I is for Igloo

What is winter without a milk jug igloo? What? You have never dug around in recycling bins gathering milk jugs to make an igloo? Well let me tell you all about our current insanity!

 We decided to make an igloo while studying the tundra this fall. At the time I didn't realize exactly 

how long it would take us to gather the 200+ milk jugs required for this type of project.  We enlisted all of our friends to save their milk and water jugs for us. When that didn't bring the milk jugs rolling in quite quick enough we started rooting through recycling bins for jugs. It took us several months but we finally made it to the point of construction!

We first laid out cardboard as a base on which to hot glue our first round of jugs. We did base layers of 23 jugs till we reached the height needed to clear the top of the girls heads while sitting. For our children that was 5 layers high.

It took our family roughly 2 hours of hot gluing to reach "igloo" status.

So what did we learn from this insanity of a project? I asked the girls quite a few questions while we were building our igloo. Some of which included:

• If we were building a real igloo would we have been able to do so while it was this warm outside?
• If this were a real igloo would we be able to go inside the house and warm our fingers at the fireplace?
• Do you think Eskimo's completed igloos for fun or out of necessity?
• Do you think a bigger igloo or a smaller igloo would be warmer?
• Should we add windows if we want the igloo to be warm?
• How could be block off the entrance to the igloo to allow people to enter and the cold air to stay outside?
• How should we arrange the jugs to begin the dome?
• Why do the jugs need to be well fitted together?
• What is holding the center of the dome up?
• What would happen to the igloo if the blocks on the dome were not well fitted together?
• How would a heavy snow affect the design of the dome?

I really think the girls got a much better feel for how people lived in the tundra when igloos were a necessity.

I also learned a few things:

• Your children will knock the walls over at least once....probably twice....okay three times....keep calm mama and just go inside for some hot chocolate.
• Hot glue guns do not work well at 40 degrees. They work mildly better at 45 degrees. Work fast...or better yet make an igloo in the middle of summer.
• You will not have enough milk jugs no matter how long you save them up. Get more.
• You need more hot glue. Lots more.
• Have a really good time playing with it immediately because it will more than likely collapse under the first stiff wind.

Have you completed any off the wall projects with your kiddos in the interest of concreting facts into their memory? I would love to hear about them!