11 Jan Let it Snow! Wait! What?! It’s Texas!

We live in Texas and it really doesn’t snow much here. It occasionally hails. Sometimes ice falls, and our entire world shuts down until it thaws. That’s always fun. But I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen it really snow here. Not the beautiful, soft snow that I remember from my childhood, growing up in Canada. You know the snow that creates a soft blanket that muffles all sound? The kind of snow that doesn’t fall, but actually floats down so gently from the sky. Or the kind of snow that crunches under your boot. My children have never experienced that ideal blend of moisture and snowflake that packs into a perfect snowball. So, each time my children ask me, “Mommy, when’s it going to snow?” I tell them that some day we will travel to Canada in the winter for the whole experience. But in the meantime, I found a small way to appease their curiosity.

Let It Snow! Wait! What?! It’s Texas!

What is Fake Snow?

Fake snow! It’s just the coolest thing EVER!  Fake snow is a non-toxic powder that is super-absorbent.  When water is added, it expands dramatically.  In fact, it should expand to 100 times its’ original volume.  It’s very exciting to watch.

This is the stuff that is used on movie sets to create a realistic-looking winter scene.  It’s also used in babies diapers because it absorbs so well.

We tried several versions of the fake snow.  There are definitively certain brands that react better than others.  We found the Steve Spangler’s Insta-Snow to be the best.  It didn’t require stirring, and it expanded the fastest.

Now, of course, if you disobey your Mother and add far too much water, the little experiment will not be quite so impressive.  The good new is, that this will result in snow that is wet and compactable (that’s a word, right?), which means SNOWBALLS.

When you are finished playing with the faux snow, leave it out for a few days and the water will evaporate, turning the snow back into powder.  You can use it all over again by adding water once again! It will last forever!  So go and enjoy some fake snow, even if you don’t get any in your part of the world!

Check out more of our activities our guest post on My Joy-Filled Life this week, where we made Bird Masks for Bird Brains!

P.S. This was the last time we had snow. Or Ice. It was A Very Rare Winter Wonderland, until a day became a week and we started suffering from Cabin Fever in a Texas Ice Storm.