Insta-Snow is way too awesome to use only during the Winter, so today, we’re using it to make a Spring garden Insta-Snow sensory bin. This magical powder puffs and fluffs with just water for an unbelievably fun science project that wows anyone!
Welcome Spring with a Spring garden Insta-Snow sensory bin
Insta-snow is part science, part sensory, and part magic.
Usually, people make Insta-Snow in the Winter because it’s fluffy, white, and, well…has “snow” in the name. It’s a fabulous substitute for those who don’t live near snow.
But, a little splash of coloring makes it Insta-whatever-you want: Insta-Grass, Insta-Dirt, Insta-Ocean, Insta-Lava – infinite possibilities.
🌼 Related: Tulips! Daisies! Daffodils! Our GIANT 10-foot flower coloring banner is waiting for you to add color and creativity to bring it to life.
What is Insta-Snow?
Insta-Snow is a magical polymer that expands to 100x its size with water.
It’s uh-mazing.
The first time I saw it, I had to have help lifting my jaw off the ground. It takes seconds to transform into “snow,” and it’s a showstopper, no matter how old your audience is.
🌼 Looking for more Spring activities? Look no further:
- Spring Flower Sensory Table
- Berry Basket Water Table
- Preschool Ladybug Muffin Tin Prints
- Easy Nature Name Collages
Materials
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- Insta-Snow
- Water
- Coloring – ex: liquid watercolors or food coloring
- Shallow container
- Flowers – real or fake
How to make a Spring garden Insta-Snow sensory bin
First, make your snow.
In a shallow container, combine Insta-Snow and colored water (mix your coloring with the water before adding it to the snow).
Follow the ratios on the Insta-Snow package.
Once the Insta-Snow and colored water touch, you’ll see it change immediately (it’s fabulous).
Next, add in flowers.
Invite your child to create their very own garden.
You can also add any other loose parts your child might love, such as animal figurines, bug counters, pom poms for “seeds,” buttons, etc.
💡 Teacher Tip: We buy fake flowers from Dollar Tree, cutting them off the base so they are on individual “stems.” After doing activities like this, we clean off the flowers and save them for more flower fun. The flowers shown here are five years old and still look perfect!
How do you store Insta-Snow?
Insta-Snow lasts for a very long time (technically, forever).
We leave our Insta-Snow container overnight without a lid.
If the Insta-Snow begins to dry out, add more water, which will perk it right back up.
From the manufacturer’s website: “You can also let the fake snow completely dry out to use it over and over again. The dry form of Insta-Snow powder will last forever.”
What is a Spring garden Insta-Snow sensory bin for?
Insta-snow is not taste-safe, so do this with children who will not try to eat any materials.
We use Insta-Snow with our preschool students, using appropriate adult supervision.
There are tons of taste-safe sensory tables for kids, including:
- Cooked Pasta Sensory Bin – making sure to use food coloring and not paint
- Easy 2-Ingredient Frosting Dough – a can of any frosting + powdered sugar makes a smooth, soft dough that could be used in place of Insta-Snow
As always, appropriate adult supervision is required for all sensory activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Make sure to do this with children who are not in the stage of putting things in their mouths.
As long as you want! We keep ours for a week at a time, but you can de- and re-hydrate over and over again (forever).
So, so much. Sensory, fine-motor, social, vocabulary, math, and language skills.
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