In short, I am busy: Art Workshop; STEM Challenge: Snow

I've done all of these together as a big program "Snow Fun" or "Science of Snow" but each one can be done separately as well.

Project: Symmetrical Snowflakes

• Black paper
• White paper, white confetti stars
• Cotton, Q-Tips
• White paint/glitter
• Scissors, glue sticks, paint brushes
• From Buggy and Buddy

Project: Snowflake painting/tape resist

• Black paper
• white paint, jumbo paint brushes
• masking tape
• From Little bins for little hands

Project: Beaded snowflakes

• Pipe cleaners
• Pony beads
• From Early Learning Ideas

Experiment: Looking at snowflakes with a microscope

Experiment: Fake Snow

• Magic Puffing Snow
• baking soda, baby shampoo, water, citric acid
• large tubs, cleaning supplies, ziplock bags (to take some home)
• From Fun at home with kids
• Easy play snow
• Baking soda, hair conditioner
• Bins, measuring cups
• From Huckleberry Love
• Other fake snow mixes
• Shaving cream, baking soda

Evaluation

• 1-29-19
• Projects: Snowflake symmetry, magic puffing snow, easy snow
• Attendance: 30
• Notes: We had a major snowstorm yesterday and arctic freezing temps tomorrow. I cancelled the afternoon session and we only had a few people show up for the morning. They did enjoy the program and had fun playing with some balls afterwards.
• 1-30-18
• Projects: Magic puffing snow, snowflake symmetry
• Attendance: 30
• Notes: This was the afternoon session. Mostly people just played with the snow and what was left over from this morning. Thankfully I remember that this takes forever to clean up (but it does clean - everything vacuums or brushes off the carpet)
• 1-30-18
• Projects: Beaded snowflakes, snowflake symmetry, tape resist, easy play snow
• Attendance: 70ish
• Notes: This was a sub program for toddler storytime. We had to cram it all in half the community room. The easy play snow was great - quick clean-up.
• 1-19-17
• Attendance: 23
• Notes: I could not find citric acid anywhere. I ordered it online and it didn't come. We got pectin, which does not work. We ended up with a giant, goopy mess (we threw in vinegar) and the kids were perfectly happy with it.
• 1-21-16
• Attendance: 30
• Notes: Luckily we had a small group as this is not a program that lends itself to large crowds. The microscope didn't work and it took us about an hour to clean up (need to put a tablecloth under/around the sink next time) but it ended early and the kids had a blast.
• 1-29-15
• Attendance: 44
• Feedback/Connections: A new attendee came - one of the teachers at a local group that does science shows! It was pretty awesome because he could tell the kids about the science behind some of what we were doing.
• Notes: I didn't have the books on snow that I wanted, b/c I didn't request them early enough and I meant to have pictures of snow crystals but didn't have time for that either. Next year. We went through a LOT of baking soda, especially because the kids wanted to take their "snow" home. Next year, make sure you remind people first that the snow puffs up over time, so if you seal it in sandwich bags...