When temperatures are freezing and the kids are going stir crazy, try this science experiment. I’ll show you how to turn boiling water into snow with a bonus of fun colors.
Turning boiling water into snow
Are you looking for fun science experiments? Try some of my other ideas, like:
Last week in the Chicago area, temperatures really dropped, and I noticed on my Facebook feed that people were really taking advantage of the colder temperatures. News channel 5, was looking for pictures of people turning boiling water into snow. Hmm…intrigued, I mentioned the idea to a friend who home-schools her four children and is constantly telling me about crazy science fun. She was already turning bubbles into frozen bubbles. She told me, to get a better effect, she colors her bubble solution with Kool-Aid. Hmm…again, intrigued. From that idea, I decided to color the boiling water before throwing it into the snow. I was hoping the vapors would be a bright color. We can’t see the color in the ice crystals, (at least not with blue coloring), but look at the cool definition we achieved. You can see the line of the water droplets that fall to the ground, and the vapors rising out of those – turning into ice crystals, and blowing away. Super fun – very visual – so cool.
*Note – I handled the water. Be careful, and use a pot with a long handle. Oven mitts are a good idea. Throw the water up, and away from your body.
Here’s What you’ll need to make snow:
- Boiling water
- *optional food coloring
Instructions:
- Boil water to a rolling boil
- mix in food coloring
- an adult…can carefully handle the boiling water in the saucepan or transfer it into a heatproof container
- again – an adult – can then throw the boiling water into the freezing temperatures
- *watch carefully – it happens very fast
- You should see the colored water drop to the ground, and the huge cloud of ice crystals rising up
- All that remains is a cloud of snow
Explaining the science behind the experiment:
- The temperature will have to be cold – really cold, like negative degrees cold
- Air that cold is very dense
- When you force moisture into the air, the atmosphere does not have room for more water molecules
- So, it will turn into precipitation, clinging to air molecules and turning into crystals
