The Truth About Snow

   Since we have been starting our preschool day outside on the playground this winter, we get out more days than I ever have in the past during the winter. I am a strong believer in getting outside in all kinds of weather. I have a "dream" that someday I will own enough rain boots and slickers to make going outside in rainy weather easy. I have such fond memories from my own childhood walking to and from school in the rain and playing in the puddles caused by all of the downspouts on houses.
   Back to winter in Vermont. I have noticed how kids (and I was one of them too) like to "sample" snow. As a grownup, I find this disgusting, because I know how dirty snow can be. I have had many conversations with the kids about how gross snow is, but they have not really believed me, considering how pristine and white a fresh layer of snow appears. 
We did a science experiment with snow in order for me to definitively show them that they may want to think twice before chowing down on their next snow cone.
  We got a large, empty, clean jug and filled it 3/4 of the way up with snow from the playground.  We brought the jug inside the classroom. The kids all predicted that it would melt, or change to water. We were surprised that by the end of the preschool day, there was still a lot of snow in the jar. It was slushy, but had not all melted. We decided as to let it sit inside over the weekend and we would check it on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, this is what we found.

The kids looked in the jar and observed that there was lots of dirt and even some small rocks and pebbles in the water in the jug. They also said the water was not very clean, like drinking water. They all agreed that they did not really like to eat dirt and rocks and now they know that snow has that stuff in it. 
    The other observation that we made was that the snow had filled the jar 3/4 full, but the water that it melted into only took up a little bit of space on the bottom. I asked them what they thought made up the rest of the space in the snow--what else was in the jar? One of them realized the jar had air on top. We talked about how snow is made up of a lot of air and a little bit of water. 
   They gained a lot of knowledge in a very simple experiment of melting snow. I'll have to see if their new learning carries over to the culinary behavior on the snow-covered playground. I hope it does.