Winter STEM Projects for the Classroom (Snow, Ice, and Cold Weather Science)

Using Winter as Your STEM Lab

Winter offers unique conditions for STEM learning. Cold temperatures, ice, snow, and shorter days are all phenomena that students can investigate, measure, and experiment with. Even if you do not have snow, the science of cold weather, insulation, and seasonal change works everywhere.

Ice and Snow Experiments

How Fast Does Ice Melt? (Grades K-3)

NGSS: 2-PS1-4 | Time: 45 minutes + observation

Give each group an ice cube. Challenge them to make it melt as fast as possible using only classroom materials (no direct heat sources). Students might try: wrapping it in paper, putting it in water, blowing on it, placing it on metal, or crushing it.

Variables to discuss: What makes ice melt faster? (Heat transfer from warmer objects, increased surface area, warm water.) What does NOT help? (Wrapping in cloth actually insulates it and slows melting.)

Extension: Now try the opposite -- keep an ice cube from melting as long as possible. Which materials are the best insulators?

Snow Crystal Observation (Grades 2-5)

Materials: Black construction paper (frozen), magnifying glasses, snow

If you have snow, catch snowflakes on frozen black paper and observe with magnifying glasses. Students sketch what they see.

Discussion: Why are snowflakes hexagonal? (Water molecules bond at 60-degree angles.) Are any two snowflakes identical? (Extremely unlikely -- the conditions change constantly as the crystal forms.)

No snow? Use photographs of snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, the first person to photograph individual snowflakes in the 1880s. His work is in the public domain.

Freezing Point Depression (Grades 3-5)

Materials: Two cups of water, salt, thermometers, ice

Put ice in two cups of water. Add salt to one cup. Measure the temperature of both every 2 minutes for 20 minutes.

Result: The salt water gets colder than the fresh water -- below 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). This is why we put salt on roads in winter.

Extension (Grades 6-8): Test different substances -- salt, sugar, sand, baking soda. Which lowers the freezing point the most? Graph the results.

Engineering Challenges

Insulation Investigation (Grades 2-5)

Time: 60 minutes | Materials: Thermometers, hot water, various insulating materials (fabric, newspaper, bubble wrap, aluminum foil, cotton balls)

Challenge: Keep a cup of hot water warm for as long as possible.

Each group wraps a cup with different materials. Measure water temperature every 5 minutes for 30 minutes. Graph the results.

Discussion: Which material was the best insulator? Why? How does this relate to winter clothing? To building insulation? To animal adaptations (fur, feathers, blubber)?

Build a Sled (Grades 3-8)

Time: 2 class periods | Materials: Cardboard, tape, straws, paper, foil, craft sticks

Challenge: Design and build a miniature sled that travels the farthest down a ramp when carrying a small weight (such as a marble or a small toy figure).

Criteria: Must be built from provided materials only. Must carry the weight without it falling off. Farthest distance wins.

Science connection: Friction. What surfaces create more friction? How does the shape of the sled affect speed? What about weight distribution?

Snowplow Design (Grades 4-8)

Time: 2 class periods | Materials: Cardboard, craft sticks, tape, toy car or LEGO chassis, flour or baking soda (simulated snow)

Challenge: Design a snowplow attachment for a small car that can push "snow" (flour or baking soda) to the side of a path.

Spread "snow" in a path on a table. Students push their vehicles through and measure how effectively the plow clears the path.

Engineering focus: Blade angle, blade height, material strength. Real snowplows use specific blade angles -- can students figure out the best angle through testing?

Weather Science

Why Is Winter Cold? (Grades 3-5)

Materials: Flashlight, globe

The number one misconception: "It is cold in winter because Earth is farther from the sun." This is wrong. Earth is actually slightly closer to the sun in January (for the Northern Hemisphere).

Demonstration: Shine a flashlight straight down on a table -- you get a small, bright circle. Now tilt the flashlight at an angle -- the circle becomes an oval, and the light is spread over a larger area, making it dimmer.

This is what happens in winter. Earth's axial tilt means sunlight hits at a lower angle, spreading the same energy over a larger area. Less energy per square meter = colder temperatures.

Tracking Daylight Hours (Grades 1-5)

Time: 5 minutes daily for several weeks

Record sunrise and sunset times daily (available online or in weather apps). Calculate hours of daylight. Graph it over time.

Students will see that daylight increases after the winter solstice (December 21). By late January, they can measure the difference. Connect this to the flashlight demonstration above.

Cloud in a Jar (Grades 3-5)

Materials: Glass jar, hot water, ice, hairspray

Pour an inch of hot water into a jar. Spray a tiny bit of hairspray into the jar (this provides particles for water vapor to condense on). Place a plate of ice on top of the jar. Watch a cloud form inside.

Science: Warm, moist air rises and cools. When it reaches the cold air near the ice, the water vapor condenses on tiny particles, forming a cloud. This is exactly how real clouds form.

Math Connections

Temperature Word Problems (Grades 2-5)

Use real winter temperatures for math practice:

• "It was -3 degrees F this morning. By noon it was 28 degrees F. How many degrees did the temperature rise?"
• "The high temperature on Monday was 35 degrees F. It dropped 40 degrees overnight. What was the low temperature?"
• "Which is colder: -15 degrees F or -8 degrees F? How much colder?"

This is especially powerful for teaching negative numbers and number lines.

Snowfall Data Analysis (Grades 3-8)

Use real snowfall data from NOAA for your region:

• Calculate average monthly snowfall
• Create bar graphs comparing months
• Find the range between the snowiest and least snowy months
• Compare your city's snowfall to another city's
• Calculate the total annual snowfall and compare across years

No Snow? No Problem

If you live in a region without snow, you can still do winter STEM:

• Ice experiments work everywhere -- just use your freezer
• Insulation challenges are universal -- cold air is cold air
• Weather data from other regions can be analyzed from anywhere
• Seasonal daylight changes happen at every latitude (just more dramatically near the poles)
• Virtual field trips to polar regions, glaciers, and snowy ecosystems bring winter to any classroom

Winter STEM is about using the season as a context for real scientific inquiry. When students can connect their classroom experiments to the world outside their window (or their freezer), the learning sticks.