Creative Winter STEM Activities to Excite Students

 Elementary winter STEM activities

Try these science, technology, engineering, and math activities in your classroom, or pair up with another grade level for fun collaboration (plus a great mentorship opportunity for upper-elementary students).

• Decorate your classroom or hallway with large paper snowflakes. Students can use paper and melted crayons to get hands-on with symmetry and states of matter.
• Enter the Gingerneering Challenge! Have your class put their engineering skills to the test to design and decorate a gingerbread house representing a significant STEM event.
• Design virtual snowflakes while learning about axes of symmetry with the Holiday Snowflake Designer.
• Create a winter storm in a glass to simulate clouds and precipitation.
• Visit the playground to gather sticks, leaves, and other outdoor finds to make nature bookmarks that document winter.
• Make Christmas and holiday-colored slime while learning about changes in matter.
• Use candy canes for a STEM building challenge or a dissolving experiment.
• Bring on the snow! Explore what happens to a Yeti and a group of snowmen when a sled’s acceleration, speed, and momentum change in the Sled Wars Gizmo.
• Build number sense with a cookie roll game or develop fact fluency with adaptive online games.
• Practice equivalent fractions with a s’mores game or space-themed Frax missions.

 Winter STEM activities for middle school and high school

Engage older students this holiday season with activities that encourage curiosity and critical thinking. From constructing snowflake-themed geometric shapes to experimenting with the science behind frost formation, these activities not only embrace the festive spirit but also foster a love for science, technology, engineering, and math in a fun and interactive way. Spark enthusiasm and curiosity in middle to high school students with these holiday-themed STEM activities.

• Build inquiry skills with 12 Days of Gizmos virtual math and science simulations.
• Can you set ice on fire? Find out with a burning ice experiment.
• Host an “Around the Fire, Around the World” day. Display a virtual fireside background on your board and have students explore locations on Google Earth (be sure to check out the timelapse feature and Voyager tours). Task students with creating a presentation that summarizes their findings in alignment with your content standards (for example, the weather or latitude/longitude in different places).
• Learn more about the winter solstice and observe the tilt of Earth’s axis with a virtual solstice lab.
• Explore how seasons change in different locations and practice graphing with the Seasons Around the World Gizmo.
• Prepare for math and science exams with 550+ virtual simulations that include built-in assessments and pre-made student activity sheets.
• Have some extra time after testing? Plan a “Cocoa and Careers” class period. Warm up some hot chocolate and expose students to various STEM careers with a virtual career day from the comfort of your classroom.
• Let students role-play as math and science professionals with real-life STEM Cases.
• Build marshmallow catapults to bring potential and kinetic energy to life.
• Create a fingerprint ornament after getting hands-on with forensic science through digital Fingerprinting and DNA Profiling labs and an investigation-based case study.