Making STEM fun and exciting is what STEM Sports® is all about. We are huge advocates of bringing STEM education outside of the classroom, whether it be camps, after-school programs, or at-home activities. The holiday season presents a unique opportunity to use themed lessons to make STEM concepts more inviting to children of all ages.
Below we have compiled a list of easy to implement ideas you can do with your child at-home, and we think we saved the best for last:
Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Spend November celebrating the season with one (or all!) of the activities below. There is everything from slime to edible experiments for your child to engage with science, technology, engineering, and math!
Slime:
This fall-colored cinnamon slime smells great and will create a fun goo for your child to play with once the experiment is complete! With a simple ingredients list, this is an easy-to-implement activity to engage your child in chemistry this fall season!
This slime is so colorful you’ll want to eat it, but you shouldn’t! This glue-based slime will get you and your child excited about Thanksgiving and STEM!
This slime tastes as good as it looks! This recipe is made with all edible ingredients so your child can taste their creation after they are finished creating and playing with it.
Turkey-Themed Fun:
Turn your child into an engineer with this lego turkey building activity. They will use the engineering design process (EDP) throughout this activity and will exercise their problem-solving skills along the way! If you want to make this a group activity, have children work together to build or have each child build their own and compare what they created at the end.
The turkey baster relay is easy to implement and will allow your family to bring out their competitive side! Use turkey basters and feathers to create a race and see which feather will get to the finish line first.
Fun with Food:
A STEM activity that you can use during your Thanksgiving dinner. You and your family will make butter the old-fashioned way. This will introduce them to chemistry in a new, exciting way.
This hopping corn will continue to move around the jar for an hour after your child has completed the experiment. This experiment grabs your attention and introduces your child to solid, liquid, and gas.
Apple Stack – Engineering Challenge
Apple stacking requires minimal materials and turns your child into an engineer! You can do this with slices or full apples to challenge your child using the Engineering Design Process (EDP).
The Holiday Season:
Slime:
This candy cane colored slime introduces your child to chemistry. After the slime is made, your child can shape and build things to become an engineer! With a short supplies list, this is easy to implement at-home and the fun can last for days.
This slime is perfect for the holiday season, especially if your child loves the grinch! This easy to make slime is fun for children to make, play with and gift to a friend.
Christmas slime uses the traditional red and green colors to get your child excited about the upcoming holiday. In just a few minutes, your child can have Christmas themed slime to play with, with minimal mess to be cleaned up afterward.
Themed Fun:
Gingerbread Man Christmas Chemistry
This chemistry experiment creates a chemical reaction that will change the way you look at gingerbread cookies! Using six items, you can create puffy gingerbread men that look like real cookies.
This yarn ball ornament experiment teaches your child about static energy. In four simple steps, your child will learn about complex STEM concepts and, in the end, have an ornament to hang on the Christmas tree.
Is it snowing near you? If it is, this is the perfect at-home experiment for you! Using food coloring in snow, your child will answer the question, ‘does snow sink or float?’
Fun with Food:
Hot chocolate is the perfect drink to celebrate the cold weather and holiday season. This experiment uses water temperature to see when the hot chocolate mix dissolves the best. You start by making predictions with your child and it ends with three cups of hot chocolate for the family to enjoy!
What happens when you add water to skittles? In this experiment, your child will see the effect water has on skittles, creating an art piece with the bleeding colors!
This easy to make chocolate recipe teaches children about states of matter. After the experiment is over, they can enjoy their chocolate they just made.
The Ultimate Christmas gift that will extend into the new year
Is your child passionate about science, technology, engineering, and math? Then we have the perfect gift for the coming holiday season! The STEM Sports® All-Star Kit is a 5-month subscription box that allows your child to engage with STEM education at home. Each month, your child will receive a STEM lesson that is facilitated by a different sport! Interested in learning more and ordering? Click here
