Are you ready for today’s Christmas STEM Challenge? We’re making rafts for lost little reindeers!
This activity is also part of my science advent calendar if you need more Christmas Science ideas.
Reindeer STEM Challenge
This activity can be split into several stages.
- Design a raft – think about which materials will work the best.
- Gather materials together.
- Build the raft
- Review the design, build and functionality of the raft.
- Does it need to be changed?
- Test the rafts to see if they sink or float.
- Can the raft support the weight of a toy reindeer or Santa?
Materials
Lolly sticks
Kitchen sponge
Corks
Glue/Double sided tape
Paper
Kitchen roll
Toy Reindeer, we used our DUPLO Reindeer
Instructions
Build and test your rafts. To make the investigation a fair test the same toy reindeer and possibly the same size rafts should be used.
A simple raft can be made with craft sticks like the image below. Try adding corks to the underneath for extra buoyancy!
Extension Activities
Design a table to record results of raft testing and try to predict which rafts will sink and which float before starting testing.
Use a straw to blow the rafts across a calm surface of water. Investigate to discover what happens when the rafts are blown gently and then with more force. Does the raft move faster if air is blown close to the raft or from further away?
More Christmas STEM
Investigate to find the best material for a paper chain?
Make a Christmas optical illusion.
Or try one of our other easy Christmas science experiments!
If you liked this activity don’t forget I have a couple of science books available to buy too.
Last Updated on November 20, 2021 by Emma Vanstone
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