Code without a computer, learn about the binary alphabet, and craft a simple ornament all in one great Christmas STEM project. Our 25 Days of Christmas ideas are over halfway done! I love all the amazing science experiments for kids that we have done so far. Today’s Christmas STEM challenge is a Christmas coding activity that you can also turn into a scientific Christmas decoration to hang on the tree.

BINARY CODE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

Christmas binary coding ornament for STEAM projectsPin

DIY CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT

Whenever the holidays come around, I always want to make ornaments for our tree with my son, but he isn’t the crafty type and prefers the science and STEM activities we do more. This Christmas STEM project is perfect, just like the magnetic ornaments or the milk and vinegar ornaments we made!

I love how versatile STEM is for the holidays! It’s a great way to combine easy science experiments for kids with a ton of Christmas fun as well!

We have had fun playing this Christmas cup stacking game, making a LEGO marble maze, and building a balloon rocket for Santa’s sleigh.

CHRISTMAS CODING AND THE BINARY ALPHABET

My son came home from school talking about a project he had seen in his computer class {for the older kids}. He told me it was the computer’s alphabet, and they used beads to make words. What a fun way to introduce computer science without the actual computer.

Let’s crack the binary code! After a bit of digging around, I found out about the ASCII Binary Alphabet. Learn more about the binary code for kids.

Also, enjoy coding activities for kids all year round! It’s a great addition to hour of code

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WHAT IS BINARY CODE

The computer doesn’t read the letter A like we read the letter A. It reads it in a series of 1’s and 0’s. Each letter has its own code of 1’s and 0’s.

This code is called the ASCII Binary Alphabet. This is as far as our lesson went, but take a look at how the codes are made. It’s pretty cool.

My son loves computer games, especially Minecraft. I told him real people make these games and need to learn all about computer coding as well.

He was totally interested and wanted to make the bead patterns he had seen in his computer classroom. The next day I whipped up a list of the codes which you can also download and print for your own use.

NEW! We now have printable Christmas algorithms set of games for kids you can add to your screen-free coding sessions.

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BINARY CODE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL THESE CHRISTMAS SCIENCE ORNAMENTS!

SUPPLIES:

  • Pony Beads (a good amount of two different colors and a small amount of an additional color for spacers)
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Binary Alphabet Sheet

HOW TO MAKE BINARY CODE ORNAMENT

Once you have your materials and are familiar with what you are doing, get started with Christmas coding! We picked holiday-themed words like SANTA, ELF, SNOW, and GIFT. You can also do your name!

Four-letter words just about fill up one pipe cleaner perfectly. If you have a longer word, you can easily attach two or more pipe cleaners. REMEMBER: Designate what color is 1 and what color is 0

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Pick your word, find the letter, and write the code by threading the correct sequence of beads. We have the red bead designated as 1 for the code and the white bead designated as 0 for the code. You also want an additional color bead to separate letters.

He got this super fast and could go right through the word ELF quickly while remembering what he was doing with the beads.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 25 Days of Christmas STEM Countdown

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Did I mention great fine motor skills practice too? This Christmas coding activity is an excellent activity for little fingers. Remember to use the light green beads to separate the letters.

Here’s the finished ELF word in binary code. Twist the two ends together, and you have a cute STEAM-inspired Christmas ornament that most people probably won’t get right away. They will wonder if you had trouble making a candy cane pattern! Just smile and ask if they know about the Alphabet Binary Code.

SECRET MESSAGE FOR KIDS

Writing in binary code is like writing a secret message and kids love this type of activity. You can try out more secret messages or code activities below.

Use the Binary Alphabet for this fun Christmas Coding Activity STEAM Ornament activity and science experiment for kids! Your child will love it! Such a simple and fun experiment for kids!Pin

Binary ornaments are a great DIY ornament-making activity for kids who aren’t into crafts as much as they are into science and STEM! Again, another easy-to-set-up, versatile, and budget-friendly science activity for kids!

Click on the image below or the link for more fun Christmas ornament crafts for kids.

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Christmas Ornaments

Printable Christmas STEM Project Pack

200+ PAGES OF HOLIDAY THEME STEAM, STEM, Science, and Art!

  • 25+ Christmas theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, and useful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited-time needs. Includes a holiday theme engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve! NEW observation sheets included.
  • Try a Santa’s Letter airplane challenge or take the gingerbread house-building challenge! 
  • Explore the five senses with a specially designed Santa’s Lab pack.
  • Try a mini nature study with your favorite type of Christmas tree.
  • Try your hand at building shapes with gumdrop structure challenge cards or build shapes with jingle bells. Or try the Christmas-themed paper chain challenge!
  • Christmas Screen-free Coding activities include algorithm games, binary code ornaments, and more!
  • Explore 6+ Christmas Art Projects with famous artist-inspired activities that combine art history, process art techniques, and more with simple to-do ideas. 
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9 Comments

  1. Love your Christmas coding decorations. Just be aware that the ASCII list you are using is not accurate – there are always 8 bit in a byte. The leading zero does not show when you type it into a computer. The letter A for example is actually 01000001 and so on. Just need to add a leading zero to the binary numbers you have listed

  2. 1960s ASCII table was 7 bits but 1980s revision updated ASCII to 8 bits referred to the ASCII extended table. Probably does not matter for these unplugged activities with kids. The Christmas ornaments are a great idea for helping to teach kids about how computers communicate. Will use your idea with our youngest students.thanks

  3. You assigned the same binary code to both W and X (1010111). The table should list the 7-bit codes as follows:
    W – 1010111
    X – 1011000

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