Ways to Easily Prepare For Outstanding Lessons in Science: 10 Holiday Science Experiments

One of my favorite parts of science is bringing in different holidays. Students are often very crazy right before a holiday, whether Christmas, Halloween, or even Thanksgiving. Students absolutely love to have fun, so we might as well join them during the holiday crazies. Here is post #5 in my science series: Holiday Science Experiments.

Holiday Science Fun

Now, I am not just talking about Christmas when I say “holiday.” I am talking about any time of the year when students may be excited about something special. This time may be a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. But, it can also be the time before spring break or winter break. These holiday activities are so much fun, and students will love them.

#1: Back to School

Although not an official holiday, back to school is a great time to bring in some holiday science! Plan a couple of easy back to school activities to get your students excited about learning in your classroom, and give them a little inside look into how you plan on running your science lessons! Plus, activities like this are always good to get students back on the “ read the directions” train. There are so many easy and fun science activities you can complete during those first couple of days!

Holiday Science #2: Halloween 

The next holiday science experiments are all made for Halloween! These spooky Halloween day science activities are the perfect way to get through the day before or the day of Halloween. We all know students are only thinking about candy during the day. So instead of trying to survive, get students thinking about ghost balloons and candy corn towers!

list of thanksgiving holiday science experiments

#3: Thanksgiving

This holiday is often forgotten, which makes me sad because I love turkey, mashed potatoes, and time with my family! Although teachers often fail to plan activities focused around Thanksgiving, kids do not forget some days off are on their way.

Thanksgiving science includes the creation of a parade float, turkey baster races, and more.  Pick an activity or two to do with your students to kick off the holiday season.

Holiday Science #4: Christmas 

This holiday is the big one! Teachers are struggling to survive during the week before Christmas, and we are always looking for some fun science or STEM activities. Well, these Christmas science activities are sure to please your students. They can create their own ornaments or figure out which cookie will dissolve fastest in milk.

Christmas themed science experiments are a crowd-pleaser, and they give you a little time to get your head in the game for the new year!

#5: Winter Break 

Some school districts have what is called a winter break. This break often happens in February and was first given to allow the school to “air out” and get rid of germs. Not all school districts offer this week off, but that doesn’t mean students are getting a little squirrelly between Christmas and Spring Break. These activities don’t have to relate to any holiday, but more of a season. The winter experiments are all about hot chocolate, snow, and snomen!

My favorite thing about these holiday science experiments is they DO NOT need snow, so you and your students can enjoy these “snowy” science activities while living in a warm climate!

Holiday Science Halfway

So you are now halfway through the year and have now gotten an insider’s look at all these holiday science experiments for every holiday and break. They are amazing and you are thinking wow!? Why didn’t I use these before? Haha, I am with you, but don’t worry I still have 5 more packs all included in this Holiday Science Bundle!

Holdiday Science #6: Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day typically lasts all of 45 seconds in elementary classrooms. Students run around and pass out their valentines for 30 seconds and then take 15 seconds to read all the cards and eat every piece of candy they were given.

a list of experiments and a materials list for the Valentine's Day holiday science

After that, they are on a sugar high, and getting anything done is probably not gonna happen! So use this time to your advantage and let students experiment with crystal hearts, make some Valentine’s Day slime, and enjoy the holiday.

6 recording sheets for marshmallow tower, straw tower, and paperclip chain for the 100th day holiday science experiments

#7: 100th Day

When the 100th day of school hits, it seems like it may all be downhill from there. Many teachers send home 100th day projects that include creating a shirt, poster, or other projects with 100 objects. This idea may not be the most exciting project if you have older students. So celebrate the 100th day with some holiday science! The nice thing about these science experiments is the only thing they have in common with a 100th day celebration is the number 100, so you could use them whenever you want! 

Holiday Science #8: St. Patrick’s Day

Another holiday that is often not celebrated. Although I have often heard people say, “everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” it’s not a “real” holiday in many schools. St. Patrick’s Day science includes green slime, rainbow milk, and other leprechaun fun!

#9: Easter 

In many cases, the “final” holiday of the school year and Easter often falls at the beginning or end of Spring Break. Hopefully, this time of year will be able to get outside a little more and won’t be stuck indoors due to the cold! Dissolve some peeps, create a jelly bean tower, or make magic plates!

Holiday Science #10: Summer 

Let’s finish the year with some fun summer science activities. In my mind, summer is definitely a holiday, and it is the perfect time to add some holiday science. These experiments can be performed indoors or outdoors and are the perfect time fillers or enrichment activities! 

Holiday Science Bundle 

Planning all of these holiday science activities and experiments can be pretty overwhelming. So, I made it easier for you. I put all of my holiday science packs into one MEGA pack. It has over 60 experiments, and they are nicely organized by holiday. If you buy the holiday science bundle, you are getting 20 experiments completely free! 

Grab the science bundle here!

Don’t forget to check out my other science series posts:

Storing Science Materials

Science Classroom Supplies List

Easily Plan Science Units

Teaching Science Effectively

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