Christmas Science Experiments: 5 Minute Holiday STEM Activities

Christmas Science Experiments: 5 Minute Holiday STEM Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers.

Christmas science time!  Oh yes, it is worth fitting in these fun learning activities into the busy holiday season.  (They will help keep the magic alivemagic alive!)

When your kids are home from school, you can set them up with these fun STEM projects and enjoy!  STEM doesn’t have to be too messy, too hard, or take too long.

I have 5 activities for you that can be set up in less than five minutes.  Oh, and they are a ton of fun!

Here are 5 five minute Christmas science activities to share some holiday science with your kids.

Christmas Science Experiments

We’re going to do 5 simple Christmas STEM activities here.

1. Snowball Shooter: A fun way to launch snowballs inside
2. 2 Ingredient Snow: Sensory winter fun
3. Candy Cane Color Spread: Watch the magic
4. Ornament Weight Distribution: Compare and contrast
5. Will The Grinch’s Heart Grow? Blow up a balloon without your mouth

Christmas STEM Activities

Snowball Shooter

Throwing snowballs is a ton of fun, but sadly isn’t something we want to do indoors.  Instead, try shooting tiny ‘snowballs’ with this marshmallow shooter!

You Need:

1. 5 craft sticks
2. Rubber bans
3. Plastic spoon
4. Marshmallows (snowballs)

To Do:

Take three craft sticks, bundle them, and wrap rubber bands around each end to hold them together.

Take two more craft sticks and put them together with a rubber band around one end.  Then put the first bundle between those two sticks.

Take one another rubber band and wrap it around the point where the sticks all meet to hold them in place.  Then place the spoon (or spork, use what you have) along the top stick and rubber band or glue that into place.

 

Now you take a marshmallow, load it onto the spoon, and pull the spoon back.  Then let it fly!

When the spoon is pulled back it contains potential energy.  Once you let the spoon fly it is converted to kinetic energy!

Try seeing how far you can shoot the marshmallows.  Or put up a target and practice aiming.  This is all physics in action.

If you want more to wow your kids, try making these crystal ornaments—> Homemade Crystal Ornaments

2-Ingredient Fake Snow

We don’t get a lot of snow where we live.  But even when we did get snow, sometimes your kids want to play in it and you don’t want to be out in the cold.  In those cases, you can make your own!

(You might recognize this from the sensory STEM post.  Check it out for even more sensory activities—>Sensory STEM for Toddlers and Preschoolers)

You Need:

1. Baking Soda
2. Hair conditioner (the cheap stuff works great)

To Make:

Mix 3 cups of baking soda with 1/2 cup of conditioner.  Use your hands to massage it all together and let your children play!

(I recommend using white conditioner to get the proper snow color, but any type will work.)

 

You might notice that the fake snow feels cold to the touch.  The reaction between the conditioner and baking soda is endothermic, which means it absorbs heat as a part of the reaction.

You can use this snow to make shapes, practice writing numbers and letters, and just have fun with the sensory experience.  We used a couple of cookie cutters to make shapes as well.

Candy Cane Color Spread

Candy canes are common around the holidays.  You can grab some and do some simple Christmas chemistry experiments.

You Need:

1. Candy Canes or Red and White Mints
2. Plate
3. Warm water

To Do:

Put a candy cane on a plate, or circle a plate with red and white mints.  Pour some warm water into the center of the plate, just enough to cover all the candy.

Now watch, as the color magically spreads!

It actually happens pretty quickly, which makes it great for short attention spans.

This is diffusion in action!  What is happening is that the sugar coating of the candy is dissolving, allowing the color to spread into the water.

If you have older children you can use a stopwatch and time how long the color takes to diffuse to the center of the plate.  Then try a different liquid, like milk, and compare which one had a faster rate.

And if you want to give it a more artistic flair, you can try the multi-colored candy canes, or change the arrangement on the plate to see different swirls of color.

Looking for more holiday color fun?  Try these easy marbled ornaments—> How To Make Easy Marbled Ornaments

 

Ornament Weight Comparison

Grab a hanger and some Christmas tree ornaments and you are ready to play with weights and balances!

You Need:

1. Hanger
2. Ornaments of various sizes and weights

To Do:

Put the hanger on a doorknob or hang it from some other surface your child can still reach.  Then put different ornaments on each end to see which is heavier.

You can compare and contrast different sizes, different shapes, and anything else you can think of.  Try seeing if you can find two of the same weight.

To take this up a notch, move one ornament from the end of the hanger closer to the middle.  How does that impact the balance?  Does the opposing ornament need to be heavier or lighter to get the hanger level again?

This is a great one your child can do on their own as well.  Let your kids have some freedom to explore!

Grow the Grinch’s Heart

Christmas movies are a big part of our holiday season.  The Grinch is a classic.  Remember how his heart grew three sizes at the end?  Well, you can do that at home.

You Need:

1. Green balloon
2. Marker
3. Empty water bottle
4. Baking soda
5. White vinegar

To Do:

Take a green balloon and draw a heart on it.  This is the Grinch’s heart.  Pretty small, huh.  We’ll fix that.

Take the empty water bottle and put a tablespoon or two of baking soda into the water bottle.  Now, quickly add about a 1/4 cup vinegar (a funnel helps), and put the balloon over the top of the bottle.  (It helps to prestretch the balloon a bit.)

The reaction will cause the balloon to fill with gas, making the heart grow!

This is a great example of a chemical reaction.  The baking soda and the vinegar combine to form carbon dioxide.

Once the reaction is complete you can dump out the contents and do it again!  The only thing is to be careful and err on the side of not putting a ton of vinegar in at first, as it can cause the reaction to boil over.

This is a great activity to talk about chemical reactions and states of matter.  Specifically, you can focus on the behaviors of gases.

 

All these projects can be put together in just a couple of minutes.  The fun lasts as long as your kids want it too! The holidays are a great time to add a themed twist to some simple science.

Remember the focus isn’t on perfection or even knowing all the answers to what is happening.  It is about asking questions and sparking that curiosity kids have naturally.

You just need to be willing to wonder.

If you are looking for more easy science, check out these posts! 

(And be sure to follow me on Facebook for new activities every week!)

Easy Preschool Science: Volume 1 {Marshmallow experiments, color mixing, dying celery}

Easy Preschool Science: Volume 2 {Make milk and vinegar plastic, an easy volcano, and lava lamp bottles}

Homemade Crystal Ornaments

Homemade Marbled Ornaments

 

 

Want more holiday activities? Try the 25 Days of Christmas STEM CHallenge!

All the ladies of the BFBN are posting about Christmas today.  Check them out!

Christine Keys: 7 Special Christmas Traditions You Need To Start With Your Family

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom: The Symbolism Behind Your Christmas Decorations

The Journey of Parenthood: How To Manage the Holidays

Let’s Be Brave: 110 Advent Calendar Activities

Mama’s Organized Chaos: Creative Gift Ideas For 3 Year Olds

Wiley Adventures: Christmas Gift Guide for 8-10 Year Old Girls