Ice Cube Rescue Excavation
A simple science activity where small toys are frozen in ice, requiring the child to use tools (and warm water) to free them, introducing concepts of temperature and melting.
- Takes
- 20–40 min
- Your setup
- 4 hr prep
- Ages
- Ages 2–3
- Mess
- Some mess
- Cost
- $
- Where
- Either
How to do it
- 1Freeze the small toys inside the container overnight.
- 2Place the block of ice in the bathtub or water table.
- 3Provide the child with an eye dropper or spoon and the container of warm water.
- 4Instruct them to drip or pour the warm water onto the ice to ‘rescue’ the trapped toys.
What they're practising
- Cause and effect understanding
- Persistence and concentration
- Fine motor control (tool use)
- Sensory input (temperature)