Science, technology, engineering, and math are some of the coolest disciplines to learn about as a teenager. We are discovering so many new ideas about the world, how we can better it, grow with it, and develop as a society. Teaching students simple STEM lessons can excite them and ignite a passion for experimentation and exploration in a variety of ways. December is a great month for seasonal science activities that incorporate winter themes, holiday treats, and Christmas characters we’ve grown to love. So grab your lab coat, Santa hat, and try out some of our 32 STEM activity ideas for high school lesson plans!
1. Colorful Fire Chemistry
Here is a fun science experiment that is sure to heat up your students passion for chemistry this winter season! Have your class choose which chemicals they want to test and see how they affect the flames when the metal rod is dipped in the solution.
Learn More: Science Buddies
2. Santa’s Fingerprints
Forensic science is a part of STEM learning teens get really excited about. Solving mysteries and deciphering clues is a fun challenge for group work, especially spiced up with a holiday theme! Check out the link to see the materials you need for setting up this procedure.
Learn More: Education
3. Glowing Milk Magic!
Let’s see if Santa’s helpers like their milk and cookies colorful and fluorescent! This cool science experiment incorporates colors and chemistry in a hands-on and sensory way your students will love. You’ll need some materials like milk, fluorescent paints, a black light, and dish soap to create this cool light show!
Learn More: Learn Play Imagine
4. Engineering Santa’s Sleigh
Now here is a fun activity to ignite students’ ingenuity, creativity, and collaboration skills. There are a few different guidelines for what criteria, materials, and expectations to have of your students’ outcomes. This link uses egg cartons, but have your students get creative and try out what materials they think will build the best sleigh.
Learn More: Steamsational
5. Sparkly Germ Science
Germs spread very easily during the holiday season with so many people traveling and spending time together. This inexpensive science activity shows students how germs react to soap, with the glitter assimilating bacteria in the water.
Learn More: Living Life and Learning
6. Holiday Drinks and Our Bodies
Time for a little kitchen science experiment to determine how different drinks effect our kidneys and bladder. To incorporate the holidays, use eggnog, hot chocolate, cranberry juice, and whatever festive drinks your students love!
Learn More: Super Science Fair
7. Static Electricity and Santa’s Sleigh
There are a few variations and additions you can try with this fun science idea that incorporate engineering principles and creativity. Challenge your students to work in pairs and innovate a sleigh for Santa that will fly the fastest for the longest with a balloon and a cut-out paper sleigh.
Learn More: KC Edventures
8. Christmas Light Circuit Science
Fairy lights are a beautiful staple of the holiday season, and they can be a fun, STEM-powered addition to your lesson plans before winter break. This fantastic classroom activity uses some old string lights, foil, and batteries to create simple circuits of electricity.
Learn More: Nitty Gritty Science
9. DIY Bioplastic Ornaments
Mix and match with this fun chemistry lesson that feels a bit like baking, but the outcome is not edible! We are using gelatin and food coloring in rubber Christmas molds to create these gorgeous ornaments you can use for years to come with less impact on the environment.
Learn More: Steam Powered Family
10. Kinetic and Wind Power Experiment
Could Santa be using wind power to fly around the world in one night? Learn about kinetic energy and how it works with various materials to generate and move! Ask your high schoolers to make hypotheses about wind power and how it can help Santa’s mission.
Learn More: Pak Science Club
11. Snowflake Preservation
This experiment will need some science resources, as well as winter weather conditions to provide the snowflakes. Students will capture and transfer their snowflakes onto a microscope slide and preserve them in superglue for observation.
Learn More: Pop Sci
12. Gravity, Can We Defy It?
Any grade-level student loves to see gravity-defying demonstrations. This experiment uses string, paper clips, and magnets to show how gravity works and how it can be tampered with, especially when metals are introduced.
Learn More: Buggy and Buddy
13. DIY Room Heater
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. This gift of science can inform our attempts at converting electrical energy to thermal energy for heat during the cold winter months. Check out the link and see what materials you’ll need to help your students make their own room heaters.
Learn More: PAKSC
14. Christmas Tree Core Exploration
Grab your chainsaw, go out and cut some pieces of the tree to bring into class for your students to observe (or find some cuttings from your local lumber yard). Learn about how trees age, climate change, and other dendrochronology concepts with this engaging natural experiment.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
15. Antibiotics: Natural vs. Synthetic
It is no secret that many people get sick over the holidays. With the weather changing and people traveling and connecting more, bacteria can spread like crazy! This school-friendly experiment tests to see if natural antibiotic materials such as garlic work better than synthetic ones found at the pharmacy.
