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In this blog post, I curated 12 captivating Winter STEM activities to keep your curious minds busy. These activities are a great addition to your curriculum to blend the wonders of the winter season with hand on educational activities. By incorporating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into winter-themed projects, children and adults alike can discover the beauty of STEM while having fun and staying engaged during the colder months.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. These fields are all about exploring, creating, and solving problems. Science helps us understand the natural world, technology involves using tools and machines, engineering is about designing and building things, and mathematics helps us with numbers and patterns. Together, STEM helps us make new discoveries, develop cool gadgets, build impressive structures, and find solutions to our challenges.
Sugar Cube Castles – A Winter STEM Activity
Get ready for a flurry of fun as we transform ordinary ingredients into colourful sugar cube castles with this whimsically sweet STEAM project, perfect for little hands and curious minds to create a winter wonderland right in your kitchen.
Materials
- Sugar cubes
- A tray
- Craft glue
- Fairy lights
- play dough or paper
- Paper plates
Read
Painting with Snow – Easy STEM Activity
Painting with snow can be a fun way to experiment with the white stuff that comes our way each winter. Here is how to do it!
Materials
- Snow (collect in a large bowl from outdoors)
- Food colouring
- Paint brushes
- White card stock
Magic Ices Stencil Painting
Try these ice stencils using salt, ice and watercolours for a fun STEM art activity.
Materials
- Tray of water (frozen solid)
- Salt
- Wax paper stencil (we cut ours into paper snowflakes)
- Watercolour paints
- Paintbrush
Creating the Perfect Frozen Bubble
Do you know all the tricks to make the perfect frozen bubble? Learn the engineering and science behind making these magically beautiful frozen orbs.
Materials
Bowl and spoon
200 mL warm water
2.5 Tbsp corn syrup (for thickness)
2 tablespoons sugar (for crystallization)
2.5 Tbsp dish soap (for bubble formation)
1 straw
1 water or pop bottle
modelling clay or playdough
A day that is cold with no wind
Melting Snowman Oobleck Challenge
This Melting Snowman Oobleck Activity is a fun Winter STEM project exploring non-Newtonian Fluids and sensory play.
Materials
- Snow to Create Your Snowman
- Googly Eyes
- Felt Scarf
- Carrot for the Nose
- Black Beads for the Mouth
- Buttons
- Sticks
- Bowl or Container (To set snowman in as it melts)
Melting Snowman Easy Science Experiment
What happens to snow when it melts? Children will love watching as their mini snowman melts and turns into water and then disappears. This easy science experiment is a perfect winter STEM activity.
Printable Thaumatrope for Christmas
A lovely thaumatrope activity for Winter. Fill the snow globe with this optical illusion. Templates are available but students are also encouraged to create their own designs.
Materials
- Printables
- Pens
- Glue Sticks
- Scissors
- String
Build a Structure with snowballs
Build a structure using snowballs! Styrofoam snowballs are perfect for this hands-on winter stem activity and challenge for kids.
Materials
- Styrofoam Balls (Different sizes and several for each child)
- Toothpicks
- Printable STEM Activity Card (optional)
Snowflake Crytal Solutions – A winter STEM activity
Beautiful snowflakes are made up of many tiny ice crystals that form in symmetric patterns. Ice isn’t the only thing that forms crystals, believe it or not, many common household substances are made of lovely crystals too. In this STEAM project (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) you can combine some chemistry, Earth science and math to make some beautiful snowflake art.
Animal Tracks in the Snow Math
If you live where it snows, you’ve probably spotted an animal track or footprint before. Even if you live where it is warm, you can sometimes see animal tracks in the mud, sand, or even dust. So if you don’t have snow, we will also give you some ideas on how to improvise for this study of animal tracks in the snow.
Instant Ice Science Experiment
This easy instant ice science experiment requires very few supplies but has a big impact. All you’ll have to do is pour liquid water and watch it magically turn into ice before your eyes!
Materials
- Bottled water
- Glass or ceramic bowl
- Plastic tray or shallow metal cookie sheet
- Ice cubes
- Freezer
- Curious kids
Grow your Crystal
This science experiment is my favourite kind! It’s low fuss with impressive results. If you do this activity in the afternoon, you’ll have plenty of time to grow crystals by the time you wake up in the morning. I love it when a STEM project is so easy and so much fun!
Conclusion
I hope these activities will spark your children’s curiosity and foster critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and teamwork. So bundle up, gather your materials, and embark on these exciting STEM adventures that will warm your heart and ignite a lifelong passion for discovery and innovation. Let the winter wonderland become your laboratory and let STEM light up your winter with knowledge and creativity.