NORTHERN WISCONSIN/NORTHWOODS JANUARY ACTIVITY CALENDAR

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KIDS PAGES -- JANUARY ACTIVITY CALENDAR! WOW! HERE'S A TON OF WONDERFUL ACTIVITIES TO DO EACH DAY IN THE MONTH. WE HOPE YOU'LL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE FUN AND INFORMATION EVERY CHANCE YOU CAN! PERHAPS YOUR TEACHER, PARENT, OR OLDER BROTHER OR SISTER CAN HELP YOU GATHER SOME OF THE MATERIALS YOU NEED OR HELP YOU DO SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES. MAYBE YOUR CLASS, BROWNIE TROOP, CUB SCOUT TROOP, 4-H GROUP, OR A GROUP OF FRIENDS WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME OF THESE ACTIVITIES TOGETHER. January Kids Activity Calendar January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow The blackest month of all the year Is the month of Janiveer A January fog Will freeze a hog January 1 Create an Area to Display Nature Treasures Start the New Year by setting aside a spot to house and show off your nature treasures and projects. This neednât be elaborate. While a table that can remain set up with your collections would be nice, a windowsill can easily be turned into an ever-changing exhibit space. A bulletin board is ideal for tacking up pictures and information, but the refrigerator works just as well with a good supply of strong magnets. Explore the possibilities of using pegboard or a free-standing oversized box to tape things on, or even a piece of string stretched taut from which items can be hung. Itâs fun to collect things that you find when you are out on walks, and, within the bounds of nature etiquette (only take what you really need, and leave plenty of flowers to reseed themselves, et cetera), you can bring home some of what you find. You may discover that you have to design some creative storage solutions for everything you save! And donât be quick to throw things away. . . There is plenty of free stuff for the taking that can make your nature studies easy on your piggy-bank. Save paper and plastic goods (especially the boxes and containers that food, clothing, and shoes come wrapped in), and turn them into storage and display units. Look through the mail for pictures you can cut out. Consider buying the ends of newsprint rolls which newspapers sell for only a few dollars. The width and continuous length are perfect for murals. (Used, continuous, computer print-out paper also works well.) This paper can also be shredded as bedding for small animals. Be on the lookout for these and other items that can be used and reused. Recycling begins at home! Shoe boxes Berry boxes and baskets Plastic bags Jars, large and small Cardboard boxes of various sizes Catalogues and magazines Film canisters Styrofoam butcherâs trays Egg cartons Coffee cans Deli containers Plastic soda bottles Yogurt and cottage cheese containers Margarine Tubs January 2 Design Some Display and Storage Boxes With a little imagination and tape and glue, you can turn all sorts of ordinary boxes into display cases and storage bins. Look around for containers that can be sectioned off to hold small items (such as rocks and insects); larger boxes can serve as filing cabinets or even temporary cages for small animals. Use interlocking strips of cardboard to divide the boxes into smaller specimen sections, or just mark the boxes with ruled lines if your collections will be glued in place. Save yogurt or sour cream containers for protecting individual specimens, and for planting seedlings and windowsill gardens. January 3 See How the Earthâs Tilt Brings Winter You probably know that winter weather differs greatly around the country and throughout the world. The cold often associated with winter occurs when the portion of the earth where we live is tilted farthest from the sun, as the earth makes its year-long journey around the sun. A globe that is tilted on its stand (check your library if you donât have a globe like this at home) shows how this happens. Or try this trick: Turn on a lamp (one where the bulb faces downward) and let it warm up. This is the sun. Using your hand as the earth (you might even draw the outline of the United States on your hand!), move the ãearthä around the ãsun,ä rotating it as you go. Do you feel the warmth of the ãsunä on that part of your hand where you live? When itâs winter in the United States (and other places in the northern hemisphere), people in Australia (in the southern hemisphere) are enjoying their summer! What about a place like Florida? It stays warm year-round because it is near the equator. The middle section of the earth doesnât have such extremes in temperature, although they do have their winter. Several other factors, such as the prevailing winds and ocean currents, also contribute to Floridaâs mild climate. January 4 Think of Some Winter Words Word games are a good way to become familiar with language in general, not to mention the words or terminology that are part and parcel of nature studies. Conjure up all the synonyms you can for cold (such as freezing, frigid, numbing, arctic, teeth-shattering); find rhyming words for winter conditions (nice ice, snow show, and sleet treat are just a few ); think of the colors associated with winter (white, grays and black, though of as ãcoolä neutrals). Make up some winter-sounding words of your own. This is one activity that can be done in the comfort of your home, when you find it positively toe-chilling outdoors! January 5 See How People Stay Warm in Winter We humans have come up with some ingenious ways of dealing with the cold, often by changing our surroundings to suit us rather than adapting to the environment as most other animals do. While we have borrowed many ideas from nature, we have gone one step farther in many cases. We insulate our homes, just like squirrels do their nests, but we also hear them artificially. Place thermometers both inside and out to see what a difference this makes. We also dress for the weather, since we have lost much of the fur that once covered our bodies, in order to be active year-round. Think of the birds fluffing up their down feathers when you slip on your down jacket! Step outside for a minute on a chilly day with little on, and then bundle up and go back outside. Youâre more comfortable, arenât you? Youâll also notice that you donât feel quite as cold if you are wearing a hat. Itâs a fact that you lose a lot of body heat right out the top of your head! So keep it covered on a cold day. If you dress in layers, you can add or shed clothing as the temperature climbs or dips. January 6 Look at Some of the Ways Animals Keep Warm You may wonder how animals stay warm without the benefits of clothing and heated homes. Animals have some creative solutions for keeping warm, many of which people have borrowed! Many animals migrate to warmer areas (just as your grandparents may choose to spend the winter in Florida!). Others hibernate or are simply dormant, having created insulated havens much like your own house. Some animals remain active even in very cold regions, and those are the ones you can look for. Watch how the birds at your feeder fluff up their feathers, trapping body heat in their soft downy feathers. Stroke the thickened fur of a dog or horse, and youâll see these animals also ãwear more clothingä in winter! And if youâve found evidence of mice in your larger, you can see how some creatures share the shelters we have built for ourselves, as well. January 7 See How Plants Withstand Cold Just like animals, plants have ways to deal with the cold and frozen precipitation that envelop them this time of year. A lot of them may look dead, but only the annual plants have actually died. These are the low-growing plants that you can pull up easily, roots and all. They die after producing and scattering their seeds. some plants take two years before their seeds mature, and these are known as biennials. Many plants live for more than two years. These are the perennials. Trees are the most visible members of this group. Because little moisture is available to them (itâs frozen!), these plants halt their growth, and shed the leaves that normally transpire a lot of water. At least the broad-leaved trees and bushes do this. Evergreens can keep their leaves (or needles as we call them), because they have a protective waxy coating. Itâs a bit like the hand lotion you use to protect your hands in winter! Some plants are sensitive to changes in temperature. Have you ever noticed how rhododendron leaves curl up tightly (they almost look like cigars!) when itâs very cold outside? They relax and unfurl when itâs warmer. do you think you might be able to gauge the temperature by watching these plants? There are even some very primitive lichen organisms that survive the coldest temperatures on earth, which are found in Antarctica. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -128.6 degrees F, chillingly measured at the Russian base in Vostok, Antarctica. One thing to remain about the Arctic and the Antarctic. The Arctic is not a continent (unlike Antarctica which is a solid land mass), but a region comprised of ice that moves and shifts with the wind and water. January 8 Watch for Snow The Inuit language has more than 50 words for snow, from ganik (ãsnow that is still fallingä) to pukaq (ãcrusty snowä) and masak (ãmushy snowä). When the temperature at cloud level is at freezing or below, and the moisture-filled clouds can hold back no longer, be on the lookout for snow. If the air close to the ground is warm enough, the precipitation that started out as snow may turn to rain by the time you see it falling. (snow, however, is not frozen rain, which is properly known as sleet.) The same principle determines whether the snow will be ãwetä (good for making snowballs and snowpeople) or ãdryä (light and flaky). ãWetä snow forms when slightly warmer temperatures cause the falling flakes to bunch together in clumps; ãdryä snow forms when the air temperature is very low (cold), and the resulting flakes are smaller and harder. All snowflakes are six-sided crystals of ice, forming in one of seven basic shapes. It is said that no two snowflakes are alike. Could that be? Well, considering the average snowflakes 10 the 18th molecules of water (thatâs 10 x 10 x 10, 18 times!), the number of different combinations those molecules can make is mind-staggering. In 1880, Wilson Bentley of Vermont began a study of snowflakes that occupied him for nearly fifty years. He photographed thousands of snowflakes, giving him the nickname -- you guessed it - - Snowflake Bentley. Snowflakes can be described by their geometric shapes, or variations of them, such as prismatic column, hexagonal plate, cup, hexagonal column, needle, flat plate, and dendrite. Think of all the shapes that occur in an ordinary snowfall, the consider the fact that the greatest single dayâs snowfall was recorded in Silver Lake, Colorado in April, 1921. An astounding 75.8ä fell during those twenty-four hours! January 9 Catch Some Snowflakes Because snowflakes melt so quickly when they land on a warm surface, catching them requires some planning. Chill a dark sheet of construction paper outdoors or in the freezer. Examine single flakes with a magnifying glass as they land on the paper (before they melt!). Permanent impressions of snowflakes can be made by catching falling flakes on a chilled pan of glass which has been sprayed with chilled hair spray or artistâs fixative. (Both the glass and the spray can be stored in the freezer to await use.) Keeping the prepared glass as cold as possible, take it outdoors and allow some flakes to settle on it. When you have collected enough, take the glass indoors and let it dry at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Youâll have a permanent record of some of natureâs most amazing designs! January 10 Cut Some Snowflakes from Paper To create super-sized snowflakes to decorate windows or hang from thread, fold paper circles (trace around a plate) in half, then in thirds, and then in half again before snipping. The resulting snowflakes will have the requisite six sides. By altering the little cuts from one snowflake to the next, your snowflakes will be as varied as those found in nature! January 11 Read a Story or Poem About Snow There is something magical about snow; the way it blankets fields, and rests on tree branches; the way it softens a landscape, and quiets a city. The Big Snow Berta and Elmaer Hader (story) First Snow Marie Louise Allen (poem) It Fell in the City Eve Merriam (poem) Snow Karla Kuskin (poem) The Snow Day Ezra Jack Keats (story) Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost (poem) When All the World is Full of snow N.M. Bodecker (poem) January 12 Make a Snow Gauge Ten inches of snow are roughly equal to one inch or rain. You can measure the amount of snowfall with a homemade gauge made from any container that you can mark off in inches or centimeters. A simple but effective gauge can be made from the bottom half of a clear plastic soda bottle, marked with an indelible laundry marker on the outside. Though less reliable cause of the way snow drifts, you can also measure snowfall with a yardstick. compare your findings with the forecasted amount. Put several gauges outdoors - - near a tree, out in the open, on your front steps -- and see if they all measure the same. Are you surprised? And only the sky knows for sure . . . Because winter sports are big business, and inadequate snowfall might be the ruin of an area that attracts skiers and other snow enthusiasts, man-made snow is commonly made to get the season off to a good start. (It is sometimes made throughout the entire winter.) Most machine-made snow, as itâs called, is made when compressed air and compressed water are combined to create a very dry ice crystal. This ãsnowä is blown and pushed and packed into place from early November until mid-March at some locations. The machine-made snow is very durable, and while it cannot be made unless the air temperature is at freezing or below, an unexpected rain will not melt it, but instead will soak right down through it. Do you think you can feel the difference between real and machine-made snow? Do you think that machine-made snow is cold? January 14 Draw or Paint a Snow Scene A simple way of doing this is to use white chalk or paint on colored paper. While it takes some practice to visualize in reverse, as it were, this technique is very effective. A textured painting can be made by brushing slightly watered-down white glue on your paper, and then sprinkling it with white cornmeal or powdered laundry soap. You can also make a three dimensional floating snow scene, much like those you can buy. Glue small plastic figures (trees, animals or people) to the inside lid of a small jar such as baby foods come in. You need to use a waterproof glue, like epoxy (have your parents help you with the gluing). Fill the jar with water and a tablespoon or so of white glitter. Screw the lid on tightly. When shaken gently, the ãsnowä will appear to be falling on the scene you have created. January 15 Look for Animal Tracks in the Snow Tracks are often well defined in shallow snow, so after examining your own tracks look for those made by other animals that are winter-active in your area. You may only find prints left by neighborhood dogs and cats, but check for those made by birds and, in areas that support these animals, those left by squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and deer, to mention just a few. Follow any tracks you come across, and try to piece together something about the animalâs activities. You may find evidence of a wild chase, or even a kill, or tracks that lead from a food source to an animalâs den. Many general field guides include diagrams of tracks along with their descriptions of animals. January 16 Look for Signs Left by Foraging Animals Animals that remain active during the colder months basically like to eat the same types of food that are available to them at other times. There are usually far fewer choices, however, and heavy snow-cover makes for difficulties. Some animals are capable of storing fat, which not only sustains them during lean times but keeps them warmer. Other animals continue to need to eat daily (deer and rabbits, for instance, eat all the time!), and where they once ate the fresh leaves of trees and shrubs, they turn to nibbling on buds and soft twigs. Be on the lookout for the signs left behind by animals that have been foraging for food. Examine the bark torn from tree trunks and branches, as it offers some clues to the presence of animals. (This can be done year-round, of course.) Wild cats, like their domestic counterparts, leave shredded bark on trees, a result of sharpening their claws. Porcupines nibble on patches of bark high up in trees, small toothmarks may even be evident. Freshly nipped buds may mean that deer have feasted recently. You my also come across blood-stained snow, for although the carnivores donât need to kill but every so often, they must continue to occasionally do so to survive. January 17 Name Some Changes that Occur During Hibernation Some of the animals that stay in cold regions prefer to sleep away the winter! They find themselves a cozy place to hole up in (safe from freezing temperatures) and undergo some changes that enable them to go for a long stretch without food. True hibernators include reptiles, amphibians and insects (all cold-blooded creatures) plus a handful of mammals. The best-known hibernating mammal is the woodchuck (or groundhog). After fattening himself during the later summer months, the woodchuck grows languid and settles down to spend the next six months asleep. A woodchuckâs body temperature which is normally 96.8 degrees F (very close to your own) drops to as low as 37.4 degrees F! Its heart rate shows down from 160 beats per minute (tap these out) to as few as four beats per minute. Breathing decreases to as little as one breath every minute. Other mammals that hibernate include the brown bat and the jumping mouse. Animals that are merely dormant include the chipmunk, raccoon, skunk, and bear, much to many peopleâs surprise. These animals are relatively inactive and their metabolism are slowed considerably, but it is not uncommon for them to rouse themselves when the weather is kindly to eat their stored food or even emerge from their cozy dens for brief spells. January 18 Continue to Feed the Birds Once you decide to put out food for the birds, you should continue to do so. You canât possibly hope to provide for all (luckily, feeding birds is one of the most popular ways to attract wildlife, so many people do it), but the birds will come to rely on the seed, suet and water you provide. For the pleasure birds give, itâs not asking much that they be helped out during the cruelest months of the year. Make sure the snow is cleared from their food, and break the ice on their water dish as it forms. January 19 Look for Snow Fleas If the day is sunny and relatively warm, you might find a sprinkling of tiny insects at the base of trees. check the south facing side where the sunâs warmth is greater. What appears to be a dense sprinkling of pepper is, in fact, a gathering of one of the few winter-active insets, the snow flea. These insects are not actually fleas, but an even more primitive insect. Look closely and youâll see the minuscule specks jump into the air as high as three or four inches. Tucking their tails beneath their bodies propels them upwards, giving these creatures their other common name, springtail. January 20 See How Animal Fur Changes in Winter Some winter-active animals not only grow extra fur to keep them warm, but they also grow more fur on their feet, as the snowshoe hare does. This makes it easier for the animal to get around on the snow. The snowshoe hare, also know as the varying hare, and both the ermine and weasel, change their fur color to white for the winter, as a means of camouflage. You can see how this works by dropping a piece of white paper on the snow. Itâs hard to see, isnât it? Many animals that live in permanently snow-covered regions are also permanently white, such s the polar bear and the snow owl. How do these animals know when itâs time to change the color of their fur? It seems the creasing daylight hours of late autumn triggers these physical changes. An unexpected early snowfall often finds these animals vulnerable, if they have not made their transformation from dark fur to white fur, yet. Thatâs easy to see, isnât it? January 21 Think of Some of the Ways Snow Affects Nature While people can usually carry on with few setbacks in snow weather, snow has a great impact on nature. The benefits of snow include its insulating properties, which make the underground burrows of animals warmer (you can test this inside a snow fort), and also protects the roots of plants from damaging temperature extremes. animals are sometimes safer from their predators, as the snow hinders the huntersâ movements, but, of course, the hunted cannot escape as easily either. Snow, when it eventually melts in the spring, provides both plants and animals with life-giving moisture. On the negative side, even a shallow snow can make finding adequate food difficult for many animals, especially if the snow falls earlier than usual. Some animals take advantage of deeper snow, standing on it to feed higher up on twigs and buds that they normally canât reach. some, however, starve to death or are so weakened as to be easy prey to predators and disease. Small animals are sometimes trapped beneath deep drifts blown by the wind. Snow is simply a fact of life in nature. In what ways do you find it a help? And a hindrance? Winter is ãall dressed in white. . . ã Itâs an excellent time to be out-of-doors, experiencing nature during one of the quieter seasons. Without the distraction of birds and insects and greenery, you can concentrate on what is on display. Dress warmly and arm yourself with ideas for exploring, many of which can be found in these fine books. The Cold Weather Catalog edited by Robert Levine and Nancy Bruning (adult) A Guide to Nature in Winter Donald W. Stokes (adult) Exploring Winter Sandra Markle (young people) Into winter: Discovering a Season William P. Nestor (young people) Winter Book Harriet Webster (young people) January 22 Build a Snow Structure The Inuit people use the word igloo to mean any type of house, but we usually think of igloos as fashioned from snow. These are rarely built by the Inuits these days, but references to them still abound. Try your hand at constructing a shelter made from ãbricksä of packed snow. The Inuits actually cut their blocks from solidly packed snow, but you probably donât have that kind where you live. Make your ãbricksä using a mold such as a bread pan or a heavy plastic container. ãWetä snow works best, but ãdryä snow can be moistened with water to help bind it together. Make a sturdy structure by overlapping the bricks and gradually doming the top, or simply by building straight walls and anchoring a tarpaulin over the top as a roof. Cave-like openings can be carved out of piled-up snow, perhaps where snow has been pushed into a heap by plows (but take care that you are never in the cave on days when the plows are out, and keep clear of heaps that cars may drive through.) An older, well-compacted pile works best, as it will hold its shape better when you scoop out the inside. January 23 Make Angels in the Snow and Have Fun Playing Your Own ãWinter Olympicsä Besides making your own tracks in the snow, make angels, trees and other shapes using your whole body. Dress warmly (preferably in waterproof clothing) and then, go to it! Gaze up at the winter sky when lying on the snow, and let the flakes gently fall on you if it is still snowing. Listen carefully for the ãsoundä of falling snow. What do you hear? Flopping around in the snow is just one way to have a good time during the winter! You can also ski, skate or go sledding. But what kind of fun can you have right in your own backyard? Here are some ideas! ãFox and Geeseä is one game that you may know. Playing it in winter works well because the circle and paths really stand out in the snow. Make a circle large enough to run around easily. Divide it into six segments by means of paths that meet in the middle (like a pie.) One player is the fox and all the others geese. The fox, naturally, chases after the geese who are safe only when standing on the center spot. Run for your lives! Another good game is an adaptation of an Iroquois Indian game known as ãSnow Snake.ä This game calls for some advance preparation, for you need to make snow snakes for everyone who wants to play. Find some straight branches that have fallen (at least four feet long) or use quarter-round molding from a lumberyard. Sand the wood well and anchor some washers at the front end with wood screws to make eyes (these serve to weight the front end of the stick.) To play the game, prepare a track by dragging a log through the snow and then packing the snow down firmly, making a lip along the sides so that the snakes wonât fly off the track. Each snake is sent slithering down the track, one at a time, and the one that travels farthest wins. Do you think it might be better to ãgo lastä in this game? Better draw straws! January 24 Whip Up Some Snow Cream Who can resist eating some new fallen snow? You can concoct a tasty treat from snow called, logically enough, snow cream! Two recipes follow, the first using snow as the main ingredient, the other using it as the freezing agent. (You'll also find these recipes in our Kids Recipe Pages). Snow Cream #1 Into a bowl of clean snow, sprinkle some granulated sugar and some vanilla extract and a bit of milk or cream to make a slushy treat. Eat it with a spoon or sip it through a straw as it melts. Snow Cream #2 Into an aluminum can or bowl, mix together 1/2 cup milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon condensed milk. Flavor it with a little vanilla extract or cocoa powder. Place the can inside a larger container that has a layer of salt in it. Add snow (or crushed ice), alternating with layers of more salt, until the inner can is completely nestled in snow up to its side. With a wooden popsicle stick or spoon, continually scrape the freezing snow cream away from the sides of the can, allowing more of the mixture to freeze on contact with the cold metal . In ten minutes of so you should have a thick slush. Enjoy! January 25 Dress a Snowperson with Treats for the Birds A snowperson can double as a bird feeder, laden with all sorts of goodies for our fine, feathered friends to enjoy. Try using dates for the eyes and nose, a row of raisins for the smile. Pinecones slathered with peanut butter make fine buttons, and strung cranberries can be hung like a loose belt. Popcorn garlands can be wound around a cap or hat. Donât forget to use some sturdy branches for arm, so that the birds have a place to perch. January 26 Measure Some Snow Drifts The wind blowing unchecked over light snow can cause impressive drifts to build up, obscuring roads and blocking passage. Notice how snow fences are put up to trap snow. Some people run several yards of fencing on one side of their driveway, so that they donât have to spend all their time shoveling their way out! With a ruler or yardstick, measure some drifts and compare their depth to the depth of the surrounding snow. Push a board into some solid snow and see if the snow builds up along one side. Can you tell which way the wind is blowing? January 27 Try Out Some Snowshoes The first snowshoes were made by North American Indians. Have you ever tried to walk through snow, only to sink knee-deep in binding drifts? Snowshoes are designed to make walking easier by dispersing your weight, so you wonât fall through the snowâs crust. (The snowshoes hare grows extra fur on its feet for this very reason). With practice, a person wearing snowshoes can travel through snow with relative ease, moving as far as 3 to 4 miles per hour. Borrow, rent, or even make your own homemade snowshoes from coniferous boughs. A branch that is naturally forked can be bent back to form a rounded toe and tied with heavy twine. Shorter branches can be arranged crosswise to support your weight, and then tied in place. The shoes themselves can be lashed to your boots with more twin or slightly thicker rope. The trick to successfully maneuvering your snowshoes is to lift your toes. This may seem obvious, but the front edge of a snowshoe extends so far beyond your own foot, that it sometimes gets caught in the snow. January 28 Make a Pair of Snow Goggles Have you ever run outside to play in the snow on a sunny day and been momentarily blinded by the glare? The sunlight reflecting off the bright white snow can actually harm your eyes, but not if youâre wearing sunglasses or snow goggles. Snow goggles are worn by Inuits and other people who live in snow-covered regions. You can easily make your own from some sturdy tagboard. Cut out an eye mask very much like the kind that are sold at Halloween (use a Halloween mask for a pattern if you have one handy.) Instead of round eye holes, however, cut narrow slits, which will shield your eyes from the glare but still let you see where youâre going. The goggles are even more effective if they are black (blacken around the inner rims of the slits, too.) Staple a piece of elastic to the outside edges to hold the goggles in place. Do the goggles help? Why do you think the slits work better than holes? January 29 Look for Icicles - - Snap, Crackle, Mmmmm Icicles are awe-inspiring creations, formed when water freezes as itâs dripping. You can find icicles cascading over rocky outcrops, hanging from tree branches, and along most rooflines. The heat from buildings and the warmth from the sun are enough to melt snow that may have clung to the roofs, but the air temperature is cold enough to refreeze the water quickly as it drips. Watch out for icicles hanging over entry ways. Too much warming sun will loosen their hold on buildings. Grab one for a hand-held icy treat before knocking the others off. If you look closely at trees after a winter storm, you may notice small icicles hanging from the ends of branches that were broken by the strong winds. If these trees are in the maple family, you should venture out when the storm is over to sample one of these icicles. The icicles are actually frozen sap that has dripped from the broken branches. They are delicious, and some compensation for any damage done to your trees. January 30 Make Your Own Icicles Make your own icicles! All you need is a container you can puncture a very small hole in (make sure youâll be able to hang it, too), and some water. Poke a hole in the bottom of the container, just big enough to allow the water to drip out very slowly. The success of this experiment depends greatly on the freeze/thaw cycle, so donât be disappointed if your manmade attempts donât work at first. Try changing the size of the hole, or hang the container in another location, to speed up or slow down the process as you see fit. January 31 Stomp Through Frozen Puddles Puddle-stomping is always fun, but the crunch of frozen-topped puddle is even better! The shallow depressions that collect water year-round, forming puddles, do so in winter, too, but the water quickly freezes when itâs cold. Have you ever wondered why frozen puddles are hollow? The cap of ice serves to insulate the puddle, allowing what little water remains to be soaked up by the ground. Try stepping lightly onto some puddles, stomping hard on others. Does it make a difference?