Freeze small objects inside ice cubes the night before. Place frozen cubes on a tray and give children tools to free the object: salt, warm water, their hands, a spoon. Race to see which method works fastest. The salt answer surprises everyone.
What you need
- ice cubes with objects frozen inside
- salt
- warm water
- small tray
How to do it
- 1Say: "This ice cube has something frozen inside. Your job is to set it free—without breaking it."
- 2Give each child an ice cube. Predict together which will melt it fastest: salt, warm water, or hands.
- 3Test each method on a separate cube. Watch the objects emerge.
- 4Salt wins. It lowers the melting point of ice — that's why it goes on roads.
Variations
- Korb-Tür: If they won't engage: try one yourself first. Show the salt melting the ice. "Now you try."
- Ausstieg: The object comes out, melts in their hand or the melt water, the attempt ends. Either way, done.
💡 Parent tip
The salt result genuinely surprises most children. The ice starts melting visibly in seconds. Let them describe what they see before you explain why it works.
What your child develops
- States of matter — observing the transition from solid to liquid under different conditions
- Hypothesis testing — predicting and observing the outcome of a real experiment
- Chemistry intuition — salt changes ice behaviour in a visible, surprising way
Safety notes
- Ensure