Terri Thompson

Winter STEM Projects for Kids

January 20, 2026 By Terri Thompson

Snow, icicles, frost, and more! There are so many fun things to explore in the winter.

These fun Winter STEM Projects for Kids will help you and your children explore all these fun aspects (and more).

So, let’s gather some supplies and get ready to learn.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

You’ll find projects to help you explore snow and ice. Or, explore a favorite winter drink. You’ll create, you’ll explore, and you’ll learn a lot.

Let’s go have some fun!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Science Winter STEM Projects

Learn about friction with our fun Hockey Science Experiment.

Practice prediction and observation while you experiment with our Melting Snow Science Experiment.

Explore a favorite winter drink with our fun Hot Chocolate Science Experiment.

Make frost and explore winter weather with this Frost Snowman Experiment from Science Sparks.

Art Winter STEM Projects

Explore melting snow to make art with this snow process art project from Mom Explores the Smokies.

Grow salt crystals to decorate your paper snowflakes with this fun Growing Salt Crystals project from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Use science to make beautiful frosty windows with this Epsom Salt Painting idea from Babies to Bookworms.

Create beautiful colorful icicles with this Colorful Icicle Science Project from Housing a Forest.

Winter Engineering STEM Activities

Build a snowman with this fun STEM Snowman Craft from How Wee Learn.

Explore symmetry while you build beautiful snowflakes with this fun Pipe Cleaner Snowflake craft from The Joy of Sharing.

Put together a Winter Tinkering Kit from Little Bins for Little Hands and let your kids build and explore.

Engineer an ice lantern with this fun project from STEAM Powered Family.

STEAM Family Activities

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.

Melting Snow Science Experiment

January 18, 2026 By Terri Thompson

We’ve had plenty of snow this year, but the sub-zero temps have been keeping us inside most days.

Luckily, with the exception of a quick trip outside to gather snow, this simple melting snow science experiment is done indoors.

We used the snow to practice both prediction and observation.

Practice making predictions and observations with this simple melting snow science experiment. It's perfect to do on a cold, snowy day!

Supplies needed for your snow science experiment:

Snow (if you don’t have snow, you can use crushed ice)
4 clear jars or drinking glasses
Ruler
Notebook

Let’s start our snow science project!

Step 1:

Measure an equal amount of snow into 4 jars. We added about 2 inches of snow to each. Use the ruler to measure.

Place each jar in 4 different locations. We chose a window (on a grey, cloudy day), a dark room, the refrigerator, and outside (temp was -4 F).

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Step 2:

Record your predictions.

We asked the question, which jar of snow will melt first?

We then ranked them from the fastest melting to the slowest.

Both of my kids had a chance to make individual guesses.

Step 3:

Make your first observations.

When the timer went off, the kids ran around and checked all of the jars. I was their recorder and the person elected to check the frigid outside jar.

After five minutes, we discovered that the jar in the window and the one in the dark room had already started melting. The refrigerator jar had no melting, nor did the one outside (obviously).

After making your first observations, set the timer for an additional 5 or 10 minutes. We chose five.

Step 4:

Make your second observation.

After an additional five minutes had passed, we discovered that our window jar was melting the fastest, and the dark room was second. The refrigerator jar and outside jar still showed no melting.

Step 5:

Make your final observations.

After our second observation we left to run a few errands. When we came back, we discovered that despite our initial observations, the jar in the dark room melted faster than the one in the window.

The refrigerator jar had started melting and the one outside was still as frozen as it started out.

What did we learn with our snow science experiment?

This led to a quick examination. Why did the jar in the window stop melting so quickly? The kids discovered a very cold window and a cloudy day.

My 1st grader also observed that the heater had come on and suspected that it helped speed up the melting in the dark room. I love it when their scientific minds start working!

This snow science experiment is perfect for both preschoolers and elementary students. It’s a simple way to introduce making predictions. Your older kids can practice their writing by recording all the observations in the notebook. Plus, it’s simple and safe so that your older kids can do the entire experiment on their own.

Note: This post was originally published on January 6, 2014. Updated and republished on January 18, 2026

Fun Snow Books For Kids

Snow by Uri Shulevitz

Curious About Snow by Gina Shaw

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino

A Thing Called Snow by Yuval Zommer

Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper and Kenard Pak

STEAM Family Activities

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.

Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft

October 30, 2023 By Terri Thompson

Out of the dozens of cardboard tube crafts we’ve made over the years, we’ve never made a turkey. Go figure.

So, this was the year to correct things (and use of that supply of cardboard tubes we’ve accumulated) and make a cute and very colorful Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft.

Let’s grab some supplies and get crafting! And, once you’re done with your turkey, check out all of our Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids for more holiday fun with your kids.

Close up of a turkey craft for kids made out of a cardboard tube with googly eyes and a colorful tail.

Supplies Needed:

2 empty cardboard tubes
Scissors
Red, orange, green, yellow, and brown craft paint
Glue
Googly Eyes
Scrap of yellow paper

Short cardboard tube painted brown and strips of cardboard painted green, yellow, orange, and red.

How to make your Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft

To start, we need to cut up our cardboard tubes. Cut one tube in half. We’ll only use one of the halves for our turkey, so set the extra half aside. If you’re making this craft with a group, precut the tubes in half to eliminate waste.

Cut the second cardboard tube lengthwise into four different sections.

Paint your half tube brown and your lengthwise sections in red, orange, yellow, and green.

Close up of a piece of cardboard tube painted red with fringes cut at the top

After your paint is dry, cut fringes in the top of each color section.

Then, cut each of the tail sections in half lengthwise. You’ll have eight different fringed pieces for your tail.

