The Best Winter Science Experiments

Winter is a great time of year to try some science at home. Ice and snow-themed experiments don’t require special materials, look great, and if you can do them outside, are almost mess free!

I’ve pulled together a collection of what we think are the best winter science experiments for kids, including a free checklist you can download at the bottom of the post.

My FREE winter science eBook is a great place to start with easy-to-follow instructions for five winter science investigations.

The Best Winter Science Experiments for Kids

Snow volcano

First up is a snow volcano. These are super easy to make. Gather snow around a bottle and add water, food colouring, dish soap ( washing up liquid ) and baking soda. Try making different colours of lava using food colouring and experiment to find the best fizzy recipe!

Ice and salt investigation

Melting ice is always fun and super easy to set up.

Younger children usually enjoy ice excavations, and ice and salt experiments are great for older kids.

Ice investigations work well in summer as an outdoor science activity and in winter when it’s icy outdoors, too!

Image of a giant ice cube with salt on the surface to speed up the melting process

How to make a frozen bubble

It needs to be extremely cold to make a frozen bubble, but it’s worth a try if you get a cold snap. Fireflies and Mudpies show you how it’s done.

Frost on a can

This ice and salt investigation using a tin can is wonderfully visual. It’s even more fun if you turn the can into a frosty snowman! Frost quickly appears outside the can, making it an excellent classroom science demonstration.

A tin can decorated like a snowman using a black sharpie and orange paper for a nose. Frost has formed on the outside of the can which il full of water, ice and salt.

How do polar animals stay warm

Find out how polar bears and penguins stay warm in extreme temperatures using lard! Take care with this activity as the icy water can get very cold.

bowl of ice water, a block of lard and a rubber glove for a polar animal experiment

Another activity linked to polar animals is this ‘Why don’t penguins freeze?’ activity, which uses wax crayons to show how the waxy feathers of a penguin help them stay dry.

Four penguins on paper coloured with wax crayon and felt tips to show how penguins stay dry. The penguin coloured with wax crayon has visible water on the surface. The water has soaked into the other types of pens.

Snowman Catapult

Lolly stick catapults are easy to make and lead to many investigative opportunities. Make different-sized catapults and investigate to see how far different objects fly. We made a snowman themed catapult, but you can change the theme for any topic or time of year.

Ice Decorations

Ice decorations are lovely to hang off a tree in winter. Fill them with nature items or even small plastic toys.

Children can then observe how the decoration changes during the day or when the outside temperature increases.

ice decorations - part of a collection the best winter science experiments for kids

Pretend Snow

Fake snow is excellent for all kinds of sensory play and activities. I made three different types, so have a go and choose your favourite.

Lift ice with a string

Freeze some water, put the ice into a bowl and pour a little water over the top. Place the string on the surface of the ice and sprinkle it with salt. Leave for a few minutes, and then gently try to lift the string. Find out how many ice cubes you can lift with one string.

two coloured star ice cubes hanging from a string

Winter print and play science pack

My winter themed print and play science experiment pack contains five simple paper-based science activities, including jumping snowflakes, penguin shadow puppets and a water drop maze.

I also have lots of winter STEM Challenges you might like to try.