It's Looking a Lot Like Christmas in the STEM Lab!

It’s looking a lot like Christmas- even here in a state that rarely sees snow! We still decorate and hang lights and enjoy Christmas crafts and stories and STEM Challenges all about Christmas.

This is going to be a quick post just to remind you that we have tried some spectacular Christmas STEM Challenges and these have appeared on my blog in the past.

It's Looking like Christmas in the STEM Lab! Details about FIVE STEM challenges on this blog post!

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It is Looking Like Christmas…

…which means I am so busy, so busy, so busy- just like you! So, this is a quick post- let’s call it a taste of STEM resources for Christmas! I will link you to longer posts at the end and you can click on any of the images to see these in my store.

This challenge is all about volume. Students must build a box that will perfectly hold some Christmas candy.

Candy Boxes

This was a challenge we tried about two years ago and loved. Then we tried it for Valentine’s Day and it was great then, too!

Kids must create a box with a specific size that will perfectly hold Christmas candy. Think about the way Valentine’s candy fits in those heart-shaped boxes. It all fits exactly. That is the challenge kids have to tackle!

In this challenge, students will design and build a package to “mail” some cookies. They will have to build a container to hold the cookies and pack them well so there is no breakage. Since it is the Christmas season the package also needs to be decorated as a gift.

Christmas Cookie Packages

Have you ever received a package that was just crushed? What if it had cookies in it? You’d better hope they were packaged well!

That’s the story behind this one! We had the most fun dropping our packages and checking to see if the cookies survived intact!

TIP: Use butter cookies from the Dollar Tree!

In this challenge, students will design and build a sleigh that will slide down a ramp. It has to stay on the ramp and land without dumping its cargo- which just happens to be some Christmas “gifts”.

Christmas Sleighs and Ramps

So, what if for some weird reason Santa had to ramp into your house to deliver toys…

It could happen. So, we designed a ramp system and the perfect sleigh to hold toys and be able to slide down the ramp into your house!

The sleigh must hold the toys and cannot spill them when gliding down the ramp!

In this challenge, students will design and build a Christmas tree using a variety of materials that you will choose. Several different methods of choosing the materials are included. The tricky part of the challenge is that brown paper bag.

Brown Bag Trees

My third and fourth graders were so excited about these! They used the brown bags in such creative ways!

One of the main materials for this one was just a brown paper bag. Shiny pipe cleaners were also fun! Most of the other materials were just craft items and we did find cotton swabs to be a fun thing to add to our trees!

This is a Quick Challenge. Students will be building a Santa's sleigh model that will travel down zip line without dumping the toys!

Toy Ziplines

This was invented for my third graders who have watched the older students make ziplines and they wanted to do ne, too! So, of course, we did this at Christmas time.

The task is to make a sleigh that will ride down and zipline and land gently without dumping out Santa or the toys.

Hopefully, you are catching this quick post just in time for your own Christmas events. It never snows where I live, but it is still beginning to look a lot like Christmas with decorations and excitement.

Here are links to blog posts with more details: