss

Buy it: Bunch-o’-Balloons water balloons at Amazon

Use a sponge and a water balloon to create a boat that will really go!

Get tutorial: Balloon-Powered Sponge Boat

Set up an easel, fill squirt guns with colorful water, and go to town!

Get tutorial: Colorful Squirt Gun Painting

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.

Get tutorial: Make a River

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