A Snow Day Celebration

Winter can be a great time to stay inside curled up with a good book, but it can also be a great chance to experience Utah’s famous snow!  A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats seems to perfectly capture the fun that can be had playing in the snow. It can be daunting to head outside when the temperatures dip, so here are some fun STEAM ideas to get outside even when the weather is chilly.

  • Paint a masterpiece on the Snow: Mix a few drops of food coloring with cold water (so that it won’t melt the snow) and add to squirt and spray bottles. Go outside to paint a masterpiece on a blank canvas. This can be a great way to recycle leftover condiment bottles!
  • Make a frozen wreath: Using a Bundt pan, add twigs, pinecones, evergreen branches, winter berries and any other outdoor treasures you can find. Place these at the bottom of the pan and then cover with water. Leave the pan out overnight and in the morning warm the pan up a little by briefly bringing inside or running under warm water.  Remove ice wreath and marvel at all of your natural treasures suspended in the sparkly ice.
  • Find Animal Footprints: The snow offers a great chance to see animal footprints. Go in your backyard or a natural area teeming with ice and see if you can figure out what footprint belongs to which animal.
  • Make Frozen Bubbles: On a very cold day mix 1 ½ cup water, 2 tablespoons corn syrup and 2 tablespoons soap. Add more soap and corn syrup if mixture seems runny. Add one dash of sugar to aid in crystallization. Then, blow bubbles outside. The bubbles will freeze and leave behind sparkling globes
  • Drop off a snowman kit to a friend: Collect some rocks, a carrot and maybe an old scarf and leave on a friend’s doorstep with a note to add snow for an instant snowman!
  • Create a snow maze: In deep snow, build a maze for other members of your family to try and solve
  • Make an igloo: Cut blocks of snow using a snow shovel or use a Tupperware container to make uniform blocks. Remember igloos are circular, not a square shape.
  • Go stargazing: Winter is a great time to check out the stars and learn some fun astronomical facts.
  • Flashlight Tag: Since it gets dark so early in the winter, it is the perfect time to play flashlight Tag! Grab a flashlight and have the person that is it stand still at home base and count. Everyone else hides. The person with the flashlight scans the area and tries to shine the light on all the people that are hiding. When the light finds you, you become he next person that is it.