Pre-Built Lesson: Winter STEM
If your kids are wishing for fluffy white precipitation, check out this winter STEM lesson plan! We’re making our own snow via a chemical reaction, plus lots of other fun winter STEM activities!
Resources in This Lesson
Resource 1
Explore the differences between chemical and physical changes, then jump on down to Resource 3 to apply these concepts and create snow!
Rosie Explores Chemical and Physical Change
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-explores-chemical-and-physical-change/
Resource 2
For our book, we’re reading Snowy Day. It magically captures the joy accompanying the first snowfall of the year, and we’re putting a STEM spin on it!
Rosie Reads The Snowy Day
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-reads-the-snowy-day/
Resource 3
Three simple ingredients are all you need to make your own erupting snow! Check out this fun Rosie Makes to learn how.
Rosie Makes Snow!
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-makes-snow/
Resource 4
Continue learning and exploring with some of these tried and tested Rosie Recommends activities from other STEM educational resources.
Rosie Recommends Winter STEM Activities!
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-recommends-winter-activities/
Check out these tried and tested Winter STEM activities from other STEM educational resources!
Recommended Resources
Resource 1
Making crystals is a STEM rite of passage (get the full scientific lowdown here); for the holidays we love this project from Kiwi Co that turns the crystals into ornaments! Your kids pick the shapes and the materials needed are minimal: borax, water, pipe cleaners (a variety of colors makes things exciting as the crystals will be clear), and a few mason jars. Best part? Because this version uses borax to create the crystals, the process is quicker and it mimics the hexagonal structure of real snowflakes!
Resource 2
Bath bombs are super popular and they’re great gifts for all the winter holidays. Why not make your own? Revisit this Rosie Makes episode where Grace and Veronica make a batch of bath bombs that rely on the same principles of chemical reactions that they used to create snow!
Resource 3
Snow is super fun, but it’s also scientifically stunning. Read this quick article from NOAA about the science behind snowflakes, then dive into the “snowflake or snow-fake” question! It’s all based on the six-fold symmetry of a snowflake (aka an ice crystal), and this amazing resource from Think Maths in the UK has activities ranging from a template to create paper snowflakes to a snowflake geometry proof for older kids!
Shaving cream + baking soda= SNOW! This snow activity welcomes winter the STEM way and works any time of year!
Yes, you read that right! A simple chemical reaction occurs when you mix baking soda and shaving cream, forming a number of new substances – sodium stearate, carbon dioxide and water – that look and feel like snow! The snow feels cold because the chemical reaction causes the liquid in the shaving cream to evaporate.
Watch The Video
https://youtu.be/uZJ5Rn2wsWM
Required Materials
- 1 bowl
- shaving cream
- 1 box baking soda
- 1 cup vinegar (optional)
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1
Fill the bottom of your bowl or container with a layer of shaving cream.
Step 2
Sprinkle a layer of baking soda over the shaving cream.
Step 3
Here’s the best part – get messy and mix the shaving cream and baking soda together!
Step 4
Optional: Add vinegar to make your snow erupt! Simply pour it over your snow and create another chemical reaction.
In technical terms, this second chemical reaction occurs when the baking soda, which is a bicarbonate (NaHCO3), mixes with the vinegar, an acetic acid (HCH3COO). One of the products this reaction creates is carbon dioxide. In other words, baking soda is acting as a base (it’s an amphoteric compound and can react as an acid OR a base) and taking protons from the vinegar. The reaction from the vinegar touching the baking soda creates bubbles that release carbon dioxide, creating the fizzy look.
Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day, first published in 1962, magically captures the joy accompanying the first snowfall of the year. It’s a classic for a reason. And we’re putting our very own STEM spin on it in this Rosie Reads read along!
When you’re finished reading The Snowy Day, ask kids these comprehension questions:
- How did Peter, the main character, experiment with snow?
- What happens to the snowball Peter brings inside, and how does it relate to science?
For our Rosie Reads activity, ask kids to think about how they’d like to experiment with snow. What scientific and engineering principles could they explore? How would they design their experiments? What materials would they need? Whenever snow arrives in your area, they’ll be ready to explore some snow science!
Watch The Video
https://youtu.be/xEtlx6pqEO0
Rosie Explores Chemical and Physical Change
- Fire is used as a part of these experiments. Please do not perform without an adult.
Learn the differences between chemical and physical change in this series of experiments. We’re playing with paper towels, blowing up balloons, and making all kinds of chemical reactions!
Watch The Video
https://youtu.be/7T9Edwh3dyE
Required Materials
- paper towel
- matches or lighter
- lemon (cut in half)
- glass cup
- baking soda
- food coloring
- popsicle stick
- Alka Seltzer tablet
- flask (or bottle)
- water
- 1 balloon
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1
Physical Change: In a physical change there can be a difference in the appearance, smell, or simple display of a sample of matter without a change in composition. To explore physical change, crumple up a piece of paper towel and observe that although the paper towel looks different, it is still a paper towel. We can reform it back into its previous state/shape and lay it flat.
Step 2
Chemical Change: In a chemical change a new substance is formed and energy is either given off or absorbed. To explore chemical change, we performed a number of experiments. First, with an adult present, crumple the paper towel back into a ball and use a lighter or match to light it on fire. Quickly drop it into a glass. Note what happens when the oxygen going into the fire is stopped by the glass. Is there a smell? Do you see smoke? After making your observations, be sure to put the fire completely out by pouring water into the glass. Use our fun hand trick from the video to remember that when chemical changes/reactions occur, you’ve mixed two things together to make something new! Another important thing to remember – you cannot reverse a chemical change, whereas you can reverse a physical change.
Step 3
We continued to explore chemical reactions with another experiment! Put half a lemon into a cup, so that the rind is facing downwards, and put a spoonful of baking soda on top of the lemon. Add a few drops of food coloring on top of the lemon and baking soda. Take a popsicle stick and push the baking soda down into the lemon. Note what happens when the citric acid from the lemon and baking soda mix and a chemical reaction takes place!
Step 4
For our last experiment, we used a chemical reaction to blow up a balloon! Break up an Alka Seltzer tablet and put the pieces inside a balloon. Fill up your flask or bottle about halfway with water. Then stretch the balloon with the Alka Seltzer pieces over the opening of the bottle (you’ll probably need to hold the Alka Seltzer pieces in the bottom of the balloon as you do this. It helps to have two sets of hands!). Drop the Alka Seltzer pieces from the balloon into the water. Shake up the bottle and note what happens to the balloon!