Have you ever rubbed a balloon vigorously against your clothes and stuck it to a wall? I bet you have! This is called static electricity, and it is an awesome science experiment that doesn’t require a whole lot of supplies. Here’s a fun Christmas theme twist on a simple static electricity experiment. Check out more fun Christmas science experiments!
Jumping Tinsel Static Electricity Science
CHRISTMAS SCIENCE
This simple Christmas static electricity science experiment is part of our 25 Days to Christmas Countdown. Make sure to check out our full list of Christmas science activities to plan out your month of December. Enjoy this simple science static electricity experiment below and have fun this season!
What is static electricity?
Let’s talk about some basic principles of static electricity. Talking about atoms, proton and electrons can be a bit tricky with young kids. Everything we see around us is made of atoms. Atoms have protons, electrons, and neutrons. Protons are positive, electrons are negative, and neutrons are neutral. Everything has the same amount of protons and electrons. When you create static electricity, you change the balance of protons and electrons.
Rubbing two different materials together like a balloon and hair creates static electricity. More negative electrons are transferred to the balloon and the hair has more positive protons. Positive and negative charges attract each other. Negative and neutral charges also can attract each other. The tinsel is a neutral charge so the balloon and tinsel attract each other!
A good example is when you remove your hat. The hat is negatively charged and your hair is positively charged. Since two positive or two negative charges will repel each other, your hairs move away from each other. They literally stand on end! Another good example is when you rub the balloon in your hair. You are about to test that out!
Also check out our floating rice experiment and electric cornstarch experiment.
Don’t forget to grab your FREE set of Christmas STEM challenge cards
JUMPING TINSEL CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT
Supplies Needed :
- Balloons
- Tinsel
- Multiple surfaces to test static electricity charge
Set Up:
STEP 1. Blow up your balloons and cut up your tinsel.
Our tinsel had a metal wire running through it, so I simply pulled it out and discarded it. You are now ready to begin experimenting with your Christmas static electricity science experiment.
STEP 2. Rub your balloon against different materials. Hair is a good one to try first. So now you have your fully charged balloon.
Make sure to test different materials to see what happens. We even tested different colored balloons! I had my son running around the house looking for things to rub his balloon on! His hair was by far the best and easiest way to charge a balloon!
STEP 3. Place the charged balloon on the tinsel and watch what happens!
You might also want to test different size pieces of tinsel. We could not get larger chunks to move much. Yes, you can see that the balloon managed to find strands of my long hair too.
Of course you can also run around sticking balloons to the wall or find other items to test. Tissue paper works well too I have seen. Cut out small pieces to test if you have some. What else works? Let me know!
Fun and simple science for everyone in the family to enjoy. You can keep kids of various ages busy for quite awhile or use it as a quick time filler.
Bonus: If you have a few fly swatters on hand, the kids {and adults} always enjoy a little balloon tennis!
MORE FUN CHRISTMAS SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Christmas Skittles Fizzy Christmas Trees Christmas Magic Milk 
Santa’s Chimney Challenge Elf Snot Slime Santa’s Sleigh Rocket
Christmas Static Electricity Experiment
Fill your holiday season with Christmas science. Give the gift of time and wonder!
BONUS CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
Christmas Crafts Christmas Slime Recipes Christmas Tree Crafts 
Christmas STEM Activities DIY Christmas Ornaments Christmas Math Activities
Thank you for your collection of STEM activities!! They are going to help us stay in routine during Christmas Break from school! He loves science so we’re doing a Christmas STEM Camp (at home) this year along with maintaining a few academic skills..it’s just what we need to do during breaks:) I’m using many of your ideas in the next 10 days. Thank you for the blessing!
awesome!!