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cleanwaterchronicles · 5 years ago

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14 Winter-Themed Science Experiments & Activities for Students

Project Learning Tree is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. They have come up with a list of 14 fun science experiments to do with your kids while at home this winter.

“Saying “goodbye” to warm, sunny days is never easy, especially if you live in a cold climate. While you may feel stuck inside, you and your students can beat cabin fever this winter by embracing the opportunity to explore the natural wonders of the season.

These engaging experiments, activities, and projects will inspire you and your students to brave the snow, ice and cold temperatures. The activities below provide a range of experiences for all levels of students from kindergarten through middle school. Cold-themed investigations explore chemical changes, states of matter, measurement, data collection, animal adaptations, physical properties, and landforms to inspire your students to explore nature’s wonderful white wonders. Many of these activities can be done whether you live in a cold or warm climate!

1. How Much Water is in Snow?

It’s hard to imagine that giant piles of snow contain just a few inches of water. Scientists say thirteen inches of snow is equivalent to one inch of water. Encourage your students to practice using their skills of making predictions, estimates, and measurements by collecting snow for an easy experiment.

For younger children, try a simple investigation with collecting measurements. Adapt this activity to make it more challenging for older children. They will enjoy making predictions about the amount of water in snow and estimating how much snow can be produced with differing amounts of rain.

2. Watch Snowmen Expand While Learning About Chemical Reactions

Using Alka-Seltzer tablets to investigate acid-base reactions is a nice change from the normal baking soda and vinegar reactions. Draw a snowman’s face on a ziptop bag and fill it with snow (or shaved ice if you live in a climate that doesn’t have snow). Add an Alka-Seltzer tablet to the snow and observe the snowman expand over a period of about an hour.

Students can compare reaction times by making several snowmen and placing them in locations with different temperatures (such as the refrigerator, freezer, room temperature and near a source of heat). Older students can find the relationships between temperature and reaction time, and make a line graph to plot their results.

3. Staying Warm in Icy Weather

Surviving a few months of winter is difficult enough for some non-migratory animals. It is hard to imagine how arctic animals make their homes in such frigid climates. Investigate arctic animal adaptations with the hands-on activity for younger children. Start your discussion of arctic adaptations with this video from PBS LearningMedia (Adaptations of Arctic Animals). Then, jump into this activity on polar bear adaptations where young students play dress up with different types of materials that correlate to the polar bears’ adaptations that help them survive in cold climates.

4. Instant Snow

You don’t need to put on your snowsuit to make snowmen with this snow! For a quick and satisfying sensory experience, make “snow” with just two ingredients – baking soda and water. Younger students will enjoy using small plastic animals to make tracks through the snow, or set up an imaginary winter scene. They can also practice spelling words by drawing in the snow with their fingers.

5. Explore the Melting Point of Ice

Navigating icy roads is much safer after salt has been applied. Students can investigate which products are most effective at melting ice through experimentation. Place an ice cube in four separate glasses and sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt, sugar, and sand to three of the ice cubes (do not add anything to the fourth one as it is the control). Observe the melting times of the ice cubes and discuss why some ice cubes melted faster than others. Older students will appreciate this video explanation of “How Salt Melts Ice.”

You can add to this experiment by testing different substances, using different amounts of the substances, and observing the ice cubes melting in warmer or colder temperatures to see how these factors affect the melting times.

6. Sticky Ice

Students will be amazed by this simple experiment that allows you to pick ice cubes up with a string. When the amazement wears off, explain the amazingly simple science behind the trick. This activity would fit well with learning about states of matter, melting points, physical changes, and chemical changes. You could also compare the effectiveness of different types of salt (table salt, kosher salt, rock salt) and ice melt.

7. Make Frost

Take your exploration of states of matter one step further by making frost on a jar. Condensation appearing on the outside of glasses is a mystery all children want to solve. Use this activity with a lesson on chemical reactions, condensation, and states of matter. Students could also make predictions and test other ingredients, such as sugar, baking soda, or different types of salt.

8. Watercolors and Ice Blocks

Combine art with chemistry with beautiful creations by adding watercolors to blocks of ice. Add salt to different areas to make divets and patterns in the ice blocks, and add your own colors with liquid watercolors or food coloring. The crevices created by adding salt and watercolors make a beautiful pattern in the ice blocks. This is a fun way to incorporate art and science as an introduction to melting points!

9. Simulate an Avalanche

Students will have a blast learning about avalanches and landslides with Discovery Education’s hands-on simulation. Students place a book on a wood plank, lifting the plank until the book begins to slide. They should record the angle or height of the plank when the book begins to slide. Students make predictions and test different variables by changing the slope and types of lubrication. Then they add different kinds of materials such as talcum powder, sand, and marbles between the book and the plank and record the height of the board when the book begins to slip. Afterward, discuss why the book slipped at different heights and how this experiment relates to avalanches and landslides.

