Hi Everyone! This program is called Playing with STEM. It is a STEM program for 2-5 year olds. It is primarily play, because at that age, I just want to make science, technology, engineering and math fun!
In this program we learned about winter animals. There were stations all around the room that the kids visit with their parents. Each station had a sign to give some instructions and a fun fact. Here are the winter animal stations:
New 2026: Bear Hibernation
To learn about bear hibernation, the children could play in a bear cave. They could feed the bear fruit and berries, then take them into the cave to sleep all winter.
New 2026: Hibernation, Migration or Adaptation
The children learned about how animals survive in the winter with this activity. It was adapted from Twinkl here. I made the bottom half into a flap the children could open to find the answer.
New 2026: Where Do They Sleep?
The children learned about where hibernating animals sleep. It was adapted from Twinkl here. I cut out the animals and laminated everything. The animals could be attached to the sheet with Velcro. They flipped over sheet to find the answer.
Polar Bear Sensory Bin
The snow (from Steve Spangler) is a very popular activity in Playing with Stem. This bin had snow, and blue water beads to simulate water. One side had polar bears and winter animals and the other had penguins. Penguins and polar bears do not live together.
Polar Bear on the Ice
In this active station, the children pretended they were polar bears jumping from iceberg to iceberg to get across the sea. A polar bear puppet helped them. It was a chance to discuss how polar bears are having a hard time with the earth warming. A very popular activity!
Polar Bear Craft
For our art activity, the children covered a circle with “fur”, crumpled tissue paper. Then they added the nose, eyes and ears.
Waterproof Penguins
This activity taught the children about waterproofing and how penguins can live in the cold water.
How Big Is a Penguin
The children could stand next to the largest penguin and the smallest penguin to see how tall they are.
Birdfeeder
The children made birdfeeders with pinecones, crisco and seeds to help birds to find food in the winter.
Bird Migration
The children had another active station. They were asked to fly stuffed bird to the north or the south based on the season. The “north” was one side of the room and “south” on the other side. They were able to burn off a lot of energy while learning about migration.
Don’t Break The Ice
The children had several board games with penguins and ice to play.
Build a Bear Cave
The children used LEGOs to build a bear cave.
This program was extra fun as the children enjoyed the active stations the most.
If you have any questions or want to use some of my resources, leave a comment.
Fun for Children at the Library 