Looking for an educational Halloween costume? Look, it may not seem the most exciting, but these types of costumes can be really fun and creative. Do you have a Halloween costume contest at school? These subject-related costumes for Halloween could be great for that. They’re simple enough to make at home and creative enough to win any costume contest. Depending on your favorite class, here are some easy Halloween costumes to consider!
Costumes for STEM students
- Skeleton: Students in science courses, especially biology and anatomy, study various human systems. The skeletal system is the perfect Halloween costume. Maybe for extra credit, you could even label every bone.
- Bill Nye the Science Guy: Dress as everyone's favorite science hero with a simple blue lab coat and red bow tie.
- Mad scientist: It’s a classic for a reason. Use a plain white lab coat, a crazy-haired wig, and some test tube props to complete the look.
- Amelia Earhart: Find a leather jacket, scarf, boots, goggles, and maybe a cardboard airplane, and you’ll be flying high like the pilot herself.
- Outer space: This is perfect for a big friend group. Your costumes can include the sun, moon, and stars as well as all the planets.
- Robot: Everyone loves a cardboard robot costume. Use boxes, pipe cleaners, and paint for this creative STEM look. You could even take it to the next level with LED lights.
- Astronaut: Any orange or white jumpsuit with a NASA logo sticker works for this one.
Costumes for math lovers
- Pumpkin Pi: A pumpkin costume with the Pi symbol will do the trick for this punny costume! Make sure to memorize as many Pi digits as you can just to impress people.
- Calculator: Another simple cardboard-based costume that only requires you to add some numbers and operation signs. Carry a math textbook with you as well and solve some equations.
- Rubik's cube: Make this complex puzzle costume out of a cardboard box and some paint.
- Sudoku: Attach a poster board of a Sudoku puzzle to yourself for an unsolvable costume. You could even carry around some markers and have friends fill in numbers as the night goes on.
- Math symbols: Grab three friends and do a group costume as the four main mathematical symbols: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Related: How to Have the Best Halloween as a College Student
Costumes for history buffs
- Rosie the Riveter: Represent American women with a blue jumpsuit and red polka dot head wrap. We all know the poster! (Oh, and make sure to show off those biceps as often as possible.)
- Salem witch: All you need is a plain black Puritan dress, an oversized white bonnet, and a broomstick. Witches are a classic Halloween costume, but you can make it specific by adding a historical touch.
- Benjamin Franklin: A jacket, cravat, bifocal glasses, kite, fur hat, and a white wig will have you inventing all night.
- Cleopatra: This Egyptian costume is a classic and can be found at costume stores just about everywhere, so you don’t even have to worry about making it yourself.
- Queen Elizabeth: Thrift shop for a big ball gown, chemise, corset, stockings, neck ruff, and wrist ruff, then do your hair in an updo for this perfect Elizabethan costume.
- George Washington: A high collar Victorian shirt, regency coat, beige pants, beige vest, white hair wig, riding boots, and a tricorn hat is what you’ll need for this costume. You could even get some fake wooden teeth to really be historically accurate.
Costumes for bookworms
- Nancy Drew: Dress up as the iconic teen sleuth with a plaid skirt, headband, and polo T-shirt. For props, you’ll definitely need a book, cross-body bag, and magnifying glass.
- Arthur: A yellow sweater, blue jeans, big ears, a red backpack, and large glasses are all you need to dress up as the iconic cartoon character that taught us having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.
- Edgar Allan Poe: Dress up as the macabre American poet and author with a white button-down shirt, a chiffon scarf, a Victorian frock coat, black pants, black dress shoes, a fake mustache, a feather pen, and—of course—a stuffed raven.
- Sherlock Holmes: Love solving mysteries? Dress like Sherlock Holmes with a white dress shirt, black slacks, black dress shoes, a trench coat, a pipe, a magnifying glass, and a cap. And don’t forget to respond to questions with “Elementary, my dear Watson” at least a few times.
- Spelling Bee: Were you ever a spelling bee champion? Recreate that with a black and yellow striped shirt, wings, and antennae, then carry around some cut-out letters that spell your favorite vocab words.
Related: Creative and Cheap Halloween Costume Ideas You Can Pull Off Last Minute
Do you feel creatively inspired? Grab your friends and start working on your costume right away, because the spookiest day of the year is right around the corner! Whether it's treats or tricks, be sure to have a fun and safe Halloween!
Check out the “Halloween” tag for other great ways to celebrate our favorite spooky holiday, including more costume ideas, creepy campus ghost stories, festive decorations, and more…
