Holidays are a sensory experience full of special smells, tastes, sights and sounds. Why not start a new holiday tradition exploring the science of the senses! Howtosmile.org has hundreds of activities about the senses. Many can be done with foods and simple materials already on hand, for free or very low cost, and with mixed age groups, from family holiday gatherings to multi-grade winter camps.
Smell is one of our strongest senses, and affects how holiday and all foods taste to us. In The Nose Knows, a blindfold test lets learners experience the difference between how something tastes when they can smell it, and when they can’t. Not only foods add to the aromas of the season, when scented candles, potpourri and perfumes fill the air. Let learners get creative in Make Your Own Perfume to discover how scents combine, by using spices, flavorings, flowers and more to concoct their own signature scent.
Making and listening to music both play a huge part in how people celebrate holidays worldwide. Explore the human voice in Vibrant Cords, as learners produce varied pitches by stretching and relaxing their vocal cords. In Mystery Noises learners can test their hearing by trying to identify different sounds such as bells ringing, coins shaking, paper tearing, a ball bouncing…all without looking at the source of the sound.
Want to add a craft to all the sensory fun? Let older learners help younger ones put together and decorate Wind Whistlers, using simple materials like paper plates, yarn, buttons and bells. Hang a whistler from an outside tree and let the wind sing a whole new kind of holiday song.
Winter holidays are a visual feast, and at night our eyes are mesmerized by the flickering of candles, the blinking of light displays, and the glittering of bright and shiny decorations. Before, during, or after the holidays, try Spherical Reflections to turn silver ball-shaped ornaments into scientific tools for investigating the surprising properties of light and mirrors. And for the truly brave at heart, when big holiday meals mean more time at the table for squirmy learners, you can even use the silverware to explore reflection and vibration in Fun With Flatware.
Have a wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year!