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How Snow Shoes Work
Snowshoes help you walk on top of snow, rather than fall down into it. But why?
 Snow is made of millions of tiny water crystals, and each one is very fragile and can break. So snow is not as strong as the ground below it and cannot hold as much weight. That is why you sink into snow, but do not sink into the ground.
Because they are big and wide, snowshoes help spread (or "distribute") your weight out over a big area. If your weight is all focused in a small area (like the area under your boots), the little bit of snow under that area will not be strong enough to hold you up. But once your weight is spread over a bigger area, like when wearing snowshoes, you have more snow under you to help you 'float' on top of the snow.
Snowshoes were probably first invented in Asia but it was Native American and Canadian tribes that perfected them. The first snowshoes were made by simply strapping fir boughs onto their feet. The boughs did the same thing modern snowshoes do - spread weight over a larger area so that the person could walk on top of the snow.
Try this experiment, with your parent's permission: in your stocking feet step onto a soft bed, cushion, or pile of pillows and see how far you sink down. Now put a wide board over those cushions and then stand on the board. You will see that you do not sink down as far because the board helps spread your weight over a larger area, allowing more of the cushion to help hold you up!
Parts of Snowshoes
Deck:
This is the flat, wide part of the snowshoe, the part that spreads out your weight over a larger area of snow and allows you to walk on top.
Bindings:
Snowshoe bindings are the buckles and straps that attach the snowshoes to your boots. Many bindings let the deck slide back and forth, or 'pivot,' when you step. This pivoting lets extra snow slide off the back of the deck (or else your snowshoes would be covered in snow and get heavy).
Crampons:
If you turn your snowshoes over, there will be some pointed, metal points on the bottom. These are called crampons. These are little teeth that bite into the snow and help you walk by giving you traction. Traction helps stop you from slipping and is very important when you are going up or down hills. Without the crampons to give you traction, you would slide back down hills that you tried to walk up!
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