Ice and Salt Exploration

• water

• plastic container

• freezer

• tray or baking sheet

• salt

• liquid watercolours or food colouring

• pipettes or paint brushes

Fill some plastic containers of different sizes and shapes with water and placed them in the freezer overnight. If you are doing this in the winter and it’s cold enough, you could also freeze them outside…which would make for another great science conversation!

Mix a squirt of liquid watercolor (or food colouring) and a little warm water into some cups. Then place the ice onto a tray and let the little scientist get to work using salt, paint brushes, and pipettes.

Sprinkle some salt on your ice and start painting with your coloured water. Make observations as you explore.

What does the salt do to the ice?

What happens if you put more salt?

What happens as you add colour?

Do the colours mix? What colours did you create?

Do you notice a difference between the ice with salt and without?

What else can you explore?

The salt lowers the freezing point of water which causes the craters to form, but only affects the places it touches on the ice.