Young children love to experiment. This simple science activity -- especially great for warm summer days -- will help develop your child's observation skills and curiosity.
What You Need:
- ice cube tray
- pitcher
- 12 small objects (plastic dice, safety pins, raw vegetables, paper clips, cotton balls, screws, and buttons)
- flat pan
What You Do Together:
- Have ice cream or drinks with ice cubes. Talk about why the ice cream or cubes melt. Ask your child to think about how summer weather affects this process.
- Gather small objects and place them in the ice tray compartments. As your child slowly pours water over the items, ask her to guess what might happen. Can your child see and identify the items through the water? Put the tray in the freezer and check it after an hour. What's happening?
- When the ice cubes are frozen solid, ask your child to observe the tray. Talk about why it's easier to see some items than others (because of color or shape). Dump the cubes onto the pan. Encourage her to guess which item is in each ice cube. If a cube is too cloudy to see inside of, hold it up to the light.
- Let the ice cubes melt, and ask your child to predict whether the items will look the same as before they were frozen. Discuss whether the melted ice looks like the water she poured from the pitcher.
More Ways to Learn
Painting with ice cubes: Let your child use ice cubes to draw drippy designs on paper. Watch for a surprise when the wet marks dry. More surprises occur when your child paints with colorful ice cubes (created by adding food coloring to the water). For added fun, your child can paint with a different-colored ice cube in each hand and watch the watery colors mix.
Sizing up ice: Have your child help collect different-sized and different-shaped containers, such as a thimble, measuring cup, bowl, and even a rubber glove. Fill them with water and freeze them. Later, remove the ice from the containers and talk about the shape and size of each. Which does your child think will melt first?
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Take a look at the Spanish version of this activity.
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