3 DIY STEM Activities for the Holidays!

12/23/2019

Collaborative experiments and activities are sure to bring joy to your household and can be used for some crafty gift ideas if you’re pondering what to get family and friends. Here are three STEM activities you can do yourself at home:

1. Holiday Card Circuits

Materials:

Construction paper (any type, multiple colors)
3V coin cell batteries
Aluminum foil
LEDs (any type of LEDs work)
Clear tape
Glue stick
Permanent marker (black and one other color)

batteries
Aluminum foil
LEDs (any type of LEDs work)
Clear tape
Glue stick
Permanent marker (black and one other color)

Steps:

Create paper shapes and plan out where you want your LEDs.
Mark out where you want your circuit using permanent markers on the aluminum foil. Maintain a one-millimeter gap between foil paths. Cut out some aluminum foil and create a path from the battery using two strips – one strip connects the battery to the LED, the other connects the LED to the battery completing the loop. If you want to use multiple LEDs, use a parallel configuration – do not use a series configuration because the battery likely isn’t powerful enough.
Use the tape to attach the foil onto the back of the card. Attach the battery – it should sit on only one side of the foil. Attach the LED filling the first gap.
Cut a flap of foil and connect it to the second gap: the end of the second strip and the battery. This flap completes the circuit.

2. Ice Ornaments

Materials:

Cranberries
Seeds
Molds for freezing water
Trimmings from Christmas trees
Cinnamon sticks
Star anise, cloves, other spices.
Ribbon or string
Thermometer

Steps:

Fill molds with water. Soap molds, holiday silicone molds, or simply ice trays can all be used.
Place a loop of ribbon or string into the water. The longer & deeper the string is submerged, the longer the ornament will stay hung.
Add whatever decorations you want to the water. Use kitchen items, craft items, or anything that will freeze and be safe outdoors. Embrace the chaos, as there’s no way to keep a design in place in the water.
Depending on your location, either put the molds in the freezer to freeze or leave them outside overnight.
Hang the ornaments in outdoor trees, bushes, railings, etc.

3. Gumdrop Structures

Materials:

Gumdrops
Mini marshmallows
Toothpicks
An assortment of toys (different sizes & weights)

Steps:

Stick toothpicks into the gumdrops and mini marshmallows to form supports.
Make a square and a triangle. Try to squish both shapes. Does one squish more easily than the other? Use both gumdrops and marshmallows and see if one works better than the other.
Next make a cube and a pyramid. Try to squish both shapes. Does one squish more easily than the other? Are results like the first squish experiment?
Try building larger structures using a combination of both cubes and pyramids. Which structures are more stable? What are some other shapes you can make?
What’s the tallest structure that you can make? Can you make a bridge to get the toys from one structure to another?

Want to give the gift of a STEM kit this holiday season? A STEM kit can offer you these types of activities and so much more! Look no further – a solar4STEM electricity kit contains the type of exciting, hands-on electricity experiments your gift-recipients will love! With a wide array of products from electricity kits to solar panel units, solar4STEM has STEM products for all ages!

Sources
[1] https://www.kiwico.com/diy/Holidays-and-Events/2/project/Holiday-Card-Circuits-/2713
[2] https://www.kiwico.com/blog/2019/12/02/holiday-science-experiments-and-activities/
[3] https://www.kiwico.com/blog/2019/12/02/holiday-science-experiments-and-activities/

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