There are an abundance of holiday themed crafts that can be found on the internet, and while a lot of them are very fun, most aren’t also educational.
We’ve created a list of 6 scientific holiday crafts that are perfect for your preschool-aged child. Even if they haven’t tried their hand at any STEM activities before, this is a great opportunity for them to learn more and broaden their horizons!
1. Mini Christmas Santa Eruptions
Materials:
-Small clear cups
-Vinegar
-Baking Soda
-Food Coloring
-Glitter
-Tray
-Bowl
-Baster
Directions:
1. Place your plastic cups on the tray (as many as you’d like) and fill each with ½ tlbs. of baking soda
2. Next, add some food coloring and glitter to your heart’s desire!
3. In your bowl, pour some vinegar, and using the baster, drop some into the baking soda cups.
4. Feast your eyes on your own little holiday eruptions! (It can be quite messy so make sure there’s nothing in your space that could get messed up).
2. Make Peppermint Oobleck
Materials:
-Cornstarch
-Water
-Peppermints
-Tweezer
-Cookie Sheet
Directions:
1. Combine ½ cup of water and 1 cup of Cornstarch.
2. Pour the mixture onto your cookie sheet.
3. Add the peppermints (and any additional decorations you want!)
4. Use the tweezers to help add in goodies and/or to play with the oobleck! Be wary, it’s very sticky!
3. Grow Your Own Christmas Tree
Materials:
-A small amount of grass seed
-A kitchen sponge cut into the shape of a tree
-Water bottle
Directions:
1. First, soak the sponge in water.
2. Cover the sponge thoroughly with the grass seeds.
3. Spray the seeds with water to make sure they’re properly wet.
4. Continue to spray the sponge every day, about 1x/day.
5. After roughly 2.5 weeks, the grass will have noticeably started to grow.
6. After about 3.5 weeks, the grass should have completely grown and you may even need to trim it! Admire your own miniature Christmas tree!
4. Creating An Ice Lantern
Materials:
-Large plastic cup
-Small plastic cup
-Decorations (glitter, beads, tinsel)
-Food Coloring
-Tape
-Water
-Access to a freezer
-Battery operated candle
Directions:
1. Around the outside of the small cup, tape your decorations in whatever design you’d like!
2. Then, place the smaller cup inside of the larger cup. Tape it securely so that both cups are flush with the other.
3. Slowly add water to the gap between the cups (inside of the larger cup). You may also need to put a small weight/stone in the smaller cup so that it doesn’t keep floating up.
4. Fill with water until it’s fairly close to the top, and then add in some food coloring.
5. Put your creation in the freezer for about 5 hours, or until completely frozen.
6. Once removed from the freezer, remove both cups (you might have to cut/peel them off)
7. Place your battery operated candle inside and show off your very own ice lantern!
5. Dancing Jingle Bells
Materials:
-Jingle Bells
-Clear glass container
-Room temperature carbonated soda (Sprite, or a lightly colored drink will work best)
Directions:
1. Place your jingle bells in the container
2. Pour the room-temperature soda in (until most of the glass is full)
3. Watch (and listen!) as your bells start to dance and ring!
6. Make A Fizzy Christmas Painting
Materials:
-Green Paint
-Paintbrushes
-Vinegar
-Cup
-Paper cutout of a Christmas tree
-Baster
Directions:
1. Paint your christmas tree cutout with the green paint.
2. Taking the baster, put a few drops of vinegar directly onto the tree.
3. The paint will begin to react with the vinegar and fizz!
4. You can add as much vinegar as you want to keep the experiment going!
Looking for more ways to stay active with your little one this winter? Check out these classes for more fun with STEM, and try a family experience that will get everyone involved, here!
