Magnetic Ornaments You Can Make

Over here we aren’t makers of super crafty things, but I still want to make Christmas ornament crafts with my son and share the experience. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to get your kids interested. That’s exactly what I did with these fun and simple science magnetic ornaments that doubles as a craft too!

Explore Christmas Theme Science

Not every kid loves crafty things, especially mine. You can still get creative and crafty with our magnetic ornaments! These ornaments make the perfect Christmas craft activity combined with an easy Christmas themed science activity {we have tons click here}.

There’s no glue, paint, or glitter, but that’s ok! We still did plenty of designing, creating, and making with these magnetic ornaments.

Some of our favorite ways to create come from the hardware store instead of the craft store!

A little bit of science and a little bit of crafting with our magnetic ornaments. Have fun exploring the magnetism of nuts, washers, jingle bells, as well as the pipe cleaners themselves! Practice fine motor skills while threading different items on to the pipes cleaners.

All Kids Can Be Scientists!

So what exactly is a scientist? How can you encourage your kids to be scientists without a lot of effort, fancy equipment, or complex activities that create confusion rather than curiosity?

A scientist is a person who seeks to acquire knowledge about the natural world. Guess what? Kids do that naturally because they are learning and exploring the world around them. All that exploring brings up a lot of questions!

Make a free printable scientist lapbook!

A good scientist asks questions and makes observations as they explore the natural world, and we can further encourage this with simple science experiments. Knowledge is gained through all of these questions, explorations, and discoveries! Let’s help them by providing fun science activities that spark their inner curiosity.

Making magnetic ornaments is a perfect science activity for Christmas! It is fun to explore and observe, and the setup is simple enough for busy families and classrooms to fit into the day.

Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• 8 Science Books for Kids
• All About Scientists
• Science Supplies List
• Science Tools for Kids
• Join us in the Club

What Are Magnets?

Magnets are a type of rock or a piece of metal that can attract or pull specific types of metal toward themselves.

The force of a magnet, called magnetism, is a common force of nature, just like electricity or gravity. Magnets don’t need to touch other objects for them to work. Try it out and see for yourself!

You may have seen magnetism at work with magnets on your fridge! Those magnets are attracted to the metal on your fridge and stay put because of it.

Get your FREE printable Christmas STEM activities guide!

Magnetic Ornaments

Learn more about magnetism with these easy magnet activities.

Supplies:

• Pipe Cleaners
• Nuts and Washers
• Jingle Bells
• Magnetic Wand
• Ribbon {or other material to make a hanger}

TIP: You can even check out your toolbox and see what size washers and nuts you have on hand! These are small pretty small ones.

Instructions:

STEP 1. Thread various metal items on to the pipe cleaner.

STEP 2. Twist the pipe cleaner around the pencil to make a spiral. Connect the two ends by twisting a bit of the pipe cleaner over the other and you have a wreath.

You can always add beads if you have those lying around!

STEP 3. Use your design skills and make patterns with your materials. Use a magnetic wand and test how the strong the magnetism is the more you add to your magnetic ornaments.

STEP 4. Add string or ribbon to finish off your magnetic ornaments. Hang on the tree and enjoy the Christmas craftiness and science lesson all in one fun holiday activity.

More Fun Science Ornaments To Make

• Coding Ornament
• Erupting Volcano Ornaments
• Crystal Candy Canes
• Crystal Gingerbread Men

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.