Snow Facts and Fun Activities for Kids
The first snow of the year is always a big hit with the kids, and they can’t wait to get on their winter gear and go outside to play. While being outside is a wonderful way to burn off energy and stay fit over the winter months, parents can also use their outdoor time as a teachable moment.
Snow Facts
You can amaze your children with little facts that they can easily remember and discuss with their friends or with other family members. Some cool snow facts your kids will love include:
- Snow is actually the same as rain but due to the freezing weather the water vapor freezes in unique patterns rather than forming into drops.
- It takes about 180 billion water molecules to make one snowflake.
- Every snowflake that ever falls has six sides.
- Just about 12% of the Earth is always covered with snow or ice.
- The most snow that ever fell in one 24 hour period in the United States was in 1921 in Silver Lake, Colorado. They found themselves with 76 inches of snow when the storm ended.
- Mount Baker ski area in Washington State received 1,140 inches of snow in the winter of 1998/1999.
- To be called a blizzard a snow storm must have winds of at least 35 miles an hour, visibility has to be less than ¼ of a mile and the snow has to last for at least 3 hours. Anything less than this is a snowstorm.
- Snow is highly reflective and, without protection for your eyes you can actually become snow blind on a sunny winter day.
Fun Things to Do
Getting outside and doing things with the kids in the snow is a wonderful thing for the entire family. There are lots of fun things to do besides just building snow forts or going to your favorite hill for some skiing, sledding or snowboarding.
With little or no cost you can:
- Make a snow family or snow sculptures on a warmer day to decorate your yard.
- Mix water and food coloring together and put different colors in spray bottles. The kids can design their own paintings on the snow in the yard with a fresh canvas after each snowfall.
- Create homemade bird feeders out of hollowed out oranges, apples or small pumpkins and fill them with seeds for birds and squirrels.
- Try a game of kickball or golf, just use big nerf balls that are easy to see and skim across the surface of the snow.
Getting outdoors and having fun in the winter is just as easy as in the summer. It is a great way to involve the whole family and get some terrific exercise.
