Snow Fun!
A Fun Experience,
And A Wonderful Science Moment!
If you are lucky enough to live where you get snow, please take a few minutes to go outside!
Snow!!!!
- Have your students collect Snow in a small plastic cup, 3 oz is perfect, or reuse your yogurt cups.
- Make sure that the student pushes down on the snow in the cup. The snow needs to be packed tight all the way up to the top.
- If the students can't retrieve the snow themselves, you can collect enough in a large container. Now they can gather it into their cups in the classroom.
- (Of course, you made sure the cups were labeled before collecting the snow.) I made this mistake once, and never again!😧
- Add a few drops of food coloring on top of the snow. This will help them to see the colored snow/water when it is melted.
- Now the easy part, let the students watch their snow melt.
- It should take about an hour.
- They can look at it, but don't let them put their fingers in it, until it is melted.
- The AhHa moment is when the snow is melted, and they actually touch it. Their little eyes get wide with excitement, to find that the water is cold.😲
- They should also discover, the water in the cup, is at a lower depth than when they packed in the snow. WHY?
What can you do with this short science activity?
- Estimate how long it will take the snow to melt: time telling.
- With the class make a chart of the steps they used to collect the snow.
- Students can illustrate the sequence of steps.
Why is this little activity important?
One, SNOW is FUN.
Second, students often don't get to go out into the snow and play,
due to being at daycare, and getting home after it is dark.
At dismissal if it is snowing, let them catch a snowflake on their tongues. Simple enough, but definitely a moment they will remember!
If you live, where there isn't any snow, ðŸ˜
substitute an ice cube for the snow.
- Have them watch the ice cube melt.
- Predict how long it will take for the ice cube to melt.
- Remember, only let them put their fingers in the water, after the ice cube has melted.
Many students at this age, need to use their senses for this revelation.
Ice is cold when it melts!
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I hope you enjoyed these little tips to use with your little ones!😄
Mickey