HOUSTON – Old Man Winter made it to Houston and while area schools close campuses, parents might be wondering how they can entertain the little ones. Don’t worry, we’ve got some ideas that will hopefully keep spirits high under the extreme winter conditions.
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With snowy conditions blanketing the majority of the Houston area, it’ll certainly be tempting to make snow angels or snowmen. But if you’re looking for something else to do, consider these wintry science experiments we found on science-sparks.com!
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Be aware you’ll want to get some of the items needed to conduct these experiments before the temperatures drop, so don’t come after me if you don’t have these on hand by the time you read this.
Snow Volcanos
All you have to do for this is, gather snow around a bottle. Then add water, food colouring, dish soap ( washing up liquid ) and baking soda. Try making different colours of lava using food colouring and experiment to find the best fizzy recipe!
Ice and Salt Investigation
We all know that salt can be used to melt ice, so why not have fun melting ice and come up with some crazy designs? The best part is you could do this indoors too if you’re not wanting to spend too much time outside.
Frozen Bubbles
We found this via Fireflies and Mudpies. To make these, you will need bubble solution and bubble wands. You’ll need some bubble solution, which hopefully will be in stock at the stores. If you can’t then, you may wish to make a homemade bubble solution with glycerin, dish soap, and distilled water. No glycerin? Then some light corn syrup could work!
When blowing the bubbles, be sure to blow them into a bowl with a paper straw. A thin layer of ice will soon appear on every bubble. The ice appeared to float and slide along the surface of the bubble.
The bubbles will then form crystals, freeze, then completely collapse into shimmering fragments. Kiddos could then grab the shattered bubbles (with parental supervision, obviously) with his hand and blow them into the sky like foam.
You could also just use bubble wands to blow bubbles the old-fashioned way. They’ll just freeze mid-air, explode, and then drop to the ground. Sometimes, a bubble could cling to a hedge or bounce along the surface of the snow like a ball, until it shattered or ripped.
For best results and longer-lasting frozen bubbles, the article where I found this says to blow the bubbles in an area shielded from the wind.
Snowman Catapult
This one will require some additional materials that don’t use actual snow but still looks like a lot of fun. Check out this link to see the step-by-step instructions.
Be sure to send us photos of all the fun you are having in the snow by going to our Click2Pins! Stay safe, and make good memories!
For more ideas from Science Sparks, visit their website by clicking here.