Snow Fort Collaboration

This week we finally had some good snow to work with, so we set our house tables the challenge of cooperatively constructing a snow fort. Some kids had practiced this on our snow day earlier in the week. Due to the cold temperatures, the snow they had to work with was not as builder-friendly as the sticky good stuff that makes great snowballs, snowmen and other constructions. Our students had to be creative.

Many teams noticed that the upper layer of the snow had made a hardened crust, with powdery snow beneath. The hardened top layer, though delicate, could be picked up and held its shape. The idea of snow bricks was widely used and many snow walls, snow igloo type structures, and the beginnings of snow towers were built.  Kids noticed that though the snow bricks could be stacked easily and high, they had gaps between them that made walls of them a little shaky. A makeshift mortar was made from the powdery snow in an effort to stabilize a more solid wall.  Some teams worked all together on the same task while others assigned each other roles such as snow-brick harvester and builder, but it was all-hands-on-deck effort and everyone shared the work toward a common goal.

The final forts were similar in materials, but with unique features. Some groups had dug down the snow inside the fort which provided better cover than the small wall on top of the snow on its own. Some groups kept a tight perimeter and were able to build taller whereas others created a more spacious interior with less height. One group even found a way to make a window in one of their walls!

After two days of construction, kids tested out their forts with a good-natured snowball fight, something that is not allowed at recess. Each fort had a stick that could be planted in the snow to signal a break for rebuilding when needed. They enjoyed playing in their forts and celebrating the fruits of their collaboration!

Enjoy the pictures below of the different stages of this project.