Learn More: Education
16. Melting Ice and Climate Change
Some winter-time science to get your high schoolers thinking green! Here is an activity that uses ice blocks to analyze how water freezes and melts over time creating large structures. You can address important conversations about climate change and what it is doing to ice/water all over the world.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
17. Chemis-Tree
We are putting the “A” into STEAM with this crafty art project in the shape of a Christmas tree! Check out the link to see which elements go where and create this masterpiece in your classroom!
Learn More: Science Notes
18. Scientific Figure Snowflakes
Do you want to inspire your students with some key figures who contributed to STEM in history? These templates can be downloaded so your students can follow step-by-step how to cut their paper snowflakes in the shape of people like Jane Goodall, Benjamin Franklin, and more!
Learn More: The Franklin Institute
19. Grow Your Own Christmas Tree
With a few ingredients and time to dissolve, crystallize, and grow, your students will each have their own personalized Christmas tree with crystal branches. The saltwater, ammonia, and bluing liquid make a chemical reaction that creates crystals on any surface it touches.
Learn More: Thought CO
20. Colorful Pinecones on Fire!
High school students love a good fire show, and this one is so easy to do! If you live somewhere there are pine trees, have your students bring their own cones to class. Mix some borax powder or boric acid with alcohol and dip the pinecone in the solution. Then, when you light the fire the flames will be colorful!
Learn More: Science Notes
21. Copper Chemical Reaction Ornaments
Chemistry class just gave students another amazing Christmas-themed science experiment they can keep and remember for years to come. These copper-plated ornaments are the result of a copper nitrate solution reacting to the metal materials in a process called galvanization.
Learn More: Science Notes
22. Poinsettia pH Indicators
Here is a classic science activity to do during Christmas time to celebrate these festive, red flowers. When boiled, the flower’s juice can saturate paper strips and be used to measure the acid and base levels of various household solutions.
Learn More: Teach Beside Me
23. Christmas Character Lava Lamps
Your high schoolers can whip up these crafts for science class with some decorations, vegetable oil, food coloring, and effervescent tablets. The oil and water play games with each other when mixed which creates a cool visual effect inside the clear jar!
Learn More: Science Sparks
24. Magnetic Ornaments
Looking for some simple science activities your students can take home for the holidays? Ask your students to bring in small objects they think are magnetic. Test out what they bring by having them place their items inside plastic ornaments and use magnets for expansive learning.
Learn More: Little Bins for Little Hands
25. Thirsty Christmas Tree
Time to make some hypotheses, test some theories, and record our results as a class with this long-term holiday group activity! Get a real Christmas tree for your classroom, measure it and place it somewhere students can see and interact with it. Have students make guesses as to how much water it needs per day, per week, and log the findings.
Learn More: Mama Smiles
26. DIY Marbled Gift Wrap
Your students are getting to the age where they start buying, making, and sharing gifts with their friends and families. Help them make their gifts extra special this year with handmade marbled wrapping paper using color theory science! This art project uses shaving cream and food coloring to create whimsical designs, and you can add holiday scents to the cream for a sensory surprise!
Learn More: Science Fun
27. Perfume Chemistry
There are a few different techniques you can choose from for this DIY chemistry experiment. Making perfume is a mix of alchemy, chemistry, and creativity in choosing which scents/oils to use. Your students can give their perfume natural smells such as pine or cypress, or sweet smells like cinnamon and vanilla!
Learn More: Instructables
28. Preserving Your Tree
Inform your students that they can protect their fresh Christmas trees from turning brown or dying too quickly with this homemade holiday-themed science experiment. Make sure your students are wearing protective gear when handling these materials: bleach, corn syrup, water, and vinegar (or lemon juice).
Learn More: Thought Co
29. Finding the North Star
Santa is lost and needs help finding his way! Teach your students about navigation and using the stars or a compass for directions. You can ask students what their favorite constellations are and practice creating a layout of the sky on the whiteboard.
Learn More: Science Sparks
30. Engineer a Raft for Santa
You can make this a group, time-limit challenge to see who’s team can invent, design, and assemble their raft the fastest! provide a variety of craft supplies for students to choose from and see who floats the best at the end of class.
Learn More: Pinterest
31. DIY Christmas Thaumatrope
These crafty spinners are one of our favorite science resources to make and have in the classroom to keep students’ hands busy and learn about optics and movement.
Learn More: Red Ted Art
32. Milk and Vinegar Ornaments
These dainty and adorable ornaments are perfect for your student’s Christmas trees at home or for the classroom tree. They are made by combining milk and vinegar and heating them to create a solid mix that can be molded into a cookie cutter and decorated.
Learn More: Little Bins for Little hands
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