3 Fun Winter STEM Activities for Elementary Classrooms

I love using winter STEM activities whenever I can. While it’s true that any time of the year is a great time for STEM activities, these cold winter months make me love them even more! When our students can’t get the outside release that they need, classroom engagement can get harder. These winter STEM activities are the perfect way to keep students engaged through the dreary winter days. Every year, I pull out my favorite winter STEM activities that I know my students will be excited to complete.

1. Geoboard Snowflakes

Geoboards are a fantastically simple and fun resource to have in any classroom. During the winter months, this hands-on activity is the perfect way for me to include STEM in my lessons while celebrating the beauty of winter snowflakes.

Literacy and STEM

If you’ve been hanging around my blog for any amount of time, you probably already know how much I love pairing literacy with my STEM activities. And, this winter STEM activity is no exception!

To begin this lesson I love reading Snow, by Uri Shulevitz. This New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year and Caldecott Honor Book is beautifully written and illustrated. I can tell you from experience that students as young as Kindergarten and as old as 6th grade can appreciate this wonderful book!

Perfect for Centers

While I have used this activity as an individual STEM challenge, one of my favorite ways to use Geoboards in my classroom is in centers.

With several activity sheets to choose from, I can make sure I select a skill level to fit each of my student’s needs.

I also laminate the activity sheets and give my students dry-erase markers so I can use them over and over again.

Students use the provided task card and stretch the rubber bands over the pegs in the Geoboard to create their snowflakes.

With a 20-minute time limit, my students always get excited to complete this challenge in the time available. I like to keep small timers or stopwatches in the storage bins for students to use to track their time.

Reflection

I always like to make sure I’m giving my students the opportunity to reflect on the process of completing a STEM challenge. It’s a great way for them to think about what they did well. But, it also gives them the opportunity to think about what they could improve upon.

2. Think Like an Artist Winter STEM Activity

My favorite thing about this winter STEM activity is its perfect pairing of art and STEM! So, instead of just calling this a STEM activity, we could actually say it’s a STEAM activity with the A for ART!

Tinker Tray Play

I love tinker trays! They are a super versatile tool for an activity filled with creativity and choice. And. . . these plastic trays from the dollar store are the perfect tray for sorting supplies. They hold just the right amount of materials for students to have a variety of choices, but not too much for them to feel overwhelmed or make a huge mess.

The best part of using a tinker tray with this activity is you can choose to include any materials you already have on hand like popsicle sticks, construction paper, cotton balls, glue, colored pom poms, popsicle sticks, and more. Anything you have is fair game to add to a tinker tray.

Make it a Whole Class Activity

I love using this STEAM challenge as a whole class activity. And, it’s not hard to prep either!

All I have to do is set out the tinker trays loaded up with supplies on tables or desks. Then, students are able to create their very own snow people by sharing the supplies available in their tinker trays.

I use the Google Slide Show to display the task cards to the class. But you could also print out the task cards and put a different one on each table.

Then, I explain to my students that they are able to use any or all of the supplies in the tinker trays to create their very own snowman. With 25 minutes on the clock, students can work independently or collaboratively to create snowmen. I love hearing all of the discussions at the tables as I walk around to see the incredible creativity of my students.

Share it out

I love giving my students the opportunity to share out their designs with the class. This can be done individually or as a group. My students are always so proud of their creations and we make sure to celebrate all of the creative ideas we see.

3. Simple STEM Build a Sled Challenge

Even if you don’t live somewhere where your kiddos can go sledding in the winter months, everyone will love this sled-building winter STEM activity.

Easy-to-Find Supplies

This is definitely one of my favorite low-prep winter STEM activities! Because it requires so many supplies I already have on hand, I know I won’t be spending valuable time searching for materials for my students to use.

Suggested supplies for the build a sled challenge include:

• Lego or other interlocking plastic bricks
• Cardboard
• Popsicle sticks
• Construction paper
• A large piece of cardboard

Any of these supplies would work for this challenge, but feel free to get creative and use what you have on hand.

Make it a Team Challenge

I love using this winter STEM activity as a team challenge for my students to complete on days when outside activities just aren’t possible. It’s such a fun way to bring the excitement of sledding indoors with some friendly competition.

I like to break up my students into teams of 3 or 4 for this activity. Depending on your goals for collaboration, consider assigning tasks to each of the students in the group. This way, each person will feel like they are contributing to the success of the team.

Then, using activity sheets, each team will be responsible for using the selected materials to create a sled within 25 minutes.

Let the Games Begin

After your teams have completed their sleds, it’s time for the most exciting part. Remember that big piece of cardboard I recommended in the supply list? Well, it’s going to be the sledding hill! Place it on an incline against tables, desks, window sills, etc.

Consider running heats with teams competing against each other. Then for each additional heat make the hill even steeper until you have a winner.

I have even invited younger grade levels in to watch our sled races. This was a huge hit with everyone! You can have the teams design flags or banners for the crowd to wave. No matter how you choose to have your students complete this amazingly fun winter STEM activity, you are guaranteed a fun time!

Even More Fun Winter STEM Activities

Already love these winter STEM activities and want MORE? Then you need to try these engaging STEM activities which are part of my popular Winter STEM Activities Bundle available in the Miss Tech Queen TPT store!

Each of the 5 activities in this bundle includes:

• Google Slide Show 
• Task card printables – in small and large sizes
• Activity response sheet – different versions depending on your students’ level
• Teacher directions
• Photos of student-made samples to help guide you & your students 
• Student certificates 
• Printable stickers

And. . . if you are looking for even more STEM activities for your classroom, make sure to check out the Miss Tech Queen STEM for a Year Club! In this huge STEM bundle, you get 64 engaging STEM activities for only $1.15 each!

Save these Winter STEM Activities!

Be sure to save these exciting Winter STEM activities to your favorite classroom Pinterest board today!