DIY Snow Globe Science

What's an iconic part of the holidays? Snow Globes! But, how do we tie in a relevant lesson when making our DIY snow globes? Watch this episode to find out.
Handouts can be found at realsciencechallenge.com/ep22.
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[@minatran3652]

I’m not a teacher but I made a snow globe today . We used baby oil instead of water . I actually put fake snow in mine the fake snow doesn’t sink to the bottom .

[@realsciencechallenge]

Thanks for the tip! And, congrats.

[@minatran3652]

Your welcome . Thanks 🙏.

[@dorothylehman4164]

I didn't try with my students because I didn't have any. I'm not a teacher, but I'm a mother and a grandmother and a great-grandmother. And we use glycerin to put in with any type of snow and it'll keep it from floating and I'll make it sink to the bottom and then you can shake it from the bottom and it'll come up and then I'll go back down again. That's what we used so probably you're going to figure that one out though

[@realsciencechallenge]

Thanks for the tip Dorothy!

[@johnnerren8345]

Glycerin thickens up the water to make the snow sink slower.

[@realsciencechallenge]

Thanks for the tip!

[@cindyg.3875]

I'm wondering... is there something that you can add to the water to create a solution that will allow the white fake snow to sink? Something like glycerin, perhaps? Or perhaps salt? This could be another thing to test out with your students!

[@realsciencechallenge]

I was thinking the same thing. But, adding stuff to water will only make water more dense, which means the snow will just float more.

[@cindyg.3875]

@@realsciencechallenge I realized that after I posted it :) But, it could still lead to an interesting discussion!

[@realsciencechallenge]

@@cindyg.3875 Absolutely! That sounds like something a student would definitely bring up.

[@carolynkepler2826]

Are there special ornaments that don’t lose their color in the water? We tried making these last year. They looked great for several days but then the dye on the tree started to bleed into the water, turning the water green and then brown.

[@realsciencechallenge]

I don't have any special ornaments in mind - sorry. Would it help to spray something on the ornaments ahead of time? Just a guess. Or, perhaps pre-soak ornaments ahead of time?