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Melting Ice Cubes

This is the third lesson in the “What is melting?” Saturday Science unit. Previously we have explored melting an “iceberg” and melting chocolate kisses. This week we are exploring ways to melt and ice cube. I am using book Science is Simple by Peggy Ashbrook as a guide, but this activity actually came about organically and was entirely child-led. 

After last weeks Melting Chocolate Kisses experiment Caden was still itching for more science experiments and needed another way to observe melting. He saw the tray of ice cubes in the freezer and asked to play with them, so I pulled them out and let him explore the ice cubes however he wished. 

First he pulled out all the ice cubes (colored with a bit of food dye) one by one and put them on a cookie sheet tray. Then I pointed out a drop of water on the tray and he observed it closely.

As he played I guided his learning by asking questions such as, “What is happening to your ice cube?” and “What makes ice melt?” I also suggested and showed Caden ways to make the ice melt.

 You can lick it and crunch it! Caden loves to eat crushed ice so this was his favorite method to make the ice melt.

You can hold it in your hands and watch the water drip on the table.

Then we got out a glass measuring cup and tried to collect the melting water. I wanted to see if Caden would leave some ice cubes in the measuring cup to see what would happen to the ice cubes over time, but he had other ideas.

While talking about what makes ice melt and that heat makes the ice melt, Caden wanted to see what would happen if we put the ice in the microwave. So over to the microwave we went.

We microwaved the ice cubes for a few seconds and checked to see what happened. Then we microwaved it a little more to see what changes happened to the ice. When asked what happened to the ice, Caden responded, “it melted!” 

We had the best time that afternoon exploring melting and I was so proud that Caden took the lead on this experiment and actually learned something! And I am proud of myself for following Caden’s lead. 

Literature & Media Extension

To extend Caden’s learning at an age appropriate level, I searched our libraries database for books and videos on the topic of ice and melting. I was excited to have come across a Sid the Science Kid DVD called “Change Happens” which has an episode all about ice melting called “My Ice Pops”. Caden enjoyed watching a bit of this video before he decided to play with his toys. 

I also found a Sid the Science Kid book based on the My Ice Pop episode called “Why did my Ice Pop Melt?”. Caden was better able to pay attention to this book as there is now intro before you get into the lesson and there were no distractions of toys. 

And now it’s time for the Saturday Science Blog Hop!

Challenge: Sink a Marshmallow from P is for Preschooler

Why Are Polar Bears White? A Preschool Investigation from Still Playing School

Icy Hearts Science Experiments from Little Bins for Little Hands

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