Inspire STEM explorations this holiday season with Christmas STEM Bubble Lights! Quick and easy-to-incorporate into busy holiday lesson plans—at home or at school—Christmas STEM Bubble Lights are the perfect way to engage young minds and support open-ended learning through STEM-inspired discoveries. Children will love experimenting with color and learning the basics of chemical reactions while they create a one-of-a-kind ornament they can share with their loved ones, gift to friends, or proudly display in the classroom!
What Is A Christmas STEM Bubble Light?
Using just three simple ingredients—colored water, baby oil, and an antacid tablet—you can create unique, colorful, bubbling Christmas lights for your next holiday celebration! An easy STEM activity, Christmas STEM Bubble Lights are a great way to introduce concepts like chemical reactions to children while also practicing steps of the scientific method such as hypothesizing and observing.
Also a safe and fun ornament, Christmas STEM Bubble Lights, takes the fundamental mission of STEM learning, to promote exploration and inquiry, and transforms it into an activity children can explore independently or within a small group as they create a unique ornament that captures the spirit of their open-ended play and experimentation!
How Can I Use This In My Lesson Plan?
Incorporating Christmas STEM Bubble Lights into your holiday learning schedule is the perfect way to unlock the many learning benefits of STEM explorations. Children will love engaging in problem-solving and abstract thinking as they build meaningful connections through STEM and see concepts like cause and effect in action throughout their experiment. For example, once the antacid tablet is added to your mixture, causing the simple chemical reaction to begin, you can ask students what they think caused the bubbles to occur and what they think will happen if you add more or less of certain materials in the experiment. Children can also work on their observation skills as you encourage them to describe what they're seeing in their very own bubble light ornament.
Download our FREE printable below!
Required Materials:
- Plastic Globe Ornament with Removable Top
- Antacid Tablet (Such as Alka-Seltzer)
- Baby Oil
- Food Coloring
- Water
1Gather Your Materials
Before you begin, make sure to gather a plastic globe ornament with a removable top, fizzy antacid tablet, baby oil, food coloring, and water. Please note that this experiment requires adult supervision and grownups may also wish to assist children as they measure and pour their ingredients.
2Begin Your Experiment
Encourage children to pick a holiday color to mix into the water you've set aside. Help children pour this colorful water along with baby oil into your plastic ornament. The mixture you add to your ornament should be about 25% water and 75% baby oil. Add a fizzy antacid tablet to the ornament and secure the top.
3Watch Your Bubbly Creation!
As soon as you add your fizzy antacid tablet to your mixture the bubbles should begin! Children will love watching this simple chemical reaction take place as colorful bubbles move around their new ornament. If adding to a Christmas tree, please use ornaments near LED lights only.
There are endless ways to learn through play this holiday season! Browse our selection of related activities to incorporate creative STEM explorations into your home or classroom.
