Written by 
These walking reindeer made us laugh so much. They work brilliantly, but can be a little fiddly to get going. This activity is traditionally called the walking horse, but as it’s nearly Christmas, we’ve made reindeer! The reindeer *walk* down a ramp or slope, because of a combination of forces including gravity and friction. You’ll […]
If your elf needs a bit of inspiration, these cheeky elf tricks might be just the thing. All you need to do is set up the trick and leave an instruction card out for children to solve the puzzle! The challenge cards are free to save and print! Easy Cheeky Elf Tricks Spin eggs to […]
It’s finally December, the elves are up to their usual mischief, presents are being wrapped, and people are looking forward to plenty of festive fun with family and friends. My Turkey STEM Challenges are great for encouraging hands-on learning before or during the Christmas festivities. Turkey STEM Challenges Learn about strong shapes and stable structures […]
We’ve all been there, the last-minute elf panic, wondering what simple but exciting mischief the Elf on the Shelf can get up to. This year, Science Sparks makes elf antics easy with 24 easy science-based elf ideas and a sprinkle of festive fun to delight elves and children alike. There’s an elf activity card for each day with […]
This fun elf-themed basketball STEM challenge is a great hands-on science activity for learning about transfer of energy. The idea is to build a lolly stick catapult and a basketball net for an elf! You could set this up as a ready made activity and encourage children to experiment using different projectiles on the catapult. […]
Keep the kids busy over Thanksgiving with these easy STEM Challenges. Turkey Tower Use toothpicks and marshmallows to build a tower tall enough to hold a small turkey toy. If you don’t have toothpicks, spaghetti is a fun alternative. Shapes are important to think about when building toothpick towers. Triangles, arches and domes are all […]
Have you ever seen a jumping bean toy? They bounce, flip and jump as if they’re magic, but the real magic is that you can make your own jumping bean with just a marble and kitchen foil! You might be wondering, “How can foil and a marble flip and jump?”. The answer is physics! When […]
If you’ve spent any time with kids recently, you’ve probably heard the slang term “six – seven“. It seems to have no meaning, just a general playful, in with the joke type phrase. Six – Seven is often accompanied by a palm up, hands moving up and down action. The slang term 6-7 is fairly […]
This simple apple ramp STEM challenge is a brilliant, hands-on way to learn about the effect of gradient on speed and friction. We’ve made a friction ramp to test toy cars before, and this apple version is a fun twist for an autumn themed STEM activity. The ramp is covered with bubble wrap to increase […]
Have you ever wondered how fireworks fly? The science behind the flight of a firework is the same as that of a rocket, and a fantastic demonstration of Newton’s Third Law of Motion. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Just like a rocket, a firework needs a force to overcome gravity. […]