Christmas is a great time for younger children to try festive creative science activities. Magnetism, light and shadow, and sink/float activities are all fun to explore with a Christmas twist.
I’ve compiled a list of my favourite Christmas science ideas for preschoolers, so hopefully, you’ll find something you like.
I also have a FREE Christmas Science eBook jam-packed full of activities like jumping snowmen, ice fishing, optical illusions and festive lava lamps.
Christmas Science Activities for Preschoolers
Flying Elf Hats
Make flying elf or Santa hats with a paper cone and an empty milk container! When the milk carton is squeezed, the hat shoots up into the air.
Shadow puppets
Learn about light with simple Christmas shadow puppets. Children can change the distance between the light source and the puppet to investigate how the shadow changes size and shape.
Candy cane oobleck
Candy cane goo smells delicious and is lovely to pick up and hold. It’s made with cornflour, water, peppermint flavouring, and food colouring. When squeezed, it’s solid but turns back into a liquid when the pressure is released.
Festive sink or float challenge
Try our super simple Christmas decoration sink or float activity. Remember – only use decorations that you don’t mind getting wet.
Try wrapping an item that sinks in bubble wrap as an extra challenge. It should now float!
Christmas fine motor skills
Work on those fine motor skills with this fun rescue the jingle bells activity. Another idea is to make your own Jingle Bells by adding noisy items to a container.
Christmas scents
This Christmas scents game from Fantastic Fun and Learning looks fantastic too! You could also try it with my Christmas-scented play dough.
A Christmas sensory bin is also fun to set up and use at this time of year. Pretend snow, tinsel, decorations, festive plants, and trees all work well.
Build a snowman challenge
Build a marshmallow snowman using different sticky materials to hold it together. Liquid glucose, icing, and marshmallow fluff are all good options.
Christmas magnetism challenge
Learn about magnetism with a simple magnetic Christmas tree. The idea behind this is that children move the baubles around the tree with a magnet.
More Christmas science ideas for preschoolers
Make an exploding snowman like MomBrite.
Try the good old Skittles experiment, arranging the Skittles in a Christmassy shape. Children can experiment with cold and warm water to see if the colours spread out faster in warmer water.
Fun a Day has some brilliant ice castles but do take care of cold ice and little hands.
Can you think of any more Christmas science ideas for preschoolers for me?
More Easy Science for Kids
If you enjoyed these, don’t forget to check out my vast collection of science experiments for Early Years!
My collection of Christmas Science Experiments, includes Santa science experiments, Elf STEM challenges and lots of great printable science activities for kids of all ages.
Last Updated on November 17, 2024 by Emma Vanstone
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