Snow Animals: How to Sculpt Wildlife Out of Snow

Snowmen are great, but your kids can do something even more creative. Snow animals turn a snowy yard or park into a winter wildlife scene. From a snowy owl perched on a snowbank to a snowshoe hare crouching in the yard, sculpting animals out of snow is a hands-on way to get kids outside, thinking about wildlife, and working with their hands.

The best part? There are no rules. Any animal shape works, and nature provides most of the decorating materials for free.

Materials

Supplies:

• Snow (slightly wet, packable snow works best)
• Natural decorations: twigs, pinecones, pebbles, pine needles, seedpods, icicles, leaves
• Food coloring mixed with a little water (optional, for colored details like eyes)

Snow Sculpture Resource

Tools:

• Spray bottle filled with water
• Spoons or small shovels for carving details
• Gloves or mittens

Don’t have wet, packable snow? Spray dry snow with water from a spray bottle as you work. It will stick together much better. No spray bottle? A cup of water drizzled slowly works in a pinch.

What to Do

Snowy Owl

1. Build the body. Pack snow into a tall oval shape, about 2 feet high. Make it wider at the bottom and narrower at the top.
2. Add the head. Make a round snowball and press it onto the top of the body. Pack extra snow around the base of the head to secure it.
3. Carve the wings. Use a spoon or your hands to carve shallow grooves along each side of the body to suggest wings. Press small twig pieces into the surface to look like feathers.
4. Make the eyes. Mix a small amount of yellow food coloring into a cup of snow. Shape two flat circles and press them onto the face. Add pebble pupils in the center.
5. Finish the details. Press a small pinecone into the face for a beak. Add twig talons at the base. Mist the whole sculpture with water so it freezes solid and lasts longer.

Snowshoe Hare

1. Shape the body. Build a large, football-shaped mound of snow. This is the body, so make it long and low to the ground.
2. Add the head and tail. Place a smaller snowball at one end for the head and a tiny one at the other end for the tail.
3. Make the ears. Shape two long, thin pieces of snow and attach them to the top of the head. Pack extra snow at the base to hold them up. If your snow won’t cooperate, use large icicles or sticks as ear frames and pack snow around them.
4. Add a face. Press in pebbles or seedpods for eyes, a small pebble for a nose, and pine needles for whiskers.
5. Create fur texture. Use a spoon to carve shallow lines across the body so it looks furry. Mist with water to freeze.

More Snow Animal Ideas

Don’t stop at owls and hares. Try these:

• Snow turtle: A dome-shaped mound for the shell, a smaller bump for the head, and four flat paddles for flippers. Use a stick to draw hexagon patterns on the shell.
• Snow snake: Roll a long, thick snake shape across the ground. Curve it into an S. Add pebble eyes and a forked twig tongue.
• Snow penguin: Start with a classic snowman shape but make the body oval instead of round. Add rock wings pressed flat against the sides and a pebble belly line to show the black-and-white pattern.
• Snow caterpillar: Line up snowballs in a row, getting slightly smaller toward the tail. Add twig antennae and pebble eyes on the first ball.
• Snow bear: A big round body, a smaller round head, two snowball ears, and four short log-shaped legs. Use charcoal or dark pebbles for eyes and nose.

Grownup help needed: Younger kids may need help lifting heavy snowballs and spraying water to set the sculpture.