Winter months bring new versions of water to explore: snow and ice. Try these three fun winter water activities with us!

To catch and observe the best snowflakes, you have to plan ahead! Place a piece of black paper or thick fabric in the freezer before a big snow. When you want to catch snowflakes, take out the frozen paper and use it as a tray to catch them. The frozen paper will help them last much longer than your hands, which will melt them quickly!

Icicles are an exciting ice formation that we can see in the cold winter months. You can find them where water drips from a source in freezing temperatures. If you don’t want to go looking for icicles you can also create some of your own. All you need is an empty milk jug, a thumbtack, and some strong wire like a metal hanger. Poke a tiny hole in the bottom of the milk jug in the corner opposite the handle. When the temperature is below freezing outside, fill the jug with water and use the wire hanger to hang the jug in a safe place. If the temperature stays below freezing you can add more water to jug to keep the icicles growing and try adding food coloring at different times to see how it causes colorful icicles to grow.

Be careful not to crush these super cool crystals when you are outside on chilly mornings! Ice needles form when the water soil is warmer than 32° F and comes into contact with air that is below 32° F. The water at the top freezes, making it drier, which causes more water to rise to the surface which also freezes. The water keeps rising and freezing, causing the ice needle to grow up and out of the soil.