Why does snow look white?

Look outside in winter. Everything is white. The ground is white. The trees are white. Snow falls from the sky. Snow looks white, but it is not really white.

Snow is water. Water has no color. Water is clear. You can see through water. When water is in a glass, you can see your hand behind it.

So why does snow look white?

Snow is tiny pieces of ice. Every piece of ice has many flat sides. Light comes from the sun. The sun's light looks yellow or white, but it has all the colors of the rainbow inside it.

When sun light hits the snow, something happens. The light does not go through the snow. The light hits the many flat sides of the ice. The ice bounces the light around in all directions.

Red light bounces. Blue light bounces. Green light bounces. All the colors bounce off the ice.

When your eyes see all colors of the rainbow together, what color do you see? You see white.

Ice is clear. But many pieces of ice together bounce all light. Your eyes see white.

What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?