One extremely hot day I decided to test the theory of “the sun is so hot…” No I did not try to fry an egg, but I did put some colored ice cubes out on the sidewalk and WOW did they melt fast.

For a little extra fun, I threw some food coloring into the water before we froze it. The result was this colorful, melting toddler friendly experiment.

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 Colorful Ice Cube Melting Exploration

Set Up:

1. Fill your ice cube trays with water and then add a dash of color to each cube space. I used food coloring but liquid watercolors also work well and are a little more washable.

2. Freeze the ice cubes. I prepared mine the night before to make sure they were completely frozen.

3. Have a clean up plan! Towels on hand is a good start.

4. Put the ice cubes in a plastic container to transport outside right before you head outside.

5. You may want to strip your little one down to their diaper if you don’t want them to get clothing too messy. Our twins usually did activities like this in their washable Bumgenius diapers.

Activity:

Science for little ones is mostly about exploring and observing with your senses. Encourage your little ones to explore the ice cubes. My little guys were intrigued by the color and coldness of the cubes while they worked at picking them up.

read also: Apple vs. Ball STEM Experiment

While they explore, you can:

*Ask questions such as “What’s happening?” or “What do you see?” or “How does that feel?”

*Watch how they explore. What interests them? What do they seem to be trying to figure out?

*Describe what they are doing with descriptive words like to help build vocabulary; wet, cool, melting, liquid, green

Clean Up:

*Have towels or access to a sink ready before you start.

*When your child is done playing, dry them off to move them inside.

*The food coloring will temporarily dye their skin, but it will wash off with soap.

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