Snow provides many opportunities for families to have fun and learning time outside. Here are a few activities that follow STEM:

Examine Snow

Put a black piece of paper in the freezer overnight. Bundle up and take children outside. They can catch snowflakes on the cold paper and examine the them with a magnifying glass. Can they find and count the six sides of a perfect hexagonal snowflake? Many snowflakes are damaged by wind or altered by temperature and humidity as they tumble to earth.

Observe Melting

Children can predict what will make ice melt the fastest on similar chunks of ice: salt, cold water, hot water, salt water, nothing in the sun or shade. Place the ice outside a window so children can check all day and make a time chart. They may come up with their own ideas. Sand? Black pieces of plastic? Glue?

Snow Measurement

Fill a bucket of snow to the top. Measure the snow with a ruler, yard or meter stick. Let them watch it through the day as it slowly shrinks away. Depending on the type of snow the usual ratio is ten inches of snow equals one inch of water. Heavy packing snow could be five inches to one. Very dry cold dry snow could be twenty to one. Then measure the water.

Pothole Science

Explain how road potholes are made.They are caused by the expansion and contraction of water after it has entered cracks in the pavement or small holes in gravel. When water freezes, it expands. Place water in a bowl and mark a line with a crayon. You can also use an ice cube tray filled with water or plastic bag. Place in a freezer. Guess how high the ice will be. Did the expansion burst the bag or over flow the tray? Frozen water is powerful. Are there any potholes in the neighborhood? Are they getting bigger as the water thaws and freezes? A practical application is to teach that it is unwise to place a completely filled water bottle in the freezer.

Igloos

You can talk about how igloos ,“house” in Inuit, are made. Although historically igloos protected people in cold climates, few use them today. Igloo shaped tents are popular though. Children can construct igloos with strips of newspaper dipped in 1/4 Elmer’s glue and 1/4 water wrapped around the top of a ball, dried, and fashioned into an igloo for play figures.

Good books about igloos and Inuits include: “The Igloo” by Charlotte Yue; and “Immi’s Gift” by Karin Littlewood.

Children often want to dig out a snowbank to make an igloo. Snow forts with walls and no roof are probably safer and just as fun. For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com; wnmufm.org/Learning through the Seasons; Facebook and Pinterest.