This past weekend, a lot of New Hampshire saw its first big snow storm. But maybe where you are, you only got a couple of inches of snow or at this point it’s all turned to ice. So let’s celebrate the first big winter weather event with some indoor snow science activities!

Water is essential to life. Every living creature depends on it for survival. Water is always moving above, on, and below the surface of the Earth. This natural movement is called the water cycle or the hydrologic cycle. During this cycle, water not only moves, but it also changes its state, or form.

A terrarium is an enclosed environment created for plants, which needs very little outside intervention once it is set up. In celebration of Earth Day, let’s create a basic terrarium from an upcycled 2-liter plastic bottle. When it is complete, our plant will receive sunlight through the transparent walls of the bottle, and it will obtain water from its own water cycle!

Learn how clouds form—and see it in action!—with this at-home science lesson and video demonstration.