Hey there! Are you ready for a winter adventure? Let’s join Squeaks and learn some cool science facts while having fun in the snow!
Squeaks and I are excited to go snowshoeing and maybe even slide around on the frozen pond. But before we step onto the ice, it’s important to check with a grown-up to make sure it’s safe. Sometimes, ice can look solid but might have a thin layer with cold water underneath.
Have you ever wondered why ice might crack? It’s all about pressure! When you step on ice, your weight pushes down, creating pressure. If the pressure is too much, the ice can crack. That’s why animals like polar bears spread their weight by sliding on their bellies to avoid breaking the ice.
Ice is slippery because of friction, a force that happens when two things rub against each other. When you move on ice, a tiny bit of warmth melts the top layer, making it slippery. Some scientists think the top layer of ice is not fully solid or liquid, adding to its slipperiness.
To keep from falling on ice, try to keep your belly button above your feet. This helps with balance. Even though Squeaks doesn’t have a belly button, we can practice balancing before heading out!
After our icy adventure, let’s warm up with a treat that feels cold—peppermint! Peppermint contains menthol, which tricks your tongue into feeling cold. Our tongues have sensors that detect temperature, and menthol activates them, making us feel like we’ve eaten something cold.
Now, let’s have some fun with gingerbread! We’re going to build a gingerbread fort. Engineers plan their buildings by choosing materials with the right properties. Our gingerbread needs to be hard enough to stand but not too hard to break.
To stick our gingerbread pieces together, we’ll use icing. It needs to be thick enough to hold the pieces but not too runny. Once the walls and roof are up, we can decorate our fort, being careful not to add too much weight.
Thanks for joining us on this winter adventure! We learned about ice, pressure, and even built a gingerbread fort. Keep exploring and having fun with science!
Ice Observation Walk: Next time you’re outside in winter, take a walk with a grown-up and look for different types of ice. Can you find ice that looks thick and ice that looks thin? Try gently tapping it with a stick (with an adult’s help) to see how it sounds. Discuss with your grown-up why some ice might be safer to walk on than others.
Pressure Experiment: Gather some play dough and a few small objects like a toy car, a pencil, and a coin. Press each object into the play dough and observe what happens. Which object made the deepest mark? Talk about how this is similar to how pressure works on ice. Try spreading the weight of the toy car by placing a piece of cardboard under it and see if it makes a difference.
Slippery Ice Challenge: Create a small ice rink at home using a baking sheet and some ice cubes. Let the ice cubes slide around and notice how they move. Can you make them stop quickly or do they keep sliding? Discuss how this relates to friction and why ice is slippery. Try adding a little salt to one side of the ice and see what happens to the slipperiness.
