Christmas offers plenty of chances to explore science without lab coats or equipment.
Researchers say everyday festive moments can become experiments in biology, chemistry, and psychology.
Matthew Cobb suggests testing how smell shapes taste using sweets or fruit.
With your nose held, flavours fade until smell is restored, revealing how flavour truly works.
Cracker jokes provide insight into human behaviour, says Sophie Scott.
People are far more likely to laugh in company than alone, showing laughter’s social roots.
The Christmas roast can also become a science lesson.
Steve Brusatte recommends examining turkey bones to understand movement and flight.
For chemistry fans, homemade ice-cream explains why salt melts ice.
Andrea Sella says salt lowers freezing points, drawing heat from its surroundings.
Even maths can join the festivities using pine needles and probability.
Kit Yates shows how chance can estimate the value of pi on your living room floor.
Together, these small experiments prove curiosity fits easily into Christmas tradition.