This activity would fit nicely into a unit on forces, friction, and lubricants. BBC Earth Unplugged has an excellent video, “What Causes Avalanches,” explaining the conditions necessary for avalanches. Extend the learning with a video about avalanches from PBS LearningMedia’s short video, “How Do Avalanches Form.”

10. Catch Snowflakes

If you live in an area that snows, try catching snowflakes and examine their image with a magnifying glass. Students can observe the number of sides snowflakes have and classify their shape. With some hairspray and a glass slide, you can preserve the image of the snowflake and observe it long after the snow has melted.

11. Snowflake Physics

Each snowflake is unique. Explore the molecular structure and formation of snowflakes, then head over to PBS LearningMedia for ideas on how to integrate the physics of snowflakes into your science and math classes. Students can also learn to classify snowflakes based on their shape, while learning about the famous photographer Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley who perfected the art of capturing the beauty of snowflakes before they vanished.

12. Frozen Bubbles

If you live in an area with temperatures below freezing, students will enjoy watching frost patterns form on bubbles. Before heading outside, ask students to make a prediction about what will happen when you blow bubbles in freezing temperatures. You can use regular bubble solution or make a stronger version with corn syrup. If you are able to catch any frozen bubbles before they break, ask students to examine and sketch the crystal pattern that forms on the outside of the bubble.

13. Winter Scavenger Hunt

Kids love exploring the outdoors in every season. They will forget all about their cold toes with the fun scavenger hunts:

This simple “Outdoor Winter Scavenger Hunt” has pictures for young children, and encourages them to look up, down, and around to find objects all around them.

For a sensory experience, check out this “Winter Scavenger Hunt” where young students can search for things to listen to, smell, and feel.

Turn your “Winter Scavenger Hunt” into a photo opportunity with this activity

Inspire nature detectives with this “Winter Scavenger Hunt” with this tree-themed scavenger hunt

14. Winter-Themed Unit

Exploring winter science themes doesn’t need to be restricted to just one experiment or activity! Pull together various subjects with a winter-themed unit or project-based learning opportunities. Check out these websites to get started:

Exploratorium pulled together “Cool Experiments for a Hot Day”

Science Sparks has “Ice Experiments”

Beyond Polar Bears and Penguins will inspire you with their large collection of activities

STEAM Powered Family has a curated list of “Winter STEM Activities”

Which winter-themed activity or experiment are you going to try with your students?”

Source: https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/winter-experiments-activities

#winter #science #snowscience #environmentaleducation #protectourplanet #winterscience #winter activities #winterstemactivities

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localfreshies · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on Local Freshies | Be a local wherever you go

New Post has been published on http://localfreshies.com/california-avalanche-workshop-2017-recap/

California Avalanche Workshop 2017 Recap

Around this time of year, the snow has begun to fall but not enough to ski except for the most dedicated. For the backcountry community in Lake Tahoe, the California Snow & Avalanche Workshop has become the kickoff for the upcoming season. It’s an opportunity for all winter sports enthusiasts to catch up with each other and get a stern reminder that the mountains are a dangerous place to play and we’re not the ones in control out there… Mother nature is.

Tahoe-Time Introduction

Dave Reichel starting off the California Snow & Avalanche Workshop – Image taken by: Matt Bombino

The host of the workshop and a leader in the backcountry community, David Reichel kicks off the event. With a somber heart, he let everyone know we’ve already had our first death of the season in Montana and to thank each one of us for taking safety seriously. And with that, he introduced the first speaker: Steve Reynaud to provide a season recap for the Tahoe region.

2016-17: The Season of Atmospheric Rivers

Steve Reynaud

Steve Reynaud talking about the season of Atmospheric Rivers – Image taken by: Matt Bombino

Steve Reynaud, a Sierra Avalanche forecaster/observer and owner of Tahoe Mountain sports, summed up last winter in one sentence – A Season of Atmospheric Rivers. In fact, 2016-17 set multiple records:

Wettest water year on record

With 50 feet of snow, it was still nowhere near the snowiest. But, a few places in the area did break snow records like Mt Rose, receiving over 750 inches of the white stuff!

With the storms coming in hot and heavy all season, 47% of forecast days had avalanches reported. That’s WAY above normal! Fortunately, because of how big these weather systems were, access was shut down during some of the riskiest avalanche periods which may have helped keep the total down to 25.

