Winter is fast approaching, and it’s the perfect time for chilly fun and learning! At BAM!, we understand kids' curiosity doesn’t stop during the winter breaks. We’ve got you covered with ten awesome winter STEAM activities that will spark your child’s imagination and turn their creative gears.
Whether making magical snowflake crystals, watching bubbles freeze into ice, or building wind-powered sleighs, each activity is an exciting way to explore science, art, engineering, and more—all while having tons of fun! These hands-on projects are the perfect mix of learning and play, and they’ll help you discover cool science tricks, all while creating awesome winter decorations!
DIY Winter Slime Experiment
Combine science and sensory play by making winter-themed slime—a fun and educational activity that sparks curiosity. This project introduces kids to the fascinating world of non-Newtonian fluids, which behave differently than typical solids and liquids, demonstrating unique properties when applying pressure or force. Offer your kids an engaging way to explore the wonders of chemistry, improve fine motor skills, and inspire creative sensory play, all while learning through play.
What You Need: Glue, borax or contact lens solution, water, glitter
Instructions:
- In a bowl, mix 1 cup of white school glue with 1/2 cup of water.
- Add blue or silver glitter and a few drops of blue food coloring.
- In a separate container, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of borax in 1 cup of warm water.
- Gradually add the borax solution to the glue mixture while stirring until the slime forms and no longer sticks to the bowl.
- Knead until smooth.
Ice Lantern Engineering
Take your child’s creativity outside and build stunning ice lanterns that shine with beauty and scientific wonder! This hands-on project allows kids to create beautiful, glowing lanterns and introduces the fascinating science behind freezing, temperature, and the way water changes its state. As they explore the process of freezing and the effects of temperature on water, they'll gain a deeper understanding of how winter weather impacts the environment.
What You Need: Balloons, water, food coloring, LED candles
Instructions:
- Fill balloons with water and add a few drops of food coloring for a colorful effect.
- Tie the balloons and place them outside or in a freezer until they are frozen solid.
- Once frozen, cut the balloon away to reveal the ice sphere.
- Carve out a small hole in the top and place an LED candle inside.
DIY Hot Chocolate Science Lab
Turn a delicious treat into a fun and educational scientific experiment by exploring how different ingredients dissolve at varying temperatures! This exciting hands-on activity invites kids to dive into the science of temperature, solubility, and mixtures while enjoying the process of making hot cocoa. Kids can experiment with different types of hot cocoa mixes, stirring in various add-ins like marshmallows, cinnamon, or whipped cream, and observe how each ingredient dissolves in hot and cold liquids. As they test the solubility of sugar, cocoa powder, and other components, they’ll learn about how temperature affects the rate at which substances dissolve and why some ingredients dissolve more quickly than others.
What You Need: Hot chocolate mix, different temperatures of water, various mix-ins
Instructions:
- Prepare cups of water at different temperatures (cold, warm, and hot).
- Measure equal amounts of hot chocolate mix and pour them into each cup.
- Stir and observe which dissolves fastest.
- Test different mix-ins like marshmallows, chocolate chips, or cinnamon.
- Discuss why the hot water dissolves the mix faster (higher energy molecules).
Snowstorm in a Jar
Create a mesmerizing snowstorm effect in a jar using water, oil, and fizzy tablets, and watch as the magic unfolds right before your child’s eyes! This captivating experiment is an exciting way for kids to explore important scientific concepts such as density, chemical reactions, and the behavior of liquids. By combining water and oil and then adding fizzy tablets, the chemical reaction will release bubbles, causing the water to swirl and cascade like a snowstorm inside the jar. As the fizzing continues, the children will see the snowstorm effect come to life, offering a visual demonstration of how gasses and liquids interact.
What You Need: Jar, water, baby oil, effervescent tablets, glitter
Instructions:
- Fill a jar 3/4 full with water and add glitter.
- Pour baby oil into the jar, leaving about an inch at the top.
- Drop an effervescent tablet into the jar and watch the bubbles create a snowstorm effect.
- Discuss the concept of density and why oil and water don’t mix.
Holiday Geometric Ornaments
Teach kids about shapes, angles, and geometry by creating 3D paper gingerbread houses! This hands-on project provides a fun and engaging way for children to explore the fundamentals of geometry while crafting beautiful decorations perfect for winter. As they fold and cut the paper to form the house shapes, they'll learn about geometric principles, such as symmetry, angles, and the relationship between 2D and 3D shapes. Each step of the process offers a hands-on lesson in constructing shapes with precision as kids experiment with how different angles and folds contribute to the overall effect.
