Guest Blog – A Christmas Themed STEM Experiment
I thought a fun experiment that you could try over the winter could be dancing jingle bells.
For this experiment, you would need a vase of any shape, but I have found a largish transparent one works best, if you don’t have a vase you could use mason jars or ordinary glasses, you would need a bottle of clear lemonade or sparkling water, you would also need some medium sized jingle bells about 20mm, ( though rice/beads/popcorn would work just as well)
Ask your pre-schoolers or Key Stage 1 children to gather around. They could either sit around the table or stand. I always find being flexible with seating arrangements makes for more enjoyable experiences for Children and their caregivers.
Once they are settled you could maybe start by asking them how they think jingle bells could dance or move on their own. Listen to what the children have to say.
Put the vase or mason jars on the table in front of the children, then pour in the clear lemonade or sparkling water to the top. Give each child two or three jingle bells, then ask them to put the bells into the vase/jar/jars. Ask them to watch what happens to the jingle bells.
Ask them what they think is happening to the jingle bells. Listen to what the children have to say. Then explain to them that the carbon dioxide bubbles lift the bells up and once they hit the surface they pop, and the bells gently drop down again. To make it even more festive you could put on Jingle Bells in the background or ask the children to sing the Jingle Bells song.
About the Author
Sandra Beale has a background in psychology, she has worked in Advertising as a copywriter and has also made very short experimental films some of which have won awards and nominations.
Sandra is a mum of three and started Toddler and Early Years STEAM sessions when her middle son was 9 months old. He’s 10 years old now!
What started as entertainment solely for her baby soon grew after visiting friends were amazed at a 9-month-old doing science experiments and wanted their children to participate in the sessions.
Since then, the sessions have grown and have appeared several times on the BBC, BBC Tiny Happy People, BBC Radio, BBC Breakfast, Early Years TV, local and national newspapers and magazines and were nominated for a STEM Initiative of the Year Award at the Cambridge Science and Technology Awards in May 2023.
Sandra has also been participating in the BBC’s STEM season for the last 4 years with a workshop on her Toddler and Early Years STEAM sessions. She is now a BBC STEM Freelancer.
She has also done Toddler and Early Years STEM sessions at the Cambridge Science Centre in 2021 and at Saffron Walden Museum in 2020 as well as with local primary schools and nurseries and at a local French Restaurant in Saffron Walden.
She has also been running Toddler and Early Years workshops at the Saffron Walden Library since the summer of 2024.
Her book on Toddler STEM published by Bloomsbury will be out in June 2025.
Sandra’s Toddler and Early Years STEM have been raising funds for BBC Children in Need since 2020.
Her Toddler STEM sessions are held every Monday morning at her home at 9:30am for an hour throughout the year.
The sessions are run with a bigger group and more varied ages during half term and holidays. There are various themed sessions also depending on the time of year.
The local MP for Saffron Walden Kemi Badenoch attended one of Sandra’s themed summer sessions in September 2023 and enjoyed participating in the 5 experiments.
Sandra has also been doing several Toddler and Early Years STEM workshops with various organisations and Early Years Practitioners in the UK and the US.
