Building Snow Forts and Igloos

Do your kids love to have fun in the snow? Maybe you can wear them out by building snow forts using our tool. While the tool is easy and simple to use, they still have to shovel snow into the slip form tool and pack it in. Parents far and wide have found this winter activity very rewarding for their children and themselves. Building snow forts is a great way to teach your kids about how Inuit people used igloos as their homes. While many may see an igloo as a snow fort or as a snow camping habitat, Inuit people needed them for survival.

Who were the Inuit People and Why Igloos

The Inuit people are a group of similar indigenous people inhabiting Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Inuit language is part of the Eskimo family, but much of their sign language is lost to history.

The igloo (or iglu) is a traditional Inuit shelter for living in the far northern regions. Blocks of snow are crafted and stacked They are built with blocks of snow stacked in a circle. The walls curve inward toward the top, which forms a snow dome in which the arched ceiling is self-supporting. Igloos are extraordinary example how humans have adapted to the environment. Igloos retain heat, protect against wind and will last a long time in very cold climates. The typical igloo design has a tunnel entrance. The tunnel preserves heat inside making arctic environments and temperatures tolerable by humans. Sleep areas are also used for sitting and are raised above the floor. Because of this design feature, the sleep and sitting areas of an igloo maintain higher temperatures. A small hole near the top of the igloo provides ventilation for a stove or candle.