• About
  • Shop
  • Work with Me
    • Guest Post on Views!
    • Policies and Disclosure
    • Sponsored Work
  • Tri-State Family Fun
  • The Mommy View
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Views From a Step Stool

Open Minds & Messy Hands

  • Home
  • Learn Through Play
    • Fine Motor Activities
    • Arts & Crafts
      • Toddler Arts & Crafts
      • Preschool Arts& Crafts
    • Sensory
      • Ultimate Collection of Sensory Bins for Kids
      • Toddler Sensory Play
      • Preschool/Early Elementary Sensory Play
      • Mess-Free Sensory Play
    • STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
      • Indoor and Outdoor STEM Challenges for Kids
    • Babies
      • 60+ Awesome Activities for 1 Year Olds! {Tested and Loved}
    • Toddlers
      • Activities for 2 Year Olds
    • Preschoolers
      • Activities for 3 Year Olds
      • 65+ Fun Activities for 4 Year Olds
    • Elementary
      • 55+ Activities for 5 Year Olds
    • Want to Teach Your Kids Through Play?
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids
      • Free Printable Valentines Cards
    • St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids
    • Easter Activities for Kids
    • Memorial Day/4th of July
    • Halloween Activities for Kids
      • Monster Activities for Kids
      • Pumpkin Activities for Kids: Crafts, Science and Sensory Play
    • Thanksgiving Crafts,Sensory Play and Printables for Toddlers and Up
      • Pumpkin Activities for Kids: Crafts, Science and Sensory Play
    • Christmas
      • 30+ Christmas Activities for 1 and 2 Year Olds
      • Christmas Printables for Kids
      • Ornament Crafts for Kids
    • New Years
  • Seasons
    • Spring Activities for Kids
      • March Activities for Kids
      • St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids
      • Easter Activities for Kids
    • Summer Activities for Kids
      • 4th of July Activities for Kids
    • Tons of Fall Kids Activities for All Ages
      • Fall Printables for Kids
      • Apple Themed Kids Activities
      • Apple Crafts for Kids
      • Pumpkin Activities for Kids: Crafts, Science and Sensory Play
    • Winter
      • Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids
      • February Activities for Toddlers
  • Sensory Bins
  • Printables
    • Seasonal Printables for Kids
      • Spring Printables for Kids
      • Summer Printables for Kids
      • Fall Printables for Kids
      • Winter Printables for Kids
    • Holiday Printables for Kids
      • Valentine’s Day Printables for Kids
        • Free Printable Valentines Cards
      • St. Patrick’s Day Printables for Kids
      • Easter Printables for Kids
      • 4th of July Printables for Kids
      • Halloween Printables for Kids
      • Thanksgiving Printables for Kids
      • Christmas Printables for Kids
    • Free Printable Board Games for Kids
      • Printable Camping Games for Kids
    • Printable Bookmarks for Kids
    • Free Printable Playdough Mats for Kids
    • Book Lists
    • Printable Lego Challenges for Kids
  • Exclusive Content for Subscribers
Ice Erosion Experiment: Preschool Science

Ice Erosion Experiment: Preschool Science

May 1, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Sharing is caring!

120shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Pinterest120
Ice Erosion for Preschoolers Pin
Mack enjoyed learning about erosion with our backyard project a couple of days ago so I decided to follow it up with another ‘erosion-inspired’ science experiment. We used ice, epsom salt and watercolors to explore the effects of combining these ingredients.
 
I froze some blocks of ice in tupperware containers so that they were about 2 inches thick. This worked well and allowed Mack to play with it for a while before really melting, however a thin sheet of ice would have probably exhibited the science a bit better. Aside from the ice, you really only need some salt; you could use any kind of salt, kosher, table, epsom etc., we chose to use epsom just because it was different and I happened to have a lot on hand! We chose to use these new glittery watercolors to paint our ice but food coloring and water or liquid watercolors would work just as well. This activity can get a bit messy so doing it inside of a bin or on a baking sheet will make clean-up the easiest!
Mack started by sprinkling the salt on the ice blocks and rubbing it around the ice. This was a nice sensory experience in and of itself!
Once the ice blocks were covered in salt we began to see some reactions. The salt started to create holes in the ice along with what we called creeks. Our previous experiment focused on soil erosion and how running water exposed tree roots, we compared this experiment by finding creeks and areas of running water within our blocks of ice. I didn’t get into the specifics of why salt melts ice with Mack because he is only 3, but in case you are curious it is because the salt lowers the freezing point of the water. Funny enough at the same time it makes the water (ice) colder which is why it is used in ice cream makers!
It is a little difficult to see the holes in the ice without any color to serve as contrast. This is why we painted our ice once the salt had started to melt the blocks. Mack loves to paint and has been dying to use these new paints that we bought, mostly because he also really loves glitter and these are sparkly watercolors 🙂
You can see in these pictures the difference the paint makes in what you are able to observe!
Not only was this fun but the ice blocks were actually beautiful and the experiment kept Mack occupied for almost an hour!! And while the salt is melting the ice, like I mentioned before at the same time it keeps it colder, so the ice blocks did not melt within that whole hour allowing him to play with them for as long as he wanted to!

Sharing is caring!

120shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Pinterest120

Filed Under: science, Uncategorized Tagged With: Preschool Homeschool

Soil Erosion Science for Preschoolers
Making Seed Paper: A DIY Mother’s Day Gift

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to Views From a Step Stool!

Welcome to Views From a Step Stool!

I am a mom to three little ones and love to create and explore every day with them! We have open minds and messy hands, come join in our adventures!

Search the Site

What’s New

  • Summer Olympics Bingo Game Printable
  • Constellations for Kids: Constellation Coloring Pages, Flashcards and Science Experiment Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Printable Favor Toppers
  • Drawing Garden Game to Print for Kids: Roll and Draw!
  • Printable Valentine’s Day Lunchbox Jokes

What’s New:

  • Summer Olympics Bingo Game Printable
  • Constellations for Kids: Constellation Coloring Pages, Flashcards and Science Experiment Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Printable Favor Toppers
  • Drawing Garden Game to Print for Kids: Roll and Draw!
  • Printable Valentine’s Day Lunchbox Jokes
  • Valentine’s Day Color by Number Printables
  • Pin the Carrot on the Snowman Printable Game
  • Printable Christmas Puzzles for Toddlers
  • Christmas Tic Tac Toe Printable Game
  • Christmas Charades Printable Game
  • Printable Coffee Gift Card Holder for Christmas
  • The Gift of Christmas Printable Board Game
  • Christmas Countdown Printable
  • Santa Says Printable Christmas Game
  • Christmas Tree I Spy Printable for Kids
  • Thanksgiving Picture Charades Printable Game for Young Kids
  • Christmas Countdown Dollar Store Craft
  • Roll a Gingerbread Man Christmas Board Game
  • Winter Color by Number Printables

Copyright © 2023 · Hello Sweets by Hello You Designs

Copyright © 2023 · Hello Sweets On Genesis Framework