6 STEM-inspired Halloween costumes

Swap the crazy scientist vibe this Halloween for a more modern take on STEM.

It’s Halloween this week which generally means racking your brains for a costume that you can DIY on the cheap – and fast. But before you cut two eyes in an old sheet and call yourself a ghost, check out these genius STEM-inspired get-ups.

Unless of course, you’re the Snapchat ghost, in which case – carry on.

1. A constellation

Got a black tee and tights? Artfully attach a bunch of ping-pong balls to your clothes in the shape of your favourite constellation – think: Orion, Aquarius, The Southern Cross – and you’re basically a walking talking night sky.

 

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A post shared by Night Sky Network (@nightskynetwork) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:10am PDT

2. Error 404 code

If you’ve zero costume ideas and five minutes to get ready, being honest – and clever – could still make something pretty awesome this halloween! Grab a sharpie and write “Error 404″ Costume not found” on an old white t-shirt. Going as a universal error code is never a bad idea.

 

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A post shared by RachAel Klopfenstein (@theklopf) on Sep 5, 2015 at 12:33pm PDT

3. An emoji

With 3,178 emojis in the unicode standard choosing one to be can be tricky, but the fact that you can re-use your costume again and again is a major plus. Pink jumper + arms crossed = no girl, surprised girl, confused girl and hands-on-head girl.

 

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A post shared by Naomi (@naomi_yyz) on Oct 30, 2015 at 3:26pm PDT

4. A limestone deposit

If you’re into keeping people guessing, something clever and abstract could be the way to go. A lime. Stone. Deposit. Get it?! We’re confused, but impressed. Biologists take note.

 

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A post shared by tess williams (@localmidwife) on Feb 22, 2014 at 6:09am PST

5. PH Levels

Got mates who are into geeking out over clever science costumes as much as you? A creative take on a chemistry reference is always fun – PH levels, periodic elements or even molecular structures.

 

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A post shared by Stacey (@xstassy) on Oct 30, 2015 at 8:54am PDT

6. Lab equipment

If you’ve got a spare graduation robe and a life-size test tube laying around, you could totally win Halloween this year with a clever ode to the humble graduation cylinder.

 

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A post shared by Kelly (@kellycwong) on Oct 31, 2018 at 6:58pm PDT

Want to freak yourself out this Halloween? Check out these bizarre – and creepy – scientific studies. 

Author: Cassie Steel

As Refraction’s digital editor, Cassie Steel spends her days researching robots and stalking famous scientists on Twitter.