Capillary Action Snowflakes can be a fun science activity for people of all ages. We provide these generalizations as guidelines about what children at different ages might do during Capillary Action explorations at the Discovery Center’s Experiment Station, in the kitchen at home, or at school. Listed below are science and technology process skills that children may be practicing during their explorations. Please remember: each child develops at a different rate, so some children in each age group may be able to do some of the things described in the age group before or after their own.
How might older children explore Capillary Action?

Scaffold - Older Children & Adults
Adults can help young children get the most out of this activity by encouraging children to pause, think and notice as they create their snowflakes.
Helping children get the most out of this activity:
We recommend using only primary colored markers for this activity, that way, as the children color, you can challenge them to think about how to make a new color using only the colors available. As children add water, talk about the new colors they made by mixing primary colors together.
When adding water using a pipette, show children how to squeeze the bulb, dip the tip in the water and release their squeeze to fill the pipette with water. Encourage children to only release a few drops at a time and describe to you what’s happening.
Help children compare and contrast their snowflake to pictures or models of real snowflakes.
Extending Explorations at the Museum
You can see visit the WeatherWise exhibit to learn more about snow and other kinds of weather (included with Exhibit Hall admission).
You can see an Omni show Antarctica to learn about animals that live on the snow-covered continent. Separate admission required.