What You Need: Paper, scissors, glue
Instructions: Download free printable instructions & foldable houses!
Hot vs. Cold Balloon Experiment
Show the fascinating effects of temperature on air pressure by placing inflated balloons in hot and cold environments, and watch how their size and shape change in response to varying temperatures. This simple yet powerful experiment allows kids to explore how air molecules behave differently in different conditions, offering a hands-on way to understand the relationship between temperature and air pressure. As kids make predictions, conduct the experiment, and analyze the results, they’ll better understand how temperature influences air pressure and how these principles apply to real-world phenomena, such as weather patterns and how hot air balloons work.
What You Need: Balloons, bowls, hot water, ice
Instructions:
- Inflate a balloon and tie it.
- Place one balloon in a bowl of hot water and another in a bowl of ice water.
- Observe the changes in size and explain that warm air expands while cold air contracts.
Crystal Snowflakes
Your child can grow their own stunning crystal snowflakes with a simple borax solution in this fun and educational project! By dissolving borax in hot water and letting it cool, you create the perfect environment for crystallization to occur. The result is a dazzling snowflake-shaped formation that sparkles with beauty. Not only is it an engaging way to learn about chemistry, but it also creates a beautiful winter decoration for your home. Kids can customize their snowflake’s size and appearance by adjusting the amount of borax and the shape of the base, making each one unique.
What You Need: Borax, water, pipe cleaners, jars
Instructions:
- Shape pipe cleaners into a snowflake pattern.
- Boil water and pour it into a jar.
- Add borax gradually, stirring until saturated.
- Suspend the pipe cleaner snowflake in the solution overnight.
- The next day, remove and admire the crystal formation.
Frozen Bubbles
Blow bubbles outside in freezing temperatures to observe a fascinating natural phenomenon where the bubbles form delicate ice crystals and freeze before your kid's eyes. As the bubble rises and the temperature drops, the liquid in the bubble begins to freeze, creating intricate patterns and textures on its surface. As the bubble's liquid water transitions into a solid, tiny ice crystals form on the surface, creating a shimmering, frosty effect. The crystallization process is a perfect example of how molecules in a liquid slow down and bond together when exposed to cold temperatures.
What You Need: Bubble solution, freezing weather
Instructions:
- Prepare bubble solution.
- Go outside on a day below freezing and blow bubbles.
- Watch as the bubbles freeze, forming ice crystals.
- Discuss the transition from liquid to solid and the formation of ice.
Wind-Powered Sleighs
Kids can engage in a hands-on project where they design and build small sleds or sleighs powered by wind, offering a creative way to explore the concepts of motion, energy transfer, and aerodynamics. Using materials like lightweight wood, plastic, or even cardboard, kids can craft their own sleds and experiment with different shapes and designs to optimize the effectiveness of the wind in propelling their creations. Through trial and error, your child will learn how wind speed and direction can impact the movement of their sleds, gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship between energy sources and the motion they produce.
What You Need: Cardboard, straws, tape, paper, fans
Instructions:
- Construct small sleighs using cardboard, straws, and tape.
- Attach a sail made of paper or fabric.
- Use a fan or blow to move the sleigh and observe how different sail sizes or shapes affect speed.
Winter Wind Chimes
Create beautiful wind chimes using natural and repurposed materials, all while learning about sound, vibrations, and basic engineering principles. This hands-on project allows kids to explore the science behind how sound is produced and how vibrations travel through different materials to create distinct tones. As children assemble their wind chimes, they learn about vibrations: how objects like strings or metals resonate when struck, producing sound waves. The project also introduces them to concepts of pitch, volume, and frequency as they test how variations in the size and shape of the materials impact the sound's characteristics.
What You Need: Sticks, string, small metal or wooden items
Instructions:
- Collect small sticks, metal items, or wooden pieces.
- Tie them to a larger stick using string to create a chime.
- Hang the chime outside and observe how the wind creates sound through vibration.
- Discuss the concept of sound waves and frequency.
These cozy winter STEAM activities are the perfect way to turn winter days into fun-filled science adventures! So grab your materials, bundle up, and dive into some frosty, fun experiments that will make your child a winter science whiz!