Cardboard pieces fanned out in a variety of Thanksgiving colors, red, orange, yellow, and green

Alternate the colors of your tail pieces and arrange your fringed section into a fan-shape just like in the photo above.

You’ll want it to be in the shape of a half circle.

In process photo of gluing the tail pieces together to show where to place the glue at the bottom of the fan shape.

Glue your tail pieces together. Start with the first piece, and use a quarter-size spot of glue to glue each piece down.

Glue piece by piece until you have your fan shape complete.

Hold tight for awhile to let the glue dry. Then, take a clothespin (or any type of clip) and clip the glued section to hold it tight while the glue dries. It can take awhile for the glue to dry since this is such a thick piece.

Note: If you would like to avoid the drying time, you can use a hot-glue gun for this project. It will dry a lot faster and you won’t need to use the clothespin as a clamp. If your kids are old enough to use a hot-glue gun, I would use this instead of the white glue to cut back on waiting times.

Close up of the body of your turkey, a half cardboard tube painted brown with two googly eyes and a small yellow triangle for the beak.

While you’re waiting for your tail to dry, complete the turkey’s face.

Glue two googly eyes to your brown painted cardboard tube. Then add a small triangle of yellow for the beak.

Finally, take your tail (which will be a bit heavy) and glue it to the back of your turkey. Use your clothespin to help hold the two pieces together until they dry. (Again, use your hot glue gun for this step to cut back on drying time.)

Once everything is dry, your super-cute and colorful turkey craft is ready for display.

Cardboard tube turkey craft for kids with a brown body and red, orange, yellow, and green tail feathers.

If you enjoyed this Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft, the above photo is perfect for sharing on Facebook or you can save the photo below on Pinterest.

Pinterest image showing the completed cardboard tube turkey and an in process image of the tail feathers with the words cardboard tube turkey in the middle

Fun Thanksgiving Books To Read With Your Craft

The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin

How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace

Recommended Resources for Thanksgiving Crafts

If you’re looking for easy crafts, I love the limited addition Thanksgiving Box from Green Kid Crafts. It comes with all the supplies and instructions you need to make some cute Thanksgiving Crafts. We’re big fans of Green Kid Crafts boxes. They’re fun, easy, and contain only natural and sustainable materials. And, if you’re not interested in their Thanksgiving Box, there are plenty of other art and STEM boxes (including a monthly subscription) to choose from.

Find the Thanksgiving Box here.

Check out all the other boxes here.

Simple and Fun Shape Crafts for Toddlers

October 25, 2023 By Terri Thompson

I’ve always loved learning with arts and crafts and so have my girls. We’ve made so many fun craft projects over the years.

These fun shape crafts for toddlers are all great ways to create while you learn and explore shapes.

And, if you love doing crafts with your toddlers, check out all of our fun and Simple Crafts for Toddlers here.

Learn all about shapes with these fun and easy shape crafts for toddlers. Have fun creating and learning about circles, squares, and triangles.

Fun Shape Crafts for Toddlers

The crafts are easy and emphasize process over product. They’re all a fun way to help your toddlers get familiar with simple shapes.

Learn about circles, squares, triangles, and other shapes with these fun crafts.

Shape Crafts for Toddlers

Learn all about shapes with these fun and easy shape crafts for toddlers. Have fun creating and learning about circles, squares, and triangles.

Shape Collage

Make fun collages by gluing paper shapes with this fun toddler art activity.

Square Monsters

Turn a square into a silly monster with this fun craft.

Easy Toddler Circle Painting

Photo Credit: teaching2and3yearolds.com

Use cardboard tubes to stamp circles with this fun art project.

Circle Art Process Painting

Photo Credit: www.paper-and-glue.com

Create circles of many sizes with this fun process art activity.

Sponge Stamped Triangle Collage

Photo Credit: buggyandbuddy.com

Learn about triangles with this fun sponge painting activity.

Simple Circle Craft for Toddlers

Photo Credit: everydaychaosandcalm.com

This fun circle craft that uses Fruit Loops is also a great fine motor activity.

Fall Tree Math Craft

Photo Credit: www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com

Create a fall tree out of triangles with this fun tree craft activity.

Easy Shape Painting for Toddlers

Get creative with some big artwork when you try this fun toddler art project.

Toddler Square Art Activity

Photo Credit: teaching2and3yearolds.com

Make pretty art with squares with this fun activity.

Painting Shapes - Easy Toddler Painting Activity

Photo Credit: myboredtoddler.com

Paint different shapes with this simple shape art activity.

Shapes Sorting Suncatcher

Photo Credit: happytotshelf.com

Practice sorting when you create this pretty shape suncatcher craft.

Contact Paper Shape Art

Photo Credit: www.messforless.net

Learn about your shapes and create beautiful artwork with this fun process art activity.

Which of these fun shape crafts for toddlers are you going to try?

My Recommended Shape Resources

It’s so much fun to learn shapes through play. You can play these fun outside games or try one of these great shape toys for toddlers. Here are a few more playful ways to learn shapes.

Shape Toys

Shape Books

Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kids

November 10, 2022 By Terri Thompson

It’s time to combine some holiday fun with math when you play one of these awesome Thanksgiving math activities.

You’ll find fun printable games and other hands-on ideas to practice addition, telling time, fractions, and more. Sounds like so much fun, right?

So let’s get started!

Have some fun learning and practicing math with both printable math games and other hands-on Thanksgiving math activities for kids.

Whether you’re looking for a simple printable math game or a fun way to practice math facts, just click through each link to get to all these fun ideas.

I just know you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for here.