Fun and Free Holiday Science Activities

The last day before Winter break can be pretty tough. The kids (and teachers) are ready to GET OUT.  Plus, if your school has early dismissal like we do, you are probably on an abbreviated schedule that makes the day even crazier. Luckily, fun and free holiday themed activities are plentiful for science, and I have gathered up some ideas for quick and engaging activities to help make that bittersweet day before the holidays a little bit easier to manage.

Check out my list of free holiday inspired science activities!

1.Ugly Christmas Sweater: Science Hoodie Edition

Use this fun, quick activity for that hectic last day of school before Christmas break. Activate prior knowledge in a creative way with this ugly science hoodie template. Great for all grade levels and science concepts.

This freebie is brought to you by me, Sockmonkey Science! My classes will be using this for a design contest next week.

2. Chemistree Coloring Page

Celebrate the holiday season with Chemistry coloring. Enjoy this Chemis-tree (Topped with a gold star) from Genetically Inclined.

3. Saving Frosty: A Holiday Science Activity

This is a simple conduction experiment designed to be used as an introduction activity. It also makes a great stand-alone holiday lesson for those days leading up the winter break! From With Sprinkles on Top.

4.  Holiday Crystal Tree

Looking for something new and different to do with your students around the winter holidays? In this easy activity, students cut out holiday trees and dab on a solution made from a few household chemicals. In as little as a few hours, crystals will start to grow on the trees! Over time, the crystals will grow larger, making the trees appear even more beautiful. Students will love checking on their trees each day to see how much it “snows” on them!

This FREE download from Adventures in Science includes: Experiment Overview, Materials List, Steps to Take Before You Begin, Procedure, The Science Behind It, Safety Tips, Resources, Holiday Tree Template.

5. Gum Drop Christmas Trees – A Holiday STEM Challenge

Looking for a fun STEM activity to use to celebrate the holidays? This challenge asks students to use toothpicks and gum drops to build the tallest Christmas Tree they can! Students can use this 2-sided printable to record their ideas, plans, and reflections related to this challenge. From Create Teach Share.

6. Holiday Light-Up Circuit Cards

Have you wanted to try paper circuits in your classroom or makerspace, but weren’t sure where to start? Looking for a way to grab your student’s attention? Need a fun project before winter break?

Grab this free booklet and make some fantastic light-up circuit cards for the holidays. This is designed as a How-To guide for students to use with support from a facilitator, educator or parent. Instructions are simplified and large graphics make it easy to follow.Not only will students learn the basics of circuits and electronics, there is a lot of room for creativity and play.

The main project is a simple Christmas Tree Holiday Card that uses a series circuit to light up a start on top. Additional projects include a parallel circuit tree, a menorah, and a snowflake. You’ll need supplies that can be found on Amazon and ordered with Prime shipping. Projects can be made for under $1 a piece.

Kaleidoscope Enrichment

7. Free Dichotomous Classification Key to Holiday Giving and Community Service

Teach your middle and high school students how to use a dichotomous classification key while instructing them on the importance of holiday giving and community service.

Students will use this “scientific” classification key to identify the scientific name of various candies and toiletries. As the activity progresses, students will place the candies in small stockings and the toiletries in Ziplock bags so that they can be donated to local food banks, homeless shelters or nursing homes.

Created by Amy Brown Science.

8. Igloo Holiday STEM Challenge

Need a holiday STEM challenge for your kids. Look no further! All you need is a couple of bags of marshmallows, toothpicks and a blow dryer. This set include student worksheet and graphic organizers.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays from Hello Fourth!

9. Christmas Science Activity: Candy Cane Crystals

Want to incorporate some Christmas spirit into your Science classroom? In this FREE CANDY CANE CRYSTALS CHRISTMAS LAB, I provide you with everything you need to bring Christmas spirit into your science class while practicing Science skills. This activity can be used as a demonstration for lower grades (1st-2nd) or given to the students as a lab experiment in upper grades (3rd-6th). Brought to you by The Trendy Science Teacher.

10. Winter Holiday Tips and Freebies for Grades 6-12, Science / Math Version

Thirty-five super secondary sellers have joined together to bring you this bundle of ideas and goodies! Be sure to sit down and read through all of the wonderful teaching tips and click the links to download the freebies! From Addie Williams.

Wild Cards

The Sweet Smell of Christmas Science Activity

This super cute activity from Little Learning Lane is intended for a younger audience, but I can totally see the potential for modifying this to be a hit with the older groups. Teachers set up a secret scent station with 6 hidden objects (their choice or the scents from the book – apple pie, pine tree, candy cane, gingerbread man, hot chocolate, and an orange), students guess the scent, mark their answers, and circle whether they guessed correctly. The template leaves room for using whatever scents you want!

Isaac Newton Egghead Ornament

Don’t judge this book by it’s (lack of) cover. This has the potential to be a super quirky, fun activity. Plus, it’s available in English and Spanish.

Celebrate Sir Isaac Newton’s Birthday with this easy  artifact to hang either on a tree or simply around the house. The ornament depicts Sir Isaac Newton and a prompt for his laws of motion (apple) and light (spectrum/prism). This is a great conversational piece that the whole family will love!

TIP: Consider using cotton balls instead of yarn. It’s faster and easier to manage.

Created by David Bothast.

I hope you have found something that will keep your students engaged during the pre-holiday chaos!

NEXT: Read Teacher Talk guest post Make It to Break.

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