Changing seasons bring new opportunities to explore it in unique ways and winter is no exception.  Snow makes a wonderful playland for children.  When explaining about snow to young children say that it starts in the clouds where billons of water drops become snow crystals.  It’s always very cold when snow falls.  The temperature must be at least 32 degrees.  Snowflakes all have six branches, and no two are exactly the same.  The following are some experiments that children can do with snow.  If snow is not available shaved ice might be able to be substituted.

Infants: Snowball Waterplay – In this sensory experience infants play in a shallow pan half filled with lukewarm water to which snowballs have been added.  While the infants play in the water, the snowballs will start to melt and then disappear.  As they are playing in the water, talk about the snowballs melting.  When the snowballs are completely gone ask them “What happened to the snowballs?”  This can also be done in the summertime with ice cubes.

Toddlers: Nature Detective – Have the toddlers take a magnifying glass outside when it is snowing to look at the snowflakes. Give each child a square of dark velvet fabric to catch the snowflakes.  Have them notice that all of the snowflakes have six points, but they all have different shapes and no two are alike.

Preschoolers: Changing Snow to Liquid:  Take two containers that are the same size. Fill both of them with snow.  Place one container in the refrigerator, and one on a window sill. How long did it take them to melt?  Which container melted first?  It takes 12 inches of snow to make 1 inch of water. How much water did you make?

Other Snow Experiments:

Keeping Warm in Winter -  Birds fluff out their feathers. Human heats their homes and wear heavier clothes. Animals grow thicker coats of fur.  Go outside to look for animal tracks in the snow. Follow the tracks to see where they lead. Look at the depth of the track.  What type of animals could have made that track?  What food would they eat?  Where would they live?  Count the number of tracks found.

Musical Icicles - Go outside to look for icicles.  How they are shaped?  Why are they shaped in this way?  Use a metal rod to tap each one gently.  Do they all sound alike?  Why, or why not?  Break one and tie it on both ends with a string.  Hold the string and tap it.  What it does it sound like?  What do the icicles feel like?

Read the following books about snow:

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader

Snow (Weather Watcher) by Cassie Mayer

Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood.  (Andy Goldsworthy)