Fizzy Melting Snowman | Inspiration Laboratories

We continue our countdown to Christmas for day 17 of Advent. I’m sharing a Christmas science idea with you at the beginning of each day until Christmas. Day 17’s activity is a Fizzy Melting Snowman.

Fizzy Melting Snowman {3 Ways}

The Christmas season is usually our first chance for snow. This year, we have already had 2 snowstorms and may very well have a white Christmas. {In Missouri, you never really know what we’ll get.} I bring you 3 fun ways to make a snowman that bubbles and melts when you add vinegar. For more about baking soda and vinegar reactions, check out our B is for Baking Soda and Vinegar & Bubbles post.

Play Dough Snowman

When we made our white clay leaf print ornaments, Aiden and I enjoyed just playing with the clay. It made for a great play dough. Since the dough was snow white, we built snowmen. The clay has baking soda in it so naturally I thought about adding vinegar to the dough to see if we could get a fizzy reaction.

Aiden sprinkled vinegar on top of the snowman using a recycled spice container. There was bubbling and fizzing, but it was pretty subtle. It took awhile for the snowman to “melt.”

After 2 or 3 containers full of vinegar, Aiden used a spoon to pour the vinegar on and mix up the dough.

Real Snow Snowman

Building a snowman from real snow is always fun. When we brought in snow for our snow science experiment, Aiden enjoyed just playing with the huge bin of snow. He built a snowman. I wondered if we could creating a fizzy melting snowman with real snow… Aiden helped me scoop snow into a large bowl while I mixed in some baking soda. Then, we built a snowman. The eyes are pony beads, the nose is a carrot, the scarf is curling ribbon, and the arms are sticks.

Aiden again sprinkled on top of the snowman.

The snowman melted quickly and there were plenty of fizzy bubbles.

Aiden said he enjoyed this melted snowman better than the play dough.

Frozen Baking Soda and Water Snowman

I added some baking soda to some water and froze it in an ice cube tray. Then, I placed the frozen baking soda and water into our little snow cone machine. I tried to build a snowman from the shaved ice, but it wasn’t coming together like I wanted. I piled the shaved ice into 3 circular mounds and stuck them into the freezer. That didn’t seem to change anything. Here’s our snowman pile…

When Aiden added vinegar to this snowman, it melted right away and had some lovely bubbles. This one was fun, but we preferred the real snow version more. If you have a snow cone machine that creates shaved ice with much smaller pieces {like real snow}, then, this one should work better for you.

For yet another way to make a fizzy melting snowman, check out Fun at Home with Kids‘ Magic Foaming Snowman made with foaming dough.

I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 18’s Christmas science activity.

More Christmas Activities for Kids

Catch all of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar ideas.
Explore pine needles and Christmas trees and take our Christmas science challenge.
Turn your child’s art into a great Christmas project with these 15 Christmas ideas with children’s art.
Check out all of our Christmas ideas.

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