Big Rains AND Big Snows

Early season started with a deep persistent slab, lasting through mid-December. With the snow level up to 9000’ and a storm delivering nearly 12+ inches of rain, everything seemed to slide that could. Luckily, it was followed by 6-8 FEET of snow. Then January happened… storm after storm hit Lake Tahoe and it became known as #Januburied2017. February and March continued the cycle of weather yo-yoing with a few 8500′ snow level storms along with the typical rapid warm up we expect in our area. The season will definitely go down as one to remember.

More people die from avalanches than earthquakes

Jordy Hendrickx

Jordy talking about the latest snow research initiatives at MSU – Image taken by: Matt Bombino

After the Lake Tahoe season recap, we jumped into what’s happening at Montana State University, the leading institution in Snow Science. A shocking fact was brought up that the mortality rate from snow avalanches is higher than people dying in earthquakes. Let that sink in for a moment. Every death is tragic but there has been a positive shift in the statistics. In the last 15 years, the amount of people dying from avalanches has plateaued even with the rise of people heading into the mountains.

Snowpack is a problem, Terrain is a Solution

Just because avalanche deaths aren’t increasing compared with people venturing into the unknown, it doesn’t mean we should stop trying to improve. A MSU Snow Science goal is to try and identify what types of groups make good vs. poor decisions. So, what has their program learned? Using the Ski Tracks GPS phone app along with a survey, they found that the more experienced the backcountry traveler is, it leads to:

Better Decision Making

Better Avalanche Education

Exposing themselves to more severe terrain

A scary fact did come up that was concerning to all. The bigger the group, the steeper the slopes chosen regardless of experience. The next step in their research is to look into understanding the “WHY”. Based on the Norwegian pilot program, they found that risk perception consists of the following:

Risk Appetite – This is inherited in yourself

Education/Experience – The more educated you are in the wilderness, the more likely you are to push it

Gender – Men are 30% more likely to be involved in an accident

What’s next in the project?

For the 2017/18 season, the MSU team will study if this risk perception changes based on region. “Are there ski risk cultures? Similarities/differences based on area?” They want to connect hypothetical to the real-world and see what comes out. If you want to participate in this project, download the Ski Tracks app and visit montana.edu/snowscience/tracks to join the movement. They need our help!

How much snow are we gonna get for the 2017/18 season?

Zach Tolby – NWS Forecaster Reno

Zack Tolby weather forecaster at Reno NWS talking about next season’s predictions – Image taken by: Matt Bombino

The weather outlook segment of the California Avalanche Workshop is always the most fascinating. This year, Zach took a different approach compared to the last few. Instead of stating how much we’re going to get, he focused on how wrong the predictions have been even in the past and why.

Why long-range weather forecasting is difficult for the Sierra Nevadas

The problem for our area more than any other mountain range is that we receive nearly half of our precipitation in the form of an atmospheric river. On average, these events only occur 5-8 x’s/season, meaning in a good winter we get 10 or 12 and in a bad winter 3 to 4. Since atmospheric rivers are typically only 250-375 miles wide, they can easily miss our area.

The one thing for certain is we’ll probably get more than 2014/15 (worst year on record) and most likely less than 2016/17 (wettest on record). But, based on the trending of snowfall since the 2014/15 winter, we should be on track to receive 825.5 inches of snow on Donner Summit for 2017/18… followed by lots of crowd laughter. And if you believe that, just like George C. Parker used to say, “I’ve got a Brooklyn Bridge to sell you.”

The Human Aspect of AIARE

Richard Bothwell

Richard making sure we talk about the human factor when heading into the wilderness – Image taken by: Matt Bombino

In Richard’s second year as AIARE executive director and his first speech at the California Avalanche Workshop, it was the most emotional one of the day. His primary goal is to save lives. When he put up the slide showing three women, each who lost a son in an avalanche, Richard said, “This is who I work for”… and it choked up the entire audience. It really helped lay the groundwork for the human aspect discussion. It’s up to each of us to make sure that he doesn’t add any more pictures to this slide.

Will your avalanche education make a difference?

The question shouldn’t be, “Do you have a certificate?” Rather, it should ask if we’re making good decisions when we are out there. The goal of the program changes to the AIARE education is to NOT come back next year and talk about more deaths, even with holding level 2 certifications.

Social Media – We are all educators

Richard then took the opportunity to highlight social media as a place to educate and not demonstrate how smart you are. We must be careful on how we answer a question that is raised on social media. For example, would you talk to a second grader about quadratic equations? Of course not. So, be sure to understand who you’re talking to and formulate your message to that person’s understanding.

