One of our favorite places to shop for STEAM project materials is the grocery store!

I know, the grocery store seems like an unlikely place to get materials for creative projects BUT besides the hardware store it is by far our go-to spot for buying supplies. In this post I will share our favorite supplies to pick up at the grocery store or add to your next online store order, as well as projects you can make with the materials.

If you’d like to take this list with you on your next trip to the store you can download and print the list below:

Please note:

• Click on the project titles below each list to be taken to the full project post.
• Some play recipes and art projects are included in this STEAM project list.
• Projects may also include additional supplies from around the house, typically simple art supplies or occasional materials from your junk drawer.
• I have mostly excluded project with specialty materials however I included a few projects with some materials that you may or may not have on hand.
• This post contains affiliate links.

Go-to grocery store supplies

must have items

These are our “have on hand at all time”s supplies. I try to stock up on large sizes of these as well to have handy in pinch.

Must-have items project list

These are some of the many projects you can make with the supplies above and a few extra art supplies from around your house:

1. How to Make Oobleck 
2. How to Make Playdough 
3. How to Make Cloud Dough
4. 3 Easy Homemade Paints for Kids
5. Wizard’s Brew (project #3)
6. Salty Rainbows
7. How To Make Ice Sculptures
8. Colored Ice Structures
9. Layered Liquids
10. Diffusion Art
11. Psychedelic Snowflakes
12. Straw Mobile
13. Tensile Bubbles 
14. Make an Earth Balancer
15. Skewer Structures
16. Pasta Suncatchers
17. Stained Glass Pasta
18. Watercolors and Oil
19. Ooey Gooey Art

Handy items to have

These are some additional items to pick up to experiment with! Borax can be found with laundry and cleaning supplies.

Handy Items Project Ideas List:

Here are projects you can make with the supplies above. Note: Lemon batteries do require a few specialty supplies.

1. How To Make A Lemon Volcano
2. How to Make a Lemon Battery
3. The Magic Milk Experiment
4. Marbled Milk Paper
5. Gelatin Streaking
6. How to Make Clear Slime
7. Lunch Bag Paper Stars
8. How To Make A Rubber Egg
9. DIY Bouncy Balls
10. How to Make a String Ball
11. Borax Crystals
12. Dancing Balloons
13. How to Make Elephant Toothpaste (need hydrogen peroxide)
14. Amortencia Love Potion
15. Kool Aid Playdough
16. Marshmallow Structures (from my book STEAM Play & Learn)

Pair bamboo skewers with large marshmallows to build structures. For best results take marshmallows out of the bag and let them harden overnight on a cookie sheet or tray.

Bonus items for extra fun

These are some great extra supplies to use in even more creative projects. Note: I realize rubbing alcohol is at a premium right now. Only use it if you have enough on hand.

*drop one of these in your density tower above and turn it into a lava lamp!

Bonus items project list

1. How to Grow Salt Crystals Overnight
2. Make DIY Paint Brushes
3. Toothpick Structures
4. How to Make Fizzy Dough
5. Frozen Goop
6. Chromatography for Kids
7. How to Do Sharpie Tie Dye
8. Shaving Cream Marbling (see project #10)
9. Mini Rockets
10. Color Mixing Lab (from my book STEAM Play & Learn) instructions below

Prep: Mix the food coloring with water in separate squeeze bottles to make the three primary colors. Fill a fourth squeeze bottle with uncolored water.

The Challenge: How many different colors can you mix?

Step by Step:

• Place the ice cube tray on a cookie sheet along with the colored water in squeeze bottles.
• Add different combinations and amounts of the primary colors to the ice cube tray compartments to create different colors.
• Add water to create different tints of colors. A tint is when you make a color lighter by adding white to it. When you add more clear water, you make the color less dark.

More

For another unusual place to buy project supplies try the hardware store! See our round up of hardware store art supplies here: