|
|
|
Time for snowforts, snowballs, sledding, skiing, and skating! The critters outside are really glad for the warming blanket of snow.
Read on for Cool Facts (ha-ha!), how snowflakes are made, and more . . . . |
|
| What to look for: |
 |
Get a ruler! The first official snowfall is 1/10 inch deep. Watch in your neighborhood and around school. If you think you are the first person to see this event, ask your teacher to submit your name to the Wolf Ridge website (see table below.) |
| Where on Earth does it snow in winter? |
| This map shows how planet Earth might look from space in winter, looking straight down at the North Pole. The white areas would be covered with snow and ice for at least a few days in an average winter.
Where is North America? Can you find the Great Lakes? Where would you be on this map? We are used to seeing maps of the Earth from a certain angle. This is a good reminder that North America isn't always in the center of the view! Image courtesy of the National Snow and Ice |
 |
| How do snowflakes get their shape? |
| It takes three things to make a snow crystal: cold, water vapor, and dust in the air.
If conditions are just right, water molecules will freeze on the dust, one at a time. Because they join together in a regular pattern, they form a starter "hexagonal plate" crystal. The final crystal shape depends on the temperature and other weather conditions. Check out the different shapes that you might find falling from the sky: |
||
plate crystal |
stellar crystal |
columnar crystal |
needle |
spacial dendrite |
tsuzumi crystal |
irregular flake |
graupel |
ice pellet |
| Cool Facts |
|
|
Did you know that there is a difference between snowflakes and snow crystals? Snow crystals are the individual shapes that are formed high in the atmosphere. Sometimes they fall all the way to the earth’s surface as crystals. When you cut "paper snowflakes", you are probably really cutting "paper snow crystals!" If snow crystals clump together, they make a snowflake. |
 |
Fresh snow is usually 90-95% trapped air. Ten inches of snow can insulate about as much as six inches of the fiberglass insulation found in many homes. That's an insulation value of about R-18! |
 |
Snowflakes are white because sunlight is white. Most objects absorb some sunlight which gives them their color. But the crystals in a snowflake are excellent reflectors and so we see bright white. |
 |
The largest snowflakes ever recorded fell from the sky in 1887 in Montana. Each flake measured 15 inches in diameter! |
|
Think About It! |
|
 |
 Explore the Web |
| Be creative and design your own 6-sided snowflake. (Requires Macromedia Shockwave plug-in to view) | |
| Watch a time-lapse movie of a snowflake growing. | |
| Get the whole story on why things are described as being "snow white". | |
| See pictures and learn about Snowflake Bentley- the first person to photograph snowflakes. | |
| If you have a question about snow, look here to find an answer. |
|
| Find out what some of our small animal neighbors are doing while you are out playing on a snowy day. |
| Learn more about snow in these Wolf Ridge classes: |
 |
Have you ever wanted to be a meteorologist? In Weather Forecasting you will be learning some of the historic changes in the earth's climate, collect data on today's weather, then do demonstrations to understand cloud formation and low pressure systems. An outdoor game will explain the jet stream and its effect. Finally, you will use your new knowledge to tell the future and create a forecast for the next day at Wolf Ridge. |
|
|
Discover the world of an animal that is perfectly suited to life in the snow. Snowshoe Hare class starts off by comparing Minnesota hares and rabbits. You will be exploring outside areas to find signs of snowshoe hares and possibly even spot one! They you will study the adaptations, predator/prey relationships and population fluctuations of snowshoe hares. |
|
|
Test your own ability to survive in cold and snow in Basic Survival. See if you and your team of classmates can build a shelter, start a fire, make hot cider, and most importantly, stay warm and keep smiling, with just a few items to help you. |
| Date | School | Town | Observer | Comments |