Season Recap for the Eastern Sierras

Image taken by: Zack Holm

Josh Feinberg

Eastern Sierras are home to couloirs & big terrain that rarely see rainfall events. The 2016/17 season was an anomaly filled with early season instability of rain on snow and massive storms. How big? The largest one dumped nearly 104” in late January. Talk about HUGE!

A tragic event shapes life’s direction

The most heartfelt part of his presentation was the story of how he got into avalanche forecasting – the Blacksmith Creek Avalanche. With only 1” of new snow, Josh & his friends Johanna and CJ decided to head to Mt. Watt. As they were skinning towards their objective, they noticed only one way to get in. They could see the wind rolling over the hillside, meaning the possibility of a wind slab. With a commitment to the final goal and a feeling to make the most of the day due to limited days off, they decided to skin up one at a time.

Unfortunately, they triggered a massive slide taking both Johanna & Josh for a ride. Josh was partially buried and had a major concussion while Johanna was fully buried. After 20 minutes of rescue efforts, they pulled her out & CJ went to get help. Sitting there with Johanna in his arms, she said to Josh, “I’m dying.” Hearing those words uttered by a friend shook me to the bone and hope I never get into that situation. As he finished up the story with a heavy heart, Josh scanned the crowd and articulated the words – “I tell you this story in the hope that it helps someone in the future.”

Motorized Avalanche Education

Duncan Lee

Compared to human-powered avalanche education, the motorized side has only begun to grow in the last decade. Some of that has to do with how snowmobiling has been primarily a trial by fire activity. The other factor is because technology has only begun to allow people access to steep avalanche terrain with their machines just like skiers and snowboarders. Due to this, snowmobilers are now becoming a higher percentage of deaths in the backcountry. AIARE understands that a snowmobile is VERY different than human powered. From this recognition, they continue to push the development of a specific motorized avalanche curriculum to help save lives in this area as well.

Shasta Season Overview

The summit of Mt. Shasta in all its glory on an October day – Image taken by: Zack Holm

Andrew Kiefer

Mt Shasta’s forecast environment is challenging. Across a 60-square mile area, they must forecast the weather for elevations from 4,000’ to 14,000’, with weather stations that only go up to 7,800’. In the 2016/17 season, three people were caught in an avalanche but survived. The scariest part is that two of them involved didn’t even have rescue gear on. Instead of shaming people like this, we should use it as an educational experience. We all need to take advantage of the times we’re lucky. It’s the perfect opportunity to share & learn so that we don’t do it again while helping others as well. The good news is in the 20 years of avalanche forecasting, they still have not had a death even with how massive the avalanches can be on this looming peak.

Mountain Mishaps

Andrew McLean

David McLean talking through the 16 mountain mishaps he’s had over the years at the California Snow & Avalanche Workshop – Image taken by: Matt Bombino

The headliner of this year’s event, Andrew McLean is widely considered one of America’s greatest living ski mountaineers. He began the presentation with a bit of humor & introduction of how he got into backcountry skiing. From there, we dove into 16 personal backcountry mishaps, including a few mentioned here:

Wolverine Cirque – He loved skiing chutes and this particular one is in the Wasatch. He jumped in first and saw no instability. His friend Roman then jumped off a cliff, triggering multiple avalanches. Roman was buried 8 feet deep for 20 minutes and while rescued, sadly died later in the hospital.

Tibet – A special team was organized with the goal to be the first American to ski an 8000 m mountain. When they got there, the team had multiple different agendas. One group headed to check out certain terrain while the others marched off the opposite direction. While walking around without any avy gear, a natural avalanche triggered on the top. The slide then propagated over multiple cliff bands, creating a class 5 avalanche. The result was disastrous, killing multiple people including Alex Lowe, the owner of Black Diamond.

Snowbird – Before ski season began, Andrew and a friend competed in a friendly outdoor race. They began running to the top of a certain knife ridgeline, trying to beat their time of an hour while scrambling to the top. His friend lost his footing and fell down a gully. When Andrew reached him, his friend was covered in deep red blood. Eventually rescue lifted to the hospital, Andrew found out that the fall had killed him.

Is life our greatest adventure?

After listening to Andrew speak about all these incidents, it really shook my foundation for heading out into the wilderness. With so many of his friends dying around him with his trials & tribulations of venturing into the wilderness, why do this? Were his accomplishments such as completing first descents on all seven continents worth the effort? Should he be celebrated for pushing the envelope or rather be a stern warning? Are steep powder turns worth the possible death & carnage? Could I survive if I saw my best friend or wife die in my arms based on a mistake? I can’t answer those questions for you, but to me, I will try to always embrace the little things in life. Andrew’s accounts will be a stark reminder that climbing that peak isn’t worth it if we don’t all come home.

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