Description
Five Holiday STEM Challenges for December will engage students! Perfect for holiday science and engineering and Christmas STEM Activities. These holiday STEM activities come with lesson plans, follow up pages, and clear directions for each STEM challenge. A Fair Test slide show is also included. These Christmas STEM challenges are fun and creative. Can be used as party activities, Engineering Challenges or for December STEM activities in the classroom!
These Holiday STEM activities are aligned with NGSS 3-5 Standards for Engineering.
3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
Students will use ALL Science and Engineering Practices
Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
Developing and using models
Planning and carrying out investigations
Analyzing and interpreting data
Using mathematics and computational thinking
Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
Engaging in argument from evidence
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
The five STEM Holiday challenges included are:
Dissolve a Candy Cane
Make a Light-Up Ornament
Make an Electrical Paper Circuit tree
Make a Zipline for Santa to ride
Make a Shelf for an Elf
Science concepts
Electrical circuits
Dissolving and Solubility
Fair Tests
Design Thinking and Engineering
Testing and Refining
You will need coin batteries and LED lights for the light-up ornaments.
You will need copper tape for the paper circuit tree. Students will make a paper circuit to light up a Christmas tree. You will also need a coin battery, paperclip and LED lights for each student.