Science Fun: Avalanche

Here's a simple, hands on experiment that demonstrates the forces involved in an avalanche and how those forces work.

Supplies for this project:

a cardboard box cut in half corner to corner
mittens
cold water
snow

Directions for this project:

On a cold day place your cardboard peak flat on the ground. [Note: it shouldn't by a pyramid shape, but more like a swing set that has sides. This will give you a triangle on each end with flat sides connecting them.]

Wet the box and let it freeze with the peak towards the sky.

Once the first layer of water is completely frozen, wet it again to create a second and smother layer of ice.

Now let snow blanket the icy peak.

After you have a blanket of snow ... don't pack it own by hand as you won't get an even "snowfall" ... give your peak a soft bump.

Did the snow slide off all in one sheet? Did a section slide off in a sheet and leave some snow behind?

This is what happens in a real avalanche.

You can also watch this happen sometimes when a roof gets covered in snow. What happens when someone slams the door? You can see snow falling off the roof in sheets.

Discover What Happened Today In History Enter your email address: