Snowflake and Ice Experiments

Examine, grow, melt, and cook with these four fun experiments:

photo via Austin Kids Blog

1. Snowflake Shapes
Kids can see all snowflakes have 6 sides and not one looks the same!

materials:
black paper or black fabric
magnifying glass

instructions:
1. Place paper in the freezer for a few hours to prepare it. Then, put the paper outside on a snowy day.
3. Let some snowflakes land on it
4. Use the magnifying glass to see the snowflakes up close.






2. Experiment with Insulation and Ice - Cocopreme helped kids learn about thermal insulators and how they affect the temperature of ice. Document what factor caused the ice to melt the fastest: salt, newspaper, or aluminum foil. Also, try other forms of insulation. 

photo via cocopreme

3. Classic Snow Ice Cream Recipe:
1. Put a big bowl outside to collect snow (8 cups)
2. Mix in a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk and either 1 tsp of vanilla extract or 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of chocolate syrup (you can play around with ingredients) 

Photo is from KSPR, click the link for more snow ice cream recipes!

4. Grow snowflakes in a bottle! Find out how at Snow Crystals by Ken Libbrecht.