Thank You, Grant!

7:00 am. We prepare paper frosty to be "amazing."

Dear Grant,
We are writing to thank you for the amazing snowman gift you gave us for Christmas. This morning we gathered around, broke into his blister pack home, and following the Toysmith directions we got frosty ready to grow before our eyes!

Why did we wait so long!?
We just don't know.
But. Well. Sometimes it's actually cool to spread out your fun, so that on a Wednesday morning in March, you can rediscover some holiday magic.

7:15 am. Geoff pours in the secret sauce, a.k.a: monobasic potassium phosphate.

This part was suspenseful, because the package warns: "In the event of eye contact rinse with water," which sounds kind of sciency and b'ass. We were super careful not to get any monobasic potassium phosphate on our pancakes.

8:30 am. Frosty's broom is icing up!

Normally, for the sake of science, we will keep the children out of school, but we're saving those special days for Maker Faire! So, while the children were at school, Geoff and I kept track of Frosty's progress. The package says "Grows in 24 hours," so we were stoked to already see the capillary effect... monobasic potassium phosphate ascending the straw in the broomstick and up Frosty's spine.

3:00 pm and Frosty is fluffed!

This is what Frosty looked like when we brought Maria home from school! Holy snowdrifts, Frosty!

Grant, this is so cool! His dapper hat reminds us of you in your top hat.

Maria and I touched the snow, even though monobasic potassium phosphate might be nasty business. Dude, what if we wake up with frosty growth on our extremities? Okay, so I'm glad we decided to wash our hands. It felt slightly damp, cool, and soft.

We can see why it would spread to the paper parts, but check out how it's spread around his head, which is hard plastic. He's got a snow collar. That stuff has such cool looking properties, almost like real snow crystals.

5:00 pm and everyone is home to witness the amazingness that is Frosty!

Well, Grant, we love our gift. It did not disappoint.

We hope you are having a great year at Santa Cruz. If you aren't out by May 18th, shall we swing by, and break you out, for the sake of science, making, tinkering, playing, and family fun? Just say the word!

Sincerely,

your Love & Rockets ~ Art & Engineering family


Monopotassium phosphate
Monopotassium phosphate -- KH2PO4 -- is a soluble salt which is used as a fertilizer, a food additive and a fungicide. It is a source of phosphorus and potassium. It is also a buffering agent. Wikipedia
Formula: KH2PO4
Molar mass: 136.086 g/mol
Density: 2.34 g/cm³
Boiling point: 752°F (400°C)
Melting point: 486.7°F (252.6°C)
Soluble in: Water