Snow fort facts for kids
A snow fort or snow castle is a temporary structure. It is built from snow walls. People usually use snow forts for fun and games. Kids often build them as a playground game or a winter pastime. They are great for defending yourself in snowball fights!
Snow forts are also used for make-believe games. You can pretend it's a "house," a "store," or even a "community." In a community game, many forts are built together. Along with the snowman, snow forts are common snow structures built by children.
Structures made for sleeping are different. An igloo is built from snow blocks. A quinzhee is made by digging out a pile of snow.
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Types of Snow Forts
A snow fort has walls made of piled and packed snow. They can be "open" or "closed." An "open" fort might have one side completely open. This is good for snowball fights. Opponents can build forts facing each other. They throw snowballs from their own fort.
A "closed" fort means you are surrounded by walls on all sides. It might have a "door" to get in and out. You can also use existing things to help build your fort. Building walls or corners of a building can make it faster. A snow fort can also be a tunnel dug into a large snowdrift.
How to Build a Snow Fort
The easiest way to pack snow is by hand. You can pile, press, or carve the snow. A snow shovel can help a lot. Another way is to roll big snowballs, like you do for a snowman. Line them up to make a protective wall. Then, use loose snow to stick them together like glue.
You can also make snow blocks. Shovel snow into a five-gallon bucket and pack it down. If the snow is wet and freezes overnight, these blocks become very strong. They are hard to stack perfectly. But, they can be used as powerful "missiles" in a snowball fight! They can even make holes in other snow forts.
Snow forts are usually at least knee-height. Most have one room. Forts for snowball fights might be taller. Forts for "house" games might have lower walls and many rooms. For snowball fights, forts often have lower spots in the wall. This lets the people inside throw snowballs easily.
Amazing Snow Castles Around the World
Finland's Giant Snow Castle
The SnowCastle of Kemi in Finland is super famous. People say it's the biggest snow castle in the world! It was first built in Kemi in 1996. Since then, a new one is built every year. The castle area can be huge, from 13,000 to over 20,000 square meters. Its tallest towers have been over 20 meters high. The longest walls have stretched over 1,000 meters! Sometimes, there are even three-story buildings inside.
The SnowRestaurant inside has ice tables and seats. These seats are covered with soft reindeer fur to keep you warm. There's also a SnowChapel decorated with ice sculptures. Many couples have gotten married there, even from places like Japan and Hong Kong! You can even stay overnight in the SnowHotel. It has double rooms and a special honeymoon suite. All rooms have cool ice decorations.
There are also ice decorations in the Lainio Snow Hotel. This hotel is near Ylläs and Levi, Finland.
Canada's Cool Snow Creations
In Kingston, Ontario, Canada, there's an annual FebFest. It's a snow sculpture competition. The Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University build snow forts. These forts must look great and be safe for kids to play on. In 2008, the RMC's fort looked like Ottawa's Mackenzie Building. It had a main tower with a working clock. It also had side towers and a fun slide. Both teams worked all night filling recycling bins with snow to build their forts.
The Snowking Winter Festival is a yearly event in Yellowknife. It happens every March. This festival brings many tourists to Yellowknife in winter. The main attraction is a huge snow castle. It has ice window panes and is built on Yellowknife Bay. This bay is part of Great Slave Lake.
The castle is designed and built under the watch of "Snowking" Anthony Foliot. The design changes every year. The castle has grown to include an auditorium, a cafe, and a courtyard. It also has a traditional igloo, a slide, and cool towers. Once the castle is finished, it becomes the center of winter fun in Yellowknife. This month-long festival has concerts, art shows, and children's theater. There are also exciting fireworks shows. Artists add more snow and ice sculptures to the castle.
