Download this page as a PDF, at Jan18-littleclickers-snow

How many snowflakes fall every second? Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike? Ever wonder how they make artificial snow for ski resorts? Let’s learn more about the wonders of snow.

1. T/F No two snowflakes are alike. Find the answer at bitly.com/2Cz8yKm to learn from snowflake scientist Kenneth Libbrecht. He says “it’s unlikely that any two large snow crystals have ever looked completely alike.” But he admits, there’s no way to actually find out. Who can look at every snowflake? See what a snowflake looks like at http://www.snowcrystals.com.

2. Can snow keep you warm?  Yes. Freshly fallen snow is typically 90 to 95 percent air, which is what makes it a good thermal insulator. Get a sleeping bag and learn how to make a snow cave, at bitly.com/2CDmVxm

3. Take a guess… how many snowflakes fall every second? The answer is about a million-billion snowflakes, averaged over a typical year around the world. That’s enough for one snowman for every person on earth, every ten minutes, according to http://www.snowcrystals.com/facts/facts.html

4. What does dust and snow have in common? According to Discover Magazine bitly.com/2lP9IXU there’s at tiny spec of dust at the center of every snowflake. It can be anything from volcanic ash to a bit of rock from outer space. Think about that before you eat some snow!

5. What are the dangers of snow?  Snow can be deadly when it blocks vision, falls on you in an avalanche https://youtu.be/dYx9wbCsl14 or causes a heart attack when you try to shovel it nyti.ms/2E3urhl. So be careful.

Application (stuff to try)

1. How much water is inside of snow? Get a jar and pack it with snow. Make a guess with bit of tape. Then melt the snow to get your answer. bitly.com/2lRPo7d

2. Make a Snow Fish!  Everyone makes a snowman. Why not a giant snow fish that will stop traffic? Simply watch this YouTube video https://youtu.be/fXMO8IHwaKc. You’ll need some shovels, a sled and a wooden frame; plus a lot of friends. Some lighting effects and cold weather help a lot.

AMAZING VIDEOS

———————————————————————————————————————————————— LittleClickers.com (this page and the associated web site) is sponsored by Computer Explorers. Neither Children’s Technology Review (publisher of LittleClickers) or Computer Explorers has any vested interest in any of the sites listed on this page. Librarians and teachers are permitted to copy this page for non-profit use. To report a bad link, use this form, or contact us. Copyright 2018, Children's Technology Review.

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The extreme weather in Texas made this month’s topic an easy choice. We’ve updated an old LittleClickers to help you better understand hurricanes.

1. Hurricane Harvey didn’t have the strongest winds. Why was it so bad?  Answer: Flooding. The New York Times shows why with maps and charts https://nyti.ms/2vu92ZU

2. Help! Our car is underwater. Is it ruined? Cars are not boats, and water (especially salt water) is bad for them. Up to 500,000 cars were flooded by Hurricane Harvey. Tell your parents not to start the car because it sucks water into the engine. We found an expert on the subject https://youtu.be/JlJ–E1SR2Q

3. Are there any hurricanes going on, right now? At http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ you can see a real-time map created by the National Hurricane Center. You can also find out what to do if you are in the path of a hurricane.

4. How do hurricanes get their names? You might wonder, especially if your name is Harvey or Katrina. At http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/tcp/Storm-naming.html you learn that the names are assigned six years in advance by a group of scientists from all over the world. Male and female names are used, and no hurricane is named after a real person.

5. What’s the difference between a hurricane, typhoon, cyclone or a tropical depression? The only difference is the location that they occur, according to bitly.com/2iQCdFn. In Asia, they say typhoon or cyclone. In the USA, we call strong storms hurricanes.

6. Who was Saffir-Simpson, and why should I care? Saffir was an engineer, Simpson a meteorologist. Together they created a scale, from 1 (75 MPH winds) to 5 (160 MPH and up) based on the damage winds cause to buildings. Learn more http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php

7. Which is worse — a tornado or a hurricane? At bitly.com/2x0mryb you learn that a tornado can have much stronger winds, but a hurricane can cause more damage due to floods. And hurricanes can cause tornados, making them worse.

APPLICATION:

1. Make a plan for a storm. Visit http://www.ready.gov/kids where you can learn how to get your house ready for a big storm. You can also play games, like the word search on the right.

2. Explore the forces in a hurricane. At http://bit.ly/2gyxRlC you learn how to turn two plastic bottles into a micro tornado, caused by the Coriolis effect, a force caused by the rotation of the earth.

HURRICANE PLAYLIST

LittleClickers.com (this page and the associated web site) is sponsored by Computer Explorers. Neither Children’s Technology Review (publisher of LittleClickers) or Computer Explorers has any vested interest in any of the sites listed on this page. Librarians and teachers are permitted to copy this page for non-profit use. To report a bad link, use this form, or contact us. Our phone is  908-284-0404 (9 – 3 PM, EST).

 

 

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When you hear a loud thunderstorm approaching your house, do you worry that a tornado is coming? Your’re not alone. A lot of kids (and adults) are terrified of tornados. One of the best ways to reduce fear of something is to learn more about it, which is why we’ve created this page.

1. What does a real tornado look like? What to see one? Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvoVCBd-BxY&feature=user, and you’ll learn that tornadoes come in all shapes and sizes. If you want to see the kind of damage that a large tornado can do, visit http://www.kansas.com/static/slides/050507tornadoaerials/. Another good place to learn about tornados is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado.

2. Which is more dangerous…a tornado or a car? Visit http://www.outlook.noaa.gov/tornadoes/ and you’ll learn that you should buckle up when you ride in cars. In an average year in the USA, many more people are killed by auto accidents than by tornados. Tornados kill about 80 people per year, compared to 43,000 by car accidents (http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov). One scientist estimates that the chance of your house getting hit by a tornado is 1 in 10 million (http://tinyurl.com/2jhrkd).

3. Can you make a tornado in a bottle? Yes, visit http://www.csiro.au/resources/ps20h.html. Well, it isn’t actually a tornado, but you can replicate the forces that make a tornado, using a two-litre bottle.

4. Can a tornado pick up a car? The wind scale at http://skydiary.com/kids/tornadoes.html shows you that cars are not a good place to hide from a tornado. A weaker F1 tornado can push a car off a road, while an F4 tornado–with winds over 200MPH–can easily roll a car over and turn it into a large missle. According to the Texas Weather Network, the average forward speed of a torando is 30 MPH, but it may vary from stationary to 70 MPH.

5. Should you open all the windows if a tornado is coming? Visit http://www.tornadoproject.com (click on the ‘myths’ link at the bottom of the page).This is one of the many myths about tornados. It is far smarter to close the windows and take cover in a low place. You’ll also learn that tornados can occur anywhere conditions are right–even large cities.

6. What is the difference between a Tornado Warning and a Tornado Watch?

A Tornado Warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by radar in your area. Head for a basement immediately! A Tornado Watch means that a tornado might come, but none have been sighted. Keep alert by listening to the radio or TV, or check http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ where you can check current storm alerts.

7.Are there people who make a living chasing tornados? Visit http://www.tornadochaser.net/ or http://www.stormchaser.com/. Believe it or not, some people drive around looking for tornados. They carry portable radar with them, video cameras and sometimes wear helmets, hoping to learn more about tornados. Here’s a YouTube video made by some tornado chasers: http://tinyurl.com/236q81.