A Christmas Themed Challenge for STEM Teachers & Students

A Christmas Themed Challenge for STEM Teachers & Students

The holiday season is a time to come together in celebration, so why not unite your faculty’s STEM departments for a wonderful Christmas celebration? Not only will it bring holiday cheer to your school, but it can also offer an excellent opportunity for STEM students to hone their skills in a fun and practical way. 

In this article, we will explore how head teachers, tutors and students from all STEM fields can coordinate and collaborate to produce a marvellous Christmas display that will light up everyone's faces. Here’s how you can work with the other departments to produce engaging yet educational lesson plans that prepare your students for future careers in STEM.

Creating a Christmas display requires creativity, design skills, technical expertise, and teamwork. Here are some ideas on how STEM students from different fields can contribute to the project:

Engineering students can get practical experience by designing and 3D printing Snowflakes and Baubles for this elaborate display. By asking your students to go a step further with articulated decorations such as moving reindeer or even motorised sleighs, you will challenge your student’s ability to adapt and push them to explore further engineering skills in a fun way.

Electrical engineering students can develop simple circuit-powered ornaments and lighting for that extra flair. This will not only be a test of your student’s ability to create practical and working circuits but also helps them understand safety protocols and the ability to coordinate their electronics alongside other constructions. It’s not enough just to produce a working light; their ability to communicate with the other students and work their circuits around the designs and creations of the other students will be a lesson in on-site organisation and communication.

Provide coding enthusiasts with holiday-themed programming projects. Include step-by-step guides for creating snowflake patterns using Python, designing animated holiday cards in Scratch, or incorporating festive elements into JavaScript projects. The coding students can pass on their knowledge and designs to other technology and electrical students who present these fun animations on LED screens and lighting arrangements as part of the display. Furthermore, they can create and incorporate interactive games, quizzes, or puzzles into the display.

Science students can explore inventive approaches to decorating the display, such as finding the best ways to produce fake snow. Adapting your student’s introductory knowledge of hydrogen peroxide degraded with potassium iodide (Also known as Elephant’s Toothpaste) or Baking Soda & Cornflower. Those looking to expand their knowledge may experiment with their ideas (under your guidance) or challenge your students to produce the most realistic snow that is also Biodegradable. This kind of competition is a fun way for students to get hands-on experience with climate-friendly experiments.

Math itself is at the heart of this project, the need to calculate dimensions for the construction, the scheduling of the project along with geometric configuration involved in the more meticulous design such as the 3D printed shapes. Math contributes organisation and optimisation to this project.

By combining the different skills and expertise of your STEM students, you can create a memorable, spectacular Christmas display that showcases the best of what your school has to offer. Of course, it's not just about the technical details; the project can also teach your students valuable life skills such as teamwork, communication, creativity, and problem-solving. Plus, it's a perfect opportunity to spread the holiday cheer and bring everyone together in a shared goal.