How To Build An Indoor Igloo Fort For Kids
Posted September 19, 2019 by Fort Magic
Winter months can drag on as your kids are stuck inside and bored. Fort Magic is here to help you enjoy this winter with our indoor igloo fort ideas. You can use a fort building kit to bring your kids hours of indoor fun this winter!
Teach Engineering with an Igloo Fort
Igloos are a feat of structural engineering ingenuity. Hundreds of years before we had computers or fancy formulas, people learned how to make these sturdy structures completely out of snow. So, just how are they made?
First, snow is compressed. This is important because compressed snow is a much better insulator than ice. Next, blocks are sawn out of the compressed snow. The blocks are stacked upon each other, often in the hole that the blocks were cut out of. This serves as the base of the igloo.
Blocks are stacked in a circular direction in a shape called a paraboloid which makes it strong. As the inner snow melts and then refreezes it forms a layer of ice which makes the structure even stronger.
1. Construct Your Own Indoor Igloo Fort
Start off with having your kids make a model igloo, now that they know how they’re made. They can first draw out a basic design. Next, have your kids make an igloo with icing and marshmallows or sugar cubes. This will help them understand the structural engineering behind an igloo.
Let them work out struggles on their own because that is how they will learn by trial and error. It’s about the process, not the outcome. Lastly, get out your Fort Magic building kit and have your kids construct their indoor igloo fort.
We suggest covering it with white sheets or fabric to make it look like snow. You can also put white lights on the inside to give it the same glow as an igloo out on the tundra with the glow of a fire inside.
2. Fun Facts About Igloos
There are plenty of great resources online to learn more about igloos. Here are some questions you can ask to help your kids learn about igloos.
How much warmer is the inside of an igloo than the outside? What group of people use igloos for their houses? What kind of snow is used to make igloos?
Can you cook in igloos? How long does it take one person to build a temporary igloo? These questions will get your kids thinking about igloos and the entire process behind building them.
3. Activities in Your Igloo Fort
Once you have learned about igloos and have made one yourself, it’s time to enjoy it! This is a great winter activity when you’re stuck indoors because of the cold and rain. Here are some of our suggestions and ways you can enjoy your igloo fort.
4. Have A Snowball Fight
As winter approaches, you can find large white pom poms sold as snowballs. These are a great way to bring the fun of a snowball fight indoors! If you can’t find these then you can also use white ping pong balls or crumpled up sheets of paper. You can also make your own snowballs by winding fluffy white yarn around a Wiffle ball until it’s soft.
5. Make Frozen Themed Play Dough
You can make no-cook playdough using flour, water, salt, and oil. Put it in a large Ziploc and have your kids add blue food coloring, glitter, and peppermint oil. They can have fun squishing the ingredients together in the bag. After it’s done, they can spend time in their fort cutting out playdough shapes.
6. Enjoy A Snow Sensory Bin
Another fun idea to bring the winter indoors is to buy “snow” online. All you have to do is hydrate the crystals to create snow. Place it in a bin and let your kids play in their sensory bin inside of their fort. You can add all sorts of fun snow toys to the bin such as a snowball press or you can even hide little treasures for them to find.
7. Have A Winter Picnic
Your kids will have fun having a winter-themed picnic inside their fort. You can put out cozy blankets on the floor of their fort. Next, serve up hot cocoa and cookies. You can put out a tray with marshmallows, whipped cream, and candy canes to pass around so everyone can garnish their hot chocolate.
8. Be An Eskimo
The people who started building forts hundreds of years ago used them as their homes. This means they ate and slept in their igloos. You can enjoy your fort as an Eskimo for one night.
Have your kids make dinner in their fort one night. After they have eaten their food they get to have a sleepover in it! Since you probably don’t have caribou skins lying around like what Eskimos sleep on, you can use your imagination to come up with beds. Encourage the kids to come up with their own ideas too.
Photo Credits:
The Artful Parent Blog: One of our absolute favorite creative blogs for children and families. The Artful Parent blog is filled with simple ideas to fill your family’s life with art and creativity. A must see blog for sure.
Photo Credits:
The Artful Parent Blog: One of our absolute favorite creative blogs for children and families. The Artful Parent blog is filled with simple ideas to fill your family’s life with art and creativity. A must see blog for sure.
