With kids out of school for Christmas break and lots of downtime, these next few weeks present a lot of time to fill with the kids. It can feel like a lot of pressure to decorate the house, do seasonal crafts, and make time and energy-consuming traditions, but you can actually engage kids with just a few simple questions about the world around them.
What temperature does snow freeze at? What makes snowflakes take shape?
Snowflakes form when a water droplet freezes around a tiny particle, creating an ice crystal. As the crystal falls from the sky, water vapor freezes onto the crystal to create the six arms of the snowflake. Air and wind conditions as the snowflake falls (including temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction) determines its shape! That’s why no two snowflakes are exactly alike.
Here is some more information about snowflakes, and a little chart which shows the different range of shapes.
Here is a fun craft and science project (in one!) for your child to make their own snowflakes.
What’s the optimal way to make a snowman?
Building a snowman can be a lesson in engineering and science! Here’s how to engineer the best possible snowman:
-Consistency of the snow is key, and temperature is a vital component of consistency. Ideally, your snow should be around 30 degrees and freshly fallen. Remember, though, if it’s too cold and dry, you can spray a little water on it to add moisture.
Bonus question: How much snow does it take to build a 6-foot snowman? 19 cubic feet!
-Proportion is important for stability. Ideally, your base, torso, and head balls should have diameters of 3, 2, and 1 feet, respectively.
-Finally, make sure you have a good base layer of snow (at least 2 inches of snow on the wetter side), and that you build out of the way of main thoroughfares so that your snowman will be safe from getting knocked over :)
What is the winter solstice?
This relates to to the question we posed in “Encourage STEM Thinking This Thanksgiving,” and in which we explored the analemma: Earth’s imperfect orbit path around the sun, and the fact that the Northern and Southern hemispheres have their seasons reversed!
The winter solstice is on December 21 this year: it’s the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the December Solstice. One thing you might not know is that the solstice is actually an exact moment on the 21st! It’s the moment when the North Pole is pointed most directly away from the sun.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/christmas/0/winter-solstice-2016-shortest-day-year-time/
Here’s some more interesting information about the upcoming solstice.
What makes icicles pointy?
Here’s a time-lapse video showing the growth of icicles!
An icicle begins when a dangling water droplet starts to freeze before falling to the ground. In doing this, it forms a hollow tube of ice that continues to grow downwards. As water continues to drip down, the tip of the icicle is freezing faster than its base, which gives icicles the carrot shape we are all familiar with. Impurities in the water form ripples around their circumference; icicles made from pure water will be perfectly smooth.
Why do we bring Christmas trees into the house?
Christmas trees are known as evergreen trees, and they include conifers (trees and shrubs that form cones to hold their seeds instead of flowers) like pine, spruce, and fir trees.
Evergreen trees have always been special during the wintertime. Long before people began celebrating Christmas, it was common to hang evergreen boughs above doors and windows, and light candles as a way to ward off bad things that winter could bring, like illness, hunger, and sadness. They also served as a sign of hope around the winter solstice: that the darkest days of the year were now behind us, and spring would come again.
In 16th century Germany, wooden stands built to hold candles and decorated with evergreen boughs (Lichtergestelle) were gradually replaced by decorated Christmas trees, which spread in popularity through Europe and the United States.
Traditional German Christmas pyramids are still made, and can be quite intricate.
https://www.erzgebirge-palast....
Why do we make New Year’s resolutions, and why is that important?
It’s said that the Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, almost 4,000 years ago. In celebrating the new year, they promised to pay back money they owed to other people and return anything they may have borrowed. Fast-forward 2,000 years later to Rome under Julius Caesar: The Romans continued the tradition of resolving to be better each new year in celebrating January, and the god Janus, who could see backwards and forwards at the same time.
Now we use New Year’s resolutions as a way to think about what’s important to us, and what we want to accomplish in the next year. Thinking ahead for 2018…what are all the things you want to accomplish? Try writing them down and then breaking them up into smaller goals that you will accomplish in months, or even weeks. As the year progresses, revisit your goals and see how you’re doing! Remember, it’s okay to re-adjust as you go.
From all of us here at KiwiCo, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year!
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