Nutrien Wonderhub highlights fun cold-weather experiments everyone can try

When it’s so cold in Saskatchewan that even basic outdoor activities like a walk outside can seem daunting, you can pass the time doing some cold-weather experiments.

Brenda Mintzler is a program facilitator at Saskatoon’s Nutrien Wonderhub, a non-profit organization that combines play and education to bridge the gap between home and school.

She says there are a lot of fun and educational outdoor experiments that can be done at home with simple, basic ingredients — and that don’t require spending a lot of time in the frostbite-inducing cold.

(Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

For example, there’s creating frozen bubbles. All you need is water, corn syrup or glycerin, some dish soap and some sugar mixed together, a dish or cup, and a straw or bubble wand.

“The science behind it is the corn syrup or the glycerin helps make the bubbles thick, the dish soap of course is to make the bubble, and the sugar is there to create the crystals,” Mintzler explained.

“So as soon as the bubble hits the cold, cold air … the crystals will form. It just kind of envelops the bubble and you get this beautiful creamy white, crystally bubble.”

She adds one of the tricks is to make sure the solution is cold by leaving it outside for a short period of time.

(Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

Another experiment she says is fun to try when it’s below -20 C is to get a warm cup of water or other liquid like juice or coffee and (carefully) throw it into the air.

“It’s an immediate reaction of the warm water hitting the cold air so quickly; it instantly freezes,” she said. “It’s an explosion of crystals.”

Another idea is making an ice luminary, although that takes more time.

“You take a pail, you put into it orange slices or sprigs of a fir tree or pine cones and you lay that on the inside of your pail. You put a plastic cup into the middle of it weighed down with stones or coins. You then fill the pail with water just to the lip of the cup inside and then you freeze it outside,” she explained.

When frozen, pour water over the pail to loosen the ice inside and take the cup in the middle out as well. Then, a candle or LED light can be placed in the middle, creating an ice light.

If it’s just too cold outside right now, Mintzler says the public is welcome to go to Nutrien Wonderhub to explore various activities. The focus is on making science, technology, engineering, art and math — or STEAM — fun for everyone.

At this time, though, weekend nature walks have been postponed because of the extremely cold weather over the last couple of weeks.

There will also be a free “Park Day” at St. Andrews Park on March 3, when families can do some snow painting, create molds of penguins and snowballs and other activities. It’s free of charge and there’s no registration necessary.

For a list of activities, go to Nutrien Wonderhub’s website.