Instructify

As the weather turns frosty outside, the internet offers some great opportunities for learning more about wintry weather, snowflakes, hot and cold temperatures, and the science behind winter fun from snowballs to ice hockey.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research & the University Corporation for Atmostpheric Research Office of Programs presents Web Weather for Kids, which includes a section on Blizzards and Winter Weather where students can learn how blizzards and winter storms form, read a story about a winter storm, learn about winter storm safety, and find instructions for in-class science activities that allow them to experiment with air pressure, build a barometer or build an aneroid barometer.

Science NetLinks, a part of the Thinkfinity partnership between the Verizon Foundation and eight educational organizations,  provides K-2 lesson plans on water and ice  that allow students to experiment with how water can change between liquid and solid forms.  Additional lesson plans on the weather can extend students’ understanding of winter weather conditions.

Frosted Flakes: The Science of Snowflakes is the result of a scientific and educational partnership between elementary and middle school students, Dr. Keith Andrew of Western Kentucky University, and Argonne National Laboratory studying snowflakes.  You can view beautiful images of snowflakes, learn more about the project, and try your hand at cutting out a paper snowflake using an interactive online application.

Find out whether hot and cold water will mix with The Amazing Water Trick from the Science Explorer: An Exploratorium At Home Book  from Exploratorium: The Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception in San Francisco.

For winter sports fans, the Exploratorium also offers The Science of Hockey where you can learn everything from why ice is slippery to how you can measure your reaction time. -KATHRYN WALBERT

Web Weather for Kids

Lesson plans on water and ice and lesson plans on the weather via Science NetLinks

Frosted Flakes: The Science of Snowflakes

The Amazing Water Trick

The Science of Hockey

Related Stuff:

Talk About the Weather Without Being Boring: NOAA Education

Prove it with Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

Photo credit: Rachel’s flickrs on flickr