This week's fun activity... Snow Painting

Painting snow is a great way to get creative and spend quality time outdoors in nature. Plus, every time the snow falls we have a new canvas to decorate!   Snow paintings are wonderfully temporary and a great way to teach younger children about color mixing.  However, snow painting is fun for any age!    This week, we’ll list some different methods for painting the snow!

Materials (not all needed for every method) Water based paint (tempera or water colors) Cornstarch Food coloring (gels give a more vibrant color) Kool-aid packets Paint brushes Plastic cups or bowls Empty spray or squirt bottles

Method 1 - Paint The first method is the simplest – mix up some water-based paint and you can go wild!  Add powdered paint to cold water (warm or hot water, while it will dissolve and mix the paint easier, will melt the snow too much), mix, and you’re ready!  If you have ready-to-use tempera paints you don’t need to mix with water. When you have your paint mixed, head outside with some paintbrushes and apply directly to the snow!

Method 2 – Food Coloring If you don’t have paint available, food coloring can also be used to paint snow.  Gel food colors give a more vibrant color, though regular liquid colors will work.  Be prepared to use quite a bit of food coloring to give a pronounced color!  Mix cold water and food coloring to make “paint.” You can either apply directly to snow using paintbrushes, or add your colored water to spray bottles to make painting easier!

Method 3 - Cornstarch Mixing cornstarch with water and food coloring helps your “paint” stick the surface of the snow and will help your paintings stand out.  Mix a teaspoon of cornstarch per cup of water, adding more cornstarch as necessary, until you have a milky white liquid.  From here, add your food coloring. You can add this mixture to spray bottles, but the addition of cornstarch may clog the nozzle eventually. Squirt bottles and paintbrushes will avoid this issue.

Method 4 – Kool Aid Instead of food coloring, try using a Kool-aid packet!  Just mix Kool-aid (skip the sugar!) with water and add it to your spray bottles.  Kool-aid can give unique colors and it also smells good!

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BOERNER BOTANICAL GARDENS UPDATE The Gardens are now closed for the season. The Education and Visitor Center is open. Hours are 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. MASKS ARE REQUIRED! Gift Shop Opening to be announced. Be sure to watch for announcements on fun learning activities for all ages, and for updates on our classes and programs, hosted by FBBG - all year - indoors and out!

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