Science Photos and Other Stuff for Kids: Frost

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Frost, Ice Crystals

Don't you think the ice crystals are especially beautiful? Click on the pictures to get an even better look at them.

The pictures above and below are more heavily frosted because they are dead leaves. The leaves that are on live plants have fewer ice crystals because they still have liquid in their veins. This keeps them warmer, and they don't freeze as readily as the dead leaves.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Frost - Ice Crystals

It's very, very cold outside today! It's freezing, even! When it gets cold enough outside to freeze the water droplets in the air, we say that we have a "frost". This is a picture of the frozen grass on my front lawn.

Look at the individual ice crystals on these leaves! These are tiny leaves, about the size of your Mom's thumbnail. Click on the pictures to see a larger view.

This is not carpet! This is a close up of the ice crystals on the car's windshield! Did you know that this is the way ice looks up close? Click on the picture for a full screen view.

The next time that you have frost at your house, dress warmly and go outside to get a good look for yourself!

Do you notice that very near the house there is no ice or frost? Not always, but if it is a light frost, often times there will be ice all over the entire outdoors, but not next to the house! Do you know why that is? It's because the house is actually kind of warm, and the temperature of the ground next to it doesn't get all the way down to freezing!

Do an experiment! When there is a weather forecast for frost, before you go to bed, place a piece of newspaper out on your lawn, away from the house.

Put a rock on it to keep it from blowing away in case of a breeze.

When you get up in the morning, if it has frosted over night, dress warmly and go outside to see! There will likely be ice crystals on your lawn, on the rock and on the newspaper, but the lawn under the newspaper will probably have no ice crystals!

Can you tell me why there aren't ice crystals there? Tell me what you think!

For more information on frost and the weather, check out The Weather Channel Kids!

My Advice to Parents

Take your children on walks in nature. It can be at the neighborhood park, just as long as there are bushes and trees. Encourage them to look closer, closer!

Point out little natural objects like spider webs, and the spiders in them. Notice little things, like acorns, feathers, rocks, tree bark, flower blossoms, anthills. You will find yourself noticing these things all over again.

Buy your child a magnifying glass. Very young children understand how to and LOVE to use them. You can usually find inexpensive plastic magnifiers at dollar stores and department stores (like Target) and of course drug stores. A nice glass magnifier has much better definition, but of course, they are breakable.

When they are ready, buy them a camera, and encourage them to use it. I know a five year old boy who has had a Fisher Price Digital camera for over a year, and his photographic observations just simply amaze his parents. It will be exciting to see what it is that your child sees as noteworthy.

Read The Barefoot Boy, By John Greenleaf Whittier. (also posted below.)

Be a child again with all the newness and wonderment attached. You will see their observation skills and curiosity increase exponentially. Their knowledge of the natural world will begin to rival The Barefoot Boy.