I have not personally tried out one of Curiosity Zone's classes, but they do offer a free class if you are interested.
The snow catcher idea I posted on Facebook came from Curiosity Zone's "Snowy Day Science Project List" that I have posted below. We hope to get to try several, if not all, of these projects soon!
Snowy Day Science Projects
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MAKE A SNOWFLAKE CATCHER. Find a lid in your kitchen. Cut out a piece of black craft foam, felt or construction paper to fit inside the lid. Put your catcher n your freezer for about half an hour until it is freezing cold. Go outside and catch a flake or two. Your pre-cooled catcher will keep the snowflakes intact long enough for you to really study them!
MAKE SALT WATER ICE ETCHINGS. Find a lasagna pan or similar in your kitchen. Add about an inch of water. Put outside to freeze. Bring inside and experiment with drizzling salty water onto the top. (If you don’t have a pipette, try poking a small hole in the corner of a plastic sandwich baggie and close the top. Water will drip out.) Add food coloring to the water to make your etchings even prettier.
INVENT A NEW SLED. Boots and tires are made not to slip on snow and ice. But sleds are just the opposite! Find things around your house to experiment with on a snowy surface. What slips? What sticks? Try garbage bags, shopping bags, cardboard boxes, plastic tablecloths, etc. Build the coolest sled on the block out of a cardboard box with a garbage bag bottom? (This is all about friction! Smooth surfaces slip better; bumpy or rough surfaces slip less.)
EXPERIMENT WITH BLUBBER. Cold weather animals, like penguins, have a significant layer of blubber (fat) that helps keep them warm. Make a “blubber mitton” to demonstrate this principle: Find two plastic sandwich baggies (the zipping ones work best). Turn one of the zipping baggies inside out and place inside the other. Line up the “zippers” on top so that the entire thing zips up. Before zipping, put about 1⁄2 shortening on either side of the bags, in between the inside and outside bags. Now zip the tops to keep the shortening in. Smush the shortening around until it is evenly distributed. Now put
your hand in the middle of the “mitton” and stick your hand in a pile of snow. How long does it take before your hand gets cold? This is how blubber works!
MAKE PUFFY PAINT SNOWFLAKES. Combine one part school glue with one part shaving cream. Add glitter or food coloring as desired. Stir vigorously to puff up. Cut out snowflakes (make sure they have 6 points like a real ice crystal) and dab them with the puffy paint. Hang your artwork on the window and enjoy!
MAKE SNOWY FINGERPAINTS. Now that you’ve got the shaving cream out, squirt some onto waxed paper and play with it like fingerpaint to make snowy scenes.
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