Code without a computer, learn about the binary alphabet, and craft a simple ornament all in one great Christmas STEM activity. Our 25 Days of Christmas STEM countdown is over halfway done! I’m loving all the amazing science experiments for kids that we have done so far! Can you believe Christmas is so close? I hope you have been enjoying all of the STEM activities we have been trying out this season. Today’s project is a Christmas coding activity, that you can also turn into an ornament!
It’s a great way to combine easy science experiments for kids with a ton of Christmas fun as well! Finding the perfect experiments for kids doesn’t have to be hard!
CHRISTMAS CODING ACTIVITY AND STEAM ORNAMENT CRAFT
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 is perfect, just like the magnetic ornaments we made! I love how versatile STEM is so that I can find great experiments for kids.
MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL THESE STEM INSPIRED ORNAMENTS!
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.
Insert scratch head here when he asked what it was all about and if we could do it. So a little digging around, and I found out about the ASCII Binary Alphabet. I also found another computer coding beading activity here.
LEARN ABOUT BINARY CODE
If you want to learn more about how the binary code works, read all about it here.
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 it’s 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.
He loves computer games especially Minecraft. I told him real people make these games and need to learn all about computer coding as well.
NEW! We now have printable Christmas algorithms set of games for kids you can add to your screen-free coding sessions.
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.
SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THIS SCIENCE EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS
- Pony Beads (a good amount of two different colors and a small amount of an additional color for spacers)
- Pipe Cleaners
- Binary Alphabet Sheet (download here)
CHRISTMAS CODING ACTIVITY AND ORNAMENT MAKING
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 together. REMEMBER: Designate what color is 1 and what color is 0!
SCREEN FREE CODING FOR KIDS
Pick your word, find the letter, 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 was able to 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
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 and will wonder if you had trouble making a candy cane pattern! Just smile and ask if they know about the Alphabet Binary Code.
This is a great 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! This is a super simple science experiment for a variety of ages!
Computer coding activity for kids without the computer. Kids can get started with fun STEAM activities early. Technology is huge even with young kids today. It’s important to introduce these hands-on concepts. They get kids thinking and creating, problem solving and testing. Make computer coding fun with a simple ornament activity
CHRISTMAS CODING WITH KIDS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Click on the photos below for more awesome Christmas science and STEM ideas.
Christmas Slime Recipes
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Sue healey
July 20, 2016 at 3:34 amLove 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
Erik
September 5, 2016 at 4:46 pmBytes may be 8 bits, but ASCII is a 7 bit code, so the table is correct.
Sue healey
October 21, 2016 at 6:57 am1960s 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
Benjamin McCorkle
December 7, 2016 at 11:47 amYou 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
littlebins
December 14, 2016 at 2:53 pmOh I will take a look! Thank you.