5 Fun Extreme Cold Weather Experiments

A massive cold wave is hitting the midwest this week. What better way to pass time than trying some easy at home experiments? Here are 5 of our favorites!

1) The Frozen Shirt Experiment

This one is really cool and very easy to do! Simply dunk an old T-Shirt in boiling water, and then carry the shirt outside. Lay the shirt flat on the ground (Or hold it upright as in the video). Check back on the shirt in about 2 minutes. It should be rock solid! It helps to be in sub-zero temperatures.

2) Solid Frozen Bubbles

If you enjoy blowing and watching bubbles, you will love this experiment. Just blow bubbles in freezing cold air and watch the bubbles solidify like you are not used to. If you don't have bubble solution on hand, fear not! You can easily make your own solution by mixing water and dish washing soap. If you have corn syrup, add a little bit to the mix which well help the bubbles solidify. The rest is just experimentation with blowing the bubbles! See our video below!

3) Self Inflating and Deflating Balloons

Balloons will literally shrink in sub-zero temperature, and blow itself back up when brought back inside to room temperature! This is because the average kinetic energy of the gas molecules inside of the balloon decreases when temperature decreases. So when exposed to freezing temperature, the balloon begins to shrink. When returned to warmer temperature, the kinetic energy increases and the balloon starts to get bigger again. We actually could not get this to work in a reasonable amount of time, so we found a video where someone uses liquid nitrogen instead of sub zero natural temperatures.

4) Make it "Snow"

This classic snow creation exercise is always fun, but PLEASE remember to be careful. You do not want to get boiling water on your body parts. For this one, you will need to make sure the temperature is brutally cold (sub-zero is great). Boil water, take it outside carefully, and then carefully toss away from all living things and watch it snow! We threw in some Scrabble tiles for a dramatic effect; See if you can find the letters and make any anagrams possible!

5) Ice On a String

Okay so, full disclosure: You don't actually need cold weather for this one! You can do this indoors with some ice. Check it out!

Hope you enjoyed our cold weather science experiements! Let us know if you have one that you especially like!