Shaving Cream Snow

Let the children play with shaving cream and pretend it is snow. They pile it up and make snowmen and all sorts of creations.

 

Science

See what happens to something plastic in the cold. Take an old plastic soda¹ pop bottle and leave it outside for at least an hour. Then squeeze and see what happens. Why do you think it might have done something different than if it was warm?

 

Animal Tracks

See if you can find the tracks of dogs, cats, birds, and other wildlife in the snow. Check out a book from your local library on animals and animal tracks and see how many different animal tracks you can identify.

 

Snow Shoes

Rent, borrow, or buy some snowshoes and see if you can master walking on deep snow. You can even try making your own out of a curved branch and heavy twine². The trick to snow shoes is to be sure and lift your toes up when you try and walk!

 

Snow Bubbles

Blow bubbles outside, they won’t pop when it’s -30 to -40 degrees below zero outside.

 

Thermometer

Teach the older children to read a thermometer to check the outdoor temperature daily.

Make snow angels in the snow

 

Make a Snow Gauge³

 

Take an old clear plastic soda pop bottle and cut off the top half. Mark the outside in centimeters or inches with a permanent laundry marker and place it outside in a place where it can collect the falling snow. Measure how much melted snow it takes to make water. Collect some snow in a container and record the level of snow on the container. Let the snow melt. How much water is there? Are you surprised at the difference?

 

Make a Glacier⁴

Fill a bowl with snow and bring it inside to partially⁵ thaw⁶, and then add more snow on top. Keep doing this all winter long. You will then have the “layers” of ice and snow like a glacier.

 

Jello⁷ in the Snow

Mix jello as per directions on package. Pour into CLEAN baby food jars-one per student. Place containers in a large tub. Together, fill tub with snow. Watch to see when jello sets.

 

Catch Some Snowflakes

What you will need:

Black velvet⁹ or black construction paper

Magnifying Glass

Snow

 

Since snowflakes melt so quickly you need to freeze your cloth or paper. Have it ready frozen and ready to go for the next snowfall, and go outside and let some snowflakes land on the dark surface. Quickly, before they melt, examine the flakes⁸ with a magnifying glass. Many snowflakes are “broken” and so you don’t see the whole six-sided crystal, but with persistence¹⁰ you’ll see some beautiful examples.

 

Keep Some Snowflakes

What you will need:

Piece of glass

Hairspray (aerosol, NOT pump)

Snow

 

You can have a permanent record of your caught snowflakes if you freeze a piece of glass and the hair spray before the next snowfall. (Both may be stored in the freezer until you need them.) When your ready to collect some snowflakes, spray your chilled glass with the chilled hairspray and go outside and let some snowflakes settle on the glass. When you have enough flakes bring the glass indoors and allow it to thaw at room temperature for about 15 min. Now you have a permanent record of your snowflakes!

 

Science

Provide children with spray bottles containing colored water, preferably red, yellow and blue. Allow them to spray the snow and mix colors.

 

Freeze

Play music and have the children walk around in a circle. When the music stops, the children freeze by standing¹¹ still in a stooped position.

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