Mad Science Monday: Snow in August Small World Scene

We are continuing on our Un-planning, Un-themed, Unadulterated End of Summer Fun with this favorite Unseasonably fun Science/Sensory activity I'm now calling "Snow in August."

Here's a photo of the first time we tried out this activity, on an actual snow day in January!

Before I go into setting up this playful Arctic scene, I'd like to give a shout out to the great source I received the idea from: 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids by Asia Citro, MEd, author as well of the wonderful blog FunAtHomeWithKids.com. This activity can be found in the small worlds section of the book, under the title "Penguin World." 

Small world play describes activities that often combine sensory materials with figurines, small dolls or other small toys to encourage imaginative play and storytelling. Older preschoolers can truly begin to delve into the abstract end of this and develop strong storytelling skills while even the younger ones can benefit from the earlier development of dramatic play skills not to mention the fine motor practice and sensory skills. Earlier on, small world play may require adult involvement to encourage role-playing and story telling and different ways to use the materials. More and more, adults can step back and little ones can delve into their creative play scenes. These activities can fill a fifteen minute time slot or captivate for hours! Although this one has the potential to be quite messy, they can also be composed of dry (and less messy) materials. For the messier ones, I do recommend use of a drop cloth beneath your work space for easy clean up. When it comes to miniatures and figurines you might add to a small world scene, you can go out and purchase sets of animals and dolls to use for a range of costs, but you can also find a lot of these items at thrift stores, dollar stores, party favors and the occasional box of cereal. In other words, it need not break the bank--better yet, use what you have and don't go crazy, less is often more in small world play. Remember--little ones only have two small hands to play with!

Snow in August Small World Scene

You will need:

• a large plastic bin, baking dish or container to work from
• water to prepare your ice (see below)
• blue food coloring or liquid watercolor
• cornstarch
• glass gems (optional, can be found in the floral department of craft or discount stores)
• plastic penguins, polar bears and other desired Arctic animals

Prepare ahead:

Prepare any or all of the following ice options:

• Using any plastic storage container, fill with water and add a few drops of blue food coloring or liquid water color. Freeze, preferably overnight for your iceberg (which my son calls an "iceburger").
• Fill and freeze an ice cube tray as well for additional blocks of ice for building an igloo!
• Partially fill and freeze water in the base of your plastic bin or baking dish for an ice sheet.
• You can also have a lot of fun adding crushed ice.

Time to PLAY:

• Using a shallow bin or baking pan, set up your iceberg and ice blocks as desired. Pour a generous amount of cornstarch over the ice.
• Add your figurines and Arctic animals and glass gems if using

As little ones play and explore, they will enjoy the soft texture of the cornstarch snow and the cold, slippery ice. The added science bonus that earned this post its Mad Science Monday slot is that as the ice melts, the water will combine with the cornstarch to create a non-Newtonian fluid commonly known in the world of early childhood as Ooblek. This mixture behaves like a solid under pressure but a liquid when left to its own devices and can inspire hours of exploration on its own. In that sense, you can leave the activity for a while if your junior scientist is done playing or you need to tend to something else and then return later to enjoy the Ooblek. Alternatively, if you'd like to reach the Ooblek stages a little bit sooner, you can do what we did this time and add a bit of water to the scene.