Christmas Science Activities for Your Middle School Class

Michelle Rudolph — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:03:43 +0000

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter Break are always hectic—tests, grades, and plenty of holiday energy from students. However, that’s why I’ve curated some of the best Christmas science activities to make your classroom festive, fun, and aligned with your middle school science standards. These activities will keep the holiday spirit alive all while keeping your class engaged and learning.

1. Element Ornaments: Decorate Your Chemistree

I love getting this activity done early because it doubles as holiday decor for my classroom and my middle school students love them!

Each student gets an ornament representing an element from the periodic table. Next , they research their element, color and cut out their ornament, and we laminate them to make them last longer. I even have a Christmas tree in my classroom designated for this activity. We call it our “Chemistree,” get it?!

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This activity makes your science classroom festive while reinforcing students’ understanding of the periodic table and element properties.

2. Organ Ornaments

Similarly, take the same ornament concept and apply it to human anatomy to review body systems! This is a fun and festive addition to your Christmas science activities, helping students review human body systems while adding holiday décor to your classroom. Each ornament represents a different organ, and students research its function and identify the body system it belongs to.

How it works:

1️⃣ Each student picks an organ and designs their ornament.
2️⃣ They color, cut, and (if you’re feeling fancy) laminate it.
3️⃣ Add a ribbon, and suddenly, your classroom tree is full of personalized ornaments!

The best part? Watching your students proudly place their ornaments on the tree. It’s one of those moments that reminds me why I love teaching (and makes me forget how loud middle schoolers can be). Alternatively, If you don’t want to use a tree, you can place these on a bulletin board.

Free Organ Ornaments Activity

Need a festive activity for the holidays that still gets students learning about human body systems? This mini activity is perfect for your classroom bulletin boards or class Christmas tree!

Download Now!

3. Winter Science Stations

Looking for a way to review a TON of standards in one class period? These winter themed science stations are perfect! Each station is holiday themed and reviews at least one different standard.

Not sure where to start with science stations? Check out this helpful guide on 6 Reasons to Use Middle School Science Stations for tips and inspiration!

The 9 Winter and Christmas Science Stations included are:

1. Ice Insulation – Students will explore how quickly ice melts using various insulators.
2. Candy Cane Reactions – Students will explore the dissolving rate of candy canes with different temperatures of water.
3. Holiday Light Interactions – Students will explore refraction and reflection using holiday lights, mirrors and water.
4. Christmas Tree Life Cycle – Students will discuss how spruce trees contribute to ecology throughout their life cycle.
5. Reindeer Adaptations – Students will explain adaptations that reindeers have.
6. Tundra Food Web – Students will organize a tundra food web and identify producers and consumers.
7. Winter Weather – Students will observe a weather map and answer questions about winter weather.
8. Holiday Treat Layers of Earth – Students will identify types of holiday foods that could be used to represent different layers of Earth.
9. Snow in the Water Cycle – Students will answer questions about snow within the water cycle.

*Each station should take students between 8-10 minutes to complete.*

The topic the stations cover are:

Heat transfer and insulation
Interactions of matter and heat-induced changes
Light waves (reflection and refraction)
Life cycles and ecology
Weather, Earth’s systems, and the water cycle
Food webs, producers, and consumers
Earth’s layers

As a result, these stations are a great way to keep students focused while embracing the holiday cheer. Download the Winter Science Stations here!

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If you love these winter stations, make sure to also check out my Halloween Science Stations for spooky fall fun or the Valentine’s Day Stations to keep the love (of learning) alive in February!

4. Christmas Light Circuits

Try using mini holiday lights to build series and parallel circuits! Students can decorate a small paper tree by “lighting it up” with their circuits. This hands-on activity is festive and reinforces key electrical concepts.

5. Snowball Catapults

Using marshmallows as snowballs, challenge students to build catapults with craft sticks, rubber bands, and other materials. This activity is a great way to discuss potential and kinetic energy while getting students moving and creating.

6. Science Snow Globes

Have students design snow globes that illustrate scientific concepts like the water cycle or ecosystems. This craft allows for creativity while connecting back to science standards.

7. Crystal Ornaments with Borax

Teach crystallization with this engaging experiment, a perfect addition to your Christmas science activities! Students use pipe cleaners, borax, and mason jars to create beautiful crystal ornaments. It’s a multi-day process, but the results are always worth it.

Start by creating your borax solution and pouring it into the jar. Then, have students design the shape they want for their ornament using pipe cleaners. Once they’re finished, they’ll tie a string to the ornament, hang it over a popsicle stick, and let it dangle into the borax solution, ensuring it’s fully submerged. Let the ornaments sit overnight for the best crystallization results.

8. Holiday Slime Lab

If you’re braver than me, your students will love this lab!

Make red and green slime while discussing polymers and non-Newtonian fluids. You can even have students discuss the changes in matter and physical properties such viscosity, mass, volume, density, texture, shape, and elasticity.

9. STEM Challenges

Have some fun with holiday themed STEM activities! These activities bring holiday cheer to your science classroom while keeping students engaged and learning. Pick your favorites and make this season merry and bright — and educational!

Santa’s Parachute: Design a parachute to safely deliver gifts using coffee filters, string, and small weights. Test which design lands most gently.
Elf Workshop Towers: Use marshmallows, candy, and toothpicks to build the tallest, most stable tower. Discuss engineering and stability.
Sled Acceleration: Build small sleds with weights (like jingle bells) to explore how mass impacts acceleration. Tie it into Newton’s second law.