6 STEMtastic ways to celebrate the holidays

Looking for a bit of inspiration and innovation to brighten your winter blues? We've got you covered with six ways to keep STEM learning going during the holidays!

1. Crack the code to the perfect gift

For this special holiday edition of Imagining Inventions activity, we challenge you to step up your gift-giving street cred with your own innovative gift design.

Step 1. Pick a family member and think about where they’ll be in 10 years. What kind of things will they like? What will they spend their day doing? 

Step 2. Draw up a plan to make a gift that wows them with your thoughtfulness.

Step 3. Create, iterate, and, most importantly, have fun!

Guide Here

2. Shake things up with an earthquake-proof gingerbread house

Let's take gingerbread house construction to the next level and make it earthquake-proof.

Now, we know what you're thinking - "How on earth can gingerbread withstand an earthquake?" Well, my friend, with a little creativity and some engineering design principles, you can make it happen! (Bonus points if you use actual gingerbread!) 

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3. Mix your own eco-friendly holiday decor with biotinkering

Make your own biodegradable tassel garland with our Algae String activity! Design your own color scheme and experiment with thickness and texture.

Once it’s dried, reuse it as confetti in time to throw for New Year’s Eve!

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4. Track that Elf

Keep tabs on that sneaky Santa spy with Computational Thinking. Create a sequence of yes/no questions to help narrow down where you hid that mischievous little tattle-tale! 

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5. Season your greetings with Cabbage Inks

Skip the toxic ink and play with biology-- make your own set of biodegradable paint mix to decorate cards or gift tags. All you’ll need is cabbage and a few ingredients you can get at any grocery store. It’s a STEM spin on crafting that even the Grinch will love.

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6.  Making in a wind-ter wonderland present delivery challenge

Can you harness the wind to deliver presents? Your holly jolly innovators will have fun searching for materials, then building and designing a device that can deliver a present using wind from a fan or hair dryer. Who can make their device go the farthest? Ask them to keep perfecting their designs for hours of energy-burning entertainment.

Guide Here