We made snowmen right in our classroom. My teacher said we were going to learn about states of matter and then she took some kids outside to fill up a tub with snow. When they came back inside, Ms. Bluemel gave each team of children a small plastic tub of snow. We worked together to make a snowman, using snow, pipe cleaners, and beads.

My snowman had arms and a fur hat made from pipe cleaners, eyes made from blue beads, and a nose made from an eraser. It was really fun making it although the snow was really cold.

Snow is a solid because it doesn’t take the shape of the container it is in. Within a few minutes, our snowman’s head started to melt and then it fell off. Now, part of our snowman was a liquid - water. Liquid does take the shape of the container if you were to place it in one.

We timed how long it took for one snowman to melt completely. As it was melting we took pictures about every fifteen minutes. We started at 11:00 a.m. and by 1:50 p.m. it was completely liquid.

After that, we poured liquid Frosty into a cup and microwaved him. We could see a gas called steam coming from the top of the mug. A gas expands and floats away. So Frosty went through all three states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas.

I think that was a fun way to learn about the three main states of matter. Ms. Bluemel is really nice to let us make snowmen indoors.

Watch our Frosty video!
(8MB .wmv)

Resource Link: States of Matter Pathfinder