Photos courtesy of Jill Ribble

By Alyse Horn

For over 10 years the Carnegie Science Center has been hosting Snowball Day during the month of June, and it is that time of year again to save a snowball in order to participate in the summer event.

Visitors are urged to make a snowball this winter season and save it in the freezer to bring to the Science Center on the first day of summer, Wednesday, June 21. On that day, participants who bring a snowball will be able to choose what they pay for general admission.

Last year, around 300 people brought their snowballs to launch in the Ohio River using “slingshots, to trebuchets, to mechanical crossbow-style snowball launchers” said Jill Ribble, marketing communications manager at the Science Center.

“Visitors love seeing just how far their saved snowballs will fly,” Ribble said.

The Science Center invites visitors of all ages to participate, and shared these facts about snow in a recent press release about the event:

• -Snow forms from tiny crystals in clouds. Snow is not frozen rain; that’s called sleet.
• -Most snowflakes melt before reaching the ground.
• -No two snowflakes are identical.
• -Each snowflake is made up of two to 200 separate crystals, on average.
• -Although it appears white, snow actually is transparent. Snow crystals act as prisms and break up the Sun’s light into the entire color spectrum. The human eye can’t handle that kind of sensory overload, so it is processed as white. If a region’s soil contains more iron, giving it a reddish tinge, snow may appear pink—wind will blow dirt and dust into the atmosphere and clouds, where the snow crystals form initially.

About Carnegie Science Center

Carnegie Science Center is dedicated to inspiring learning and curiosity by connecting science and technology with everyday life. By making science both relevant and fun, the Science Center’s goal is to increase science literacy in the region and motivate young people to seek careers in science and technology. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Science Center is Pittsburgh’s premier science exploration destination, reaching more than 700,000 people annually through its hands-on exhibits, camps, classes, and off-site education programs.

About Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Established in 1895 by Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a collection of four distinctive museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. In 2015, the museums reached more than 1.4 million people through exhibitions, educational programs, outreach activities, and special events.