Build an Igloo!

 I'm so proud of these boys!  They worked hard for about four hours yesterday, until they had constructed a beautiful igloo.  My son is exhausted today!!!!!

The first thing my son did was draw out the shape and size of the igloo with his feet.  We brought plastic toy boxes, which the boys filled and refilled to make snow bricks.

 The snow was just right yesterday, not too powdery.  The bricks were pretty strong.  They laid them the way a brickmason lays bricks, with each brick covering the gap between two bricks from the row below.  That makes a stronger wall, as any child who plays with lego knows!

 We ate lunch and had hot chocolate in the half-finished igloo.  For most of the time, I read a book in the sunshine, but they asked me to excavate the interior at some point.  That was a good idea!

 In this picture my son is showing me how they solved the problem of how to build bricks across the entrance.  Later, when the wall above was strong, and the boys and I had carved an arch over the door, (an arch is stronger than a flat ceiling, think about bridge construction,) they removed the column.

 Their persistence was incredible!

 Towards the end the boys got very, very tired.  The sun had been out and the snow was getting incredibly heavy.  I helped them with making the last bricks and doing a lot of the lifting.  I'm still tired!  How did they do that for four hours?

 After the igloo was finished, they dumped snow on their heads for the final picture.

 Then they had a snack inside.  They are laughing and joking as they divide up a bag of gummy bears.  They thought about six children could fit inside.  I could sit up inside with 2 or more feet above my head.

 Before we left, some adults came to take pictures of their children peeking out of the door.  Other adults came to shake their heads in amazement and ask the boys how they built it.  We wished the igloo were somewhere we could visit every day.  (It is at a ski resort twenty minutes from our town.)  It was hard to leave, and we might have stayed a little too long.  I had to blast the heat in the car to warm the boys up, and I got a hot drink for our friend, who was wet and chilled.

How long will it last?  Will visitors try to keep it intact?  Will it freeze hard and last until the spring thaw?  I hope so!

Franciful Arts sent a great link on how the Inuit build an igloo.  The little movie was made in 1949, and is fascinating.  The narrator calls the Inuit "eskimos," as we used to when we were little, but this is considered offensive by some, because it may be a denigrating name given by foreigners, and may mean "eaters of raw meat."  Inuit is the name the people have for themselves.  It means "the human beings."

http://www.nfb.ca/playlists/unikkausivut-sharing-our-stories/viewing/how_to_build_an_igloo/

Thank you, Franciful Arts!  We'll try it this way next time!