Let it Snow!

Winter is upon us.  Whether you live in the North or South, the snowflake is a recognizable symbol of winter.  They are so beautiful and interesting; I thought it fitting to write a post about snow to commemorate the Winter Solstice.  

I love watching fluffy white flakes fall from the sky, but what makes snow white?  Well, it's not really.  It's actually clear, like glass.  Snow crystals, again like glass, partially reflect light.  Have you ever seen a pile of crushed glass?  The light reflecting from the clear glass appears white.  The same phenomenon happens with snow crystals.  

Snow is frozen water, right?  So what makes snow different than sleet and ice?  The difference is in when the water turns to ice.  Sleet and freezing rain are actual drops of water that freeze as they fall from the sky.  Snow is created in the clouds when water vapor condenses directly into ice, and not water drops.  

Kenneth G. Libbrecht, Professor of Physics at Caltech created a wonderful website all about snowflakes.  There he has a photo gallery full of pictures of actual snowflakes, tons of information about the science behind snow, information about creating your own snow, and some science-based activities for kids.  I highly recommend his website.

If you're looking for more than science, I found that as well.  Snowflakes make great decorations that you can leave up all winter long.  Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens both have nice collections of snowflake decorations.  I also found informative how-to's on making snowflake window clings, borax crystal snowflakes, and even a quilled snowflake ornament.

Of course, there are always paper snowflakes.  Here are instructions for your basic 6-pointed paper snowflake.  For more stylized snowflakes, check out these Star Wars, ballerina, and 3-D snowflakes.  Jessica Jones, a blogger at How About Orange, has a fan-tastic paper snowflake tutorial.  eHow even has instructions for making a paper snowflake chain!

If you're the kind of person who prefers to stand outside and catch snow in your mouth, perhaps you'd be interested in making some snow ice cream.  This first recipe is very similar to how my dad made it when I was a kid.  The next one uses sweetened condensed milk, and the last one has egg in it.

Finally, if you're like me and live someplace where it doesn't snow, occasionally you miss it.  Even if you don't miss the cold, snow is beautiful.  Steve Spangler Science sells instant snow powder.  Just add water for an "eruption of fluffy snow".

All this talk of snow is giving me cold chills.  I think I'll have a hot drink and snuggle under a blanket.  How do snowflakes inspire you in the winter?

Karissa