VIDEO: Fake snow brings real smiles to Beach school

VIRGINIA BEACH

It was a bright, sunny afternoon at Diamond Springs Elementary School, but on the ground a small pile of "snow" caught the attention of about 100 children.

To kick off the Virginia Department of Transportation's snow season, the Hampton Roads district held a winter weather preparedness event Monday with the elementary school's Galaxy After-School Program.

A VDOT worker used a snowplow to push the knee-high pile of polymer snow from the middle of the parking lot to a curb near where the children were.

The children cheered with each of the three pushes from the pile to the curb, leaving a smaller pile of "snow" stretching the length of the plow.

Another VDOT worker then showed off the district's new de-icing truck. In the past, trucks filled with salt would normally be parked strategically overnight in advance of a predicted snowstorm. With the new truck, salty water can be sprayed on the roads before the storm, freeing up workers and equipment, said Bill Collier, the Norfolk residency administrator for VDOT.

The de-icing truck slowly backed up to where the pile of polymer snow once stood. As it pulled forward, the truck's water began shooting out the back, spraying the parking lot, sidewalk and nearby parked cars.

A loud chorus of "whoa" erupted from the children with each pass.

Following the demonstrations, the children visited each of the trucks, climbed inside, asked questions and honked the horns.

Over at the pile of newly plowed "snow," each child got a small bag and grabbed a handful of the cool, damp white stuff to take home.

Though it would soon turn back into a dry polymer, it could be re-hydrated later, said Lauren Hansen, a VDOT spokeswoman. If frozen, it could even become a snowball.

Hansen said this was the only event of its kind planned for the region.

Lauren King, (757) 446-2309, lauren.king@pilotonline.com