Make a Snow Storm in a Jar

Here’s an easy STEM project for when it’s too cold to go outside, or if you don’t have any real snow where you live to play in.

This snowstorm in a jar activity is pretty low prep, and similar to making “lava lamps,” though with an extra fizzy ingredient. You might have all the materials you need to do this one already. If not a trip to the grocery store will get you everything you need.

There are several scientific things happening in this experiment that give you a chance to talk about density and chemical reactions, but I’ll leave that to the blog post where you can find the how to and the why, at Little Bins for Little Hands.

[Photo: Little Bins for Little Hands.]

Stick Raft Building STEM Activity

Egg Drop STEM Challenge

STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) provide numerous benefits for children. These activities can help kids develop a wide range of skills, including:

Problem-solving: STEAM activities often involve solving complex problems, which helps children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Creativity: The arts component of STEAM activities encourages children to think creatively and express themselves in unique ways.

Collaboration: Many STEAM activities require children to work in teams, which helps them develop teamwork and collaboration skills.

STEM literacy: By participating in STEAM activities, children gain exposure to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts and develop their STEM literacy.

Career readiness: STEAM activities can help children explore different career paths and become more prepared for future jobs in STEM fields.

Confidence and motivation: Through STEAM activities, children can build confidence, improve their motivation, and increase their interest in STEM fields.

Overall, STEAM activities can be a fun and engaging way for children to learn important skills and explore their interests.

Next Plan Idea:

St. Patrick's Day STEM Project Ideas

Holidays are a great time to pull in some themed STEM projects. Even kids who aren’t usually into science can get excited about making a reindeer fly or making a Christmas tree out of 3D shapes. Check out these fun Christmas STEM activities to try in your classroom or at home.

Speaking of making reindeer fly, there are lots of different takes on this engineering challenge. In the instructions from The Educator’s Spin on it, kids make a reindeer from recycled materials, then use a string to make it “fly.” You can also do this with a balloon, like in this version from Team Cartwright.

And that Christmas tree project? That one is from Steamsational, and it calls for making a bunch of 3D triangles you then assemble into a tree. The post includes all the tips you’ll need and a printable template for making the triangles.

Another cute idea from Steamsational is making Santa’s sleigh out of an egg carton. Give kids design challenges such as that Santa must stay in the sleigh, it should be able to move and pull weight. It’s so fun to see what kids come up with.

Science Sparks has a printable book full of Christmas-themed experiments with templates kids can cut out and use to make spinning sleighs, shadow puppets, a paper tube to test how much weight it can hold and more. These activities are really low prep beyond the printing, so they’re great when you need to fill a little time at home or at school.

If you have Legos and jingle bells you can make a simple engineering challenge by having kids build mazes that the bells can roll through. Get the details from Innovation Kids Lab. (And check out this fun book of Lego Christmas ornaments!)

Of course you can also put a Christmas spin on classic STEM activities, like making a baking soda volcano in a plastic or glass ball ornament (Little Bins for Little Hands), red and green magic milk (Fun Learning for Kids), Borax crystal ornaments (Go Science Kids) and more!

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a ReplyCancel reply