Winter Science Experiments Round-Up (Updated for 2026!)
I’ve rounded up for you all my favorite kid’s science experiments and STEAM activities with a winter or winter holiday theme! Get ready to start building and experimenting with snowflakes, gingerbread houses, marshmallow towers, and light-up snowmen!
States of Matter Science with Winter Snow & Ice
from Lemon Lime Adventures
This blog has the brilliant idea to put dark construction paper in the freezer for a couple hours before using it to catch snowflakes. I can’t believe I never thought of this before!
Make a snow or ice sensory bin
On snow days, after my kids are tired of playing outside in the cold, we bring the snow inside to keep playing! I give them spoons, cups, scoopers, toy ice cream cones, and food coloring. It’s sensory play, but it’s also getting a hands-on feel for the density of snow, how much it crunches down, how quickly it melts. Here’s a photo I took of them playing with a snow sensory box years ago. Look how happy they are!No snow on the forecast? My kids also love a good ice sensory bin. When they were in preschool and kindergarten, they liked just stirring the ice around in bowls of water, scooping it from one bowl to another, and seeing how quickly the ice melted. We’ll use food coloring and ice cube trays to make colored ice cubes ahead of time. When they need an activity to do, I can pull the colored ice cubes out for an extra special ice sensory bin. They love choosing the colors and watching them melt into the water. You can even freeze little toys inside ice cubes and let the kids “free” the trapped toy. Again, it’s sensory play while getting a hands-on feel for how solid ice and liquid water interact, how cold the ice makes the water and how quickly the ice melts.
Make popsicles or ice cream
Want to turn liquids into yummy solids in the kitchen? Get out your popsicle molds, or for extra credit make some ice cream! Here are some fun science questions to ask and wonder about while you’re making your treats and eating them. What’s messier - liquids or solids? (The molecules in a liquid aren’t connected together like in a solid, so that lets your liquid flow everywhere. Including onto the floor!) If your popsicle melted back into liquid juice, could you refreeze it again into a solid popsicle? (As long as it didn’t melt all over the floor!) Does it feel different when you bite off the popsicle and when let the popsicle melt in your mouth?
(And teachers, if you do try to melt and refreeze your creations, that supports NGSS 2-PS1-4!)(Full disclosure, my youngest kid begged me to get a Zoku ice cream bowl after watching the ice cream cooking video I linked above. Reader, I have now made so much ice cream in our Zoku bowl.)
from Steam Powered family
This is a super simple science experiment for a snowy day. Find three matching jars. Fill one with water, one with ice cubes, and one with snow. After they melt, which jar will be the most full? They might be surprised to see how very little water there is in a jar full of snow! (Teachers, observing the different forms of water in this experiment supports NGSS 2-PS1-1 and 2-ESS2-3.)
Pair these snow science activities with the perfect read aloud! Click to find 3 kid-friendly snow science books for kids!
Winter Science & Symmetry
From Learning Resources
This is the perfect winter STEAM activity that also works on kid’s fine motor control skills with folding and cutting.
Start off with simply folding a paper in half for a simple 2-sided symmetry example. Then you build up to more folds and see how the symmetry changes with adding more folds!
Winter Science & Building
Little Bins for Little Hands
Next time my kids ask for hot chocolate, I’m going to give them extra marshmallows and toothpicks for building. What a sweet way to experiment with geometry!
Younger kids can experiment with making different 2D and 3D shapes. This activity can even support Common Core math standards for kindergarten (K.G.A.3 - Identify shapes as 2D or 3D) and 1st grade (1.G.A.2 - Compose 2D or 3D shapes to create a composite shape.)!
Older kids can try this STEM challenge - build the tallest tower they can out of marshmallows and toothpicks. This can be an individual or team project. It even supports NGSS K-2 Engineering Design curriculum standards. (K-2-ETS1-2: Develop a physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.)
from Science Buddies
Not only do you get to craft a gingerbread house, but then you get to put it through an earthquake test and a wind test, just like real engineers! I love that this could also get kids thinking about how structures can be strong in some situations but weak in others.
Build multiple house designs and compare the tests results, to support NGSS K-2 Engineering Design curriculum standards. (K-2-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.)
Want to keep your kids building and thinking? Check out the books and videos in this post, all about structural engineering for kids!
Winter Science & Electricity
from the Exploratorium Sending some winter holiday cards this year? Make them extra special and homemade with the science of electricity! All you need is some cardstock, foil, LED bulbs, and coin batteries. You can make up your own card design, but I thought this snowman was especially perfect for the winter holiday season.
Craft a light up snowman! from Squishy Circuits How cute is that snowman with his light-up nose? To build this, you could buy the kit, or use your own playdoh, modeling clay, LED bulb and button battery.
Why do these circuits work? Check out electricity science books and videos for kids to find out!
I hope something here sparked curiosity in you!
Looking for more STEM fun?
Check out this round up of STEAM crafts that would make for a fun and cozy winter afternoon indoors.
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Till next time,
Amy Wung Tsao
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