STEAM: Snowball Lantern

In Sweden, there is a saying that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. Celebrate winter outdoors by creating this cool snowball lantern. Swedish snowball lanterns are called Snölykta. With the temperatures chilly and the snow fluffy and white, make a snowball lantern to shine bright at night. 

Materials

  • Snow and snowballs
  • Tealight candles or you can try battery-operated ones

Instructions

  1. Get ready. First, locate a flat area on your lawn and start making snowballs. Make as many snowballs as you’d like. Keep the snowballs uniform in size and pack them well. The more snowballs you have, the higher up you can build.
  2. Create your lantern ring. Once you have your supply of snowballs, start forming a ring with them.
  3. Next, start building up. Add one layer after another, gently decreasing the width at each level. The goal is to build a solid snowball pyramid. As you layer the snowballs, think ahead to leave a small gap as a spot to reach in with your hand and place a tea light, once the construction is finished.
  4. Light your lantern. Once the snowballs are in place and a pyramid has been formed, parental guidance is necessary for placing and lighting a candle. We chose to use battery-operated tea light candles for this and added quite a few for a nice glow.