Science Activity Ideas for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year marks the start of the New Year based on the lunisolar calendar, which falls on the first new moon between 21st January and 20th February. It's a chance to celebrate the move from Winter to Spring and involves family reunions, decorations often with a red theme, gifts, dragon dances and fireworks. The celebrations begin with the new moon and end 15 days later with the full moon.

Each year is associated with one of 12 Zodiac animals, which are a fantastic source of inspiration for science activities.

The 12 Chinese zodiac signs are:

Rat
Ox
Tiger
Rabbit
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Goat
Monkey
Rooster
Dog
Pig

I've created a science activity themed to each animal.

Science Activity Ideas for Chinese New Year

Year of the Horse

This walking horse is a brilliant low-cost science activity that requires only paper, scissors and something to make a ramp from. The horses can be a bit fiddly at first, but they are worth the effort.

Instructions

Cut around each rectangle horse shape.
Cut the small triangles from the bottom of each leg, and then cut up the legs, stopping at the middle section.
Bend the four legs down and fold the tail upwards.
Fold up the head and again at the top to make a head.
Set up a ramp from a stack of books and thick cardboard, and place the horse at the top.
If it doesn't move, gently push the legs until it starts walking.

Walking Horse Template

How does it work?

When the horse is at the top of the ramp, it has potential energy due to its height. As it moves, this is converted into kinetic energy.

The small triangles you cut at the bottom of the horse's legs make it slightly unstable, so it rocks from side to side when gently pushed. As the horse rocks onto one leg, the other legs are lifted up, as it is on an incline, gravity pulls the lifted legs forward.

Fun science facts about horses

Horses have fantastic long term memories.
Horses only breathe through their noses, they are obligate nasal breathers. They have a flap of tissue that blocks the back of their mouth from their lungs. It means they can't inhale food when breathing, but it also means they can't pant like a dog to cool down.
Horses can sleep standing up. They have a special ligament and tendon system that allows them to lock their joints in place.
Horses have the biggest eyes of any land mammal.

Year of the Goat

Goats are well known for their climbing and balancing skills. Several features help them achieve thier gravity defying skills.

Goats have special hooves that work like a clever climbing shoe. Their hooves have a hard outer wall that can dig into rock cracks and a soft, rubbery pad in the middle that can adapt to the ground's contours.
Cloven hooves (two toes) allow goats to pinch the ground when climbing and to spread their toes wide to distribute weight evenly.
Goats have a low centre of gravity, with most of their weight concentrated low to the ground, and a centre of mass shifted towards their front legs, giving them a forward lean that helps prevent backwards fall when climbing.
Goats have large, thick necks and strong shoulder muscles that help them pull their bodies upward when climbing.
They have Dewclaws - small, sharp nubs that act like a brake if the goat starts to slide. They can dig into a rock to help stop or slow a fall.
Goats have a great sense of where their limbs are without having to look at them. This is called proprioception.
They keep three limbs in contact with the rock they are climbing while the fourth searches for the next stable spot.

Make a balancing goat

You'll need

A bottle with a lid
5 wooden skewers
4 Marshmallows or play dough
A Carrot

Instructions

Cut a small piece of carrot and insert a wooden skewer approximately 2 inches long into the bottom. Most of the skewer should be outside the carrot.

Place the skewer on the top of the bottle, it will fall over.

Push the pointed end of two skewers into opposite sides of the carrot, and push a marshmallow onto the end of both.

Place the carrot onto the bottle lid. It should now balance!

Add two more marshmallow skewers to the carrot and see if it still balances.

Experiment by moving the marshmallows up and down the skewers.

Fun science facts about goats

Goats have horizontal pupils, which allow them to see almost 320 degrees around them without moving their heads!! This is a fantastic adaptation for spotting predators.
Goats are ruminants, which means they can eat shrubs and tough, dry grass. Their stomachs have four compartments, allowing them to regurgitate partially digested food to chew a second time.
Cloven hooves allow each half to move independently, which is great for climbing.
Goats can climb trees!