earth science

If you’re looking for homeschool science experiments, you’ll love this easy instant ice activity. Add it to your winter season unit study.

If your kids are like mine, they prefer to get hands-on with their learning rather than just being read to from a book.

Although we love reading, we also love doing.

Whenever you start a new unit, a new week, or a new concept consider adding something that requires a lot more of their involvement like this instant ice homeschool science experiment.

This homeschool science experiment is easy to set up, perform, and requires very little prep.

Other than a watch and wait for the bottles to almost freeze, it’s simple and fun.

Freeze extra bottles so that it can be repeated.

But don’t stop with this hands-on winter experiment, keep the learning going.

Look at how to turn simple ideas into a fun little unit for you and your curious learners.

Fun Winter Ice Facts

Check out Why Does Water Turn Into Ice and Where do Icicles Come From to learn more about incredible ice.

Read a few interesting ice facts to see what you both can learn and reinforce what they already knew.

Interesting Ice Facts:

• Fresh water will freeze at 0 ℃.
• Ocean water will freeze but at a colder temperature of -2 ℃.
• The Inupiaq of Alaska have 100 names for ice.
• There are two types of ice on the earth. Land ice consists of fresh water and sea ice is made of salt water.
• More than ⅔ of the earths fresh water is in the form of glaciers.
• Ice is not only on earth but it can also be found on some of Saturn’s rings, in comets, the Moon, and on Jupiter.
• The thickest ice ever recorded was 2.97 miles thick by an Antarctica research aircraft
• Scientists believe there to have been 5 different ice ages which are the Huronian, Cryogenian, Andean-Saharan, Karoo Ice Age and the Quaternary glaciation.
• Glaciers do not melt in very cold areas like the arctic but continue to build up and create massive ice sheets.
• Ice is a mineral and meets all four of the requirements to make it a mineral.

The four requirements are it’s naturally occurring, a solid, has organized crystal structure and is inorganic.

So, technically, ice is a rock.

Ice Vocabulary Words

Next, add a few science words about ice.

• Supercool- a liquid that is below its freezing point without solidification or crystallization.
• Ice- Frozen water, a brittle transparent crystalline solid.
• Freezing- When the temperature of the air falls below the freezing point of water- 0 ℃.

Then move into learning about the science behind instant ice.

Instant Ice Science

First, purified water can be chilled below its freezing point and remain in a liquid state. This is a supercooled water.

There are not enough impurities in the water for ice crystals to grow on. Hitting it on the counter or pouring it over the ice gives it a kick start.

When a new material phase begins to form that is the water changing to solid ice.

It is called nucleation. 

Nucleation is when there is an imperfection in the substance.

For instant, dust in the water that the state it is changing to (ice) can anchor to and thus create a nucleus.

Just one molecule forms an ice crystal at the nucleus.

And the molecules next to it and on top of it begin to change state due to the icy surface.

This creates a chain reaction of ice until your supercooled water forms a little tower of ice.

We used the ice cubes to help us get that process started.

Take this experiment further and use different types of water in the water bottles.

Try these different waters.

• tap,
• salt water,
• filtered,
• add coloring, or
• sugar.

Do you get the same results?

Have your child record it in a science journal and tell them the why of the bottled water working after they have tried their different ones.

Open and reclose the caps.

This will help keep it at the supercooled state later without disturbing it too much when you open.

Place bottles in the freezer for an hour (set a timer so you don’t forget) how long it takes to freeze will depend somewhat on your freezer, how full it is and etc.

Check them after one hour, then after 30 minutes, and then every 15 minutes.

You want them to be close but not yet frozen.

A good way to test this is to remove one and hit it on the counter.

If you see a bit of slush form at the bottom of the bottle it’s perfect.

Here is a quick video of me tapping it on a chair to demonstrate that kick start effect of your supercooled water.

Fill your bowl or cup with ice when you are ready.

Learn from our mistake. Put a tray or baking sheet under it to catch overflow.

Carefully remove your bottles from the freezer and set them down gently.

Quickly remove the cap from your water and slowly pour the water over the ice from just slightly above it.

You should see an ice tower begin to grow.

You should be able to get at least 2” to 3” before it begins to melt.

You need to be sure to work quickly because the ice will begin to melt within 30 second.

Therefore it’s a good idea to freeze a lot of bottles so you can try it over and over.

Want to see it in action?

More Winter Homeschool Science Experiments

Also, you’ll love these other winter homeschool science experiments.

• How Does the Power of Ice Shape Mountains Activity
• 3 Fun Cocoa Winter Hands on Science Activities
• Inuit of the Arctic: How Animals Survive Harsh Winters Fun Blubber Activity
• Easy Hands on Snowflake Winter Craft for Kids Who Don’t Have Snow
• Colorful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Unit Study
• Winter Nature Craft: How to Make Easy DIY Bird Feeders

What do you think? Ready to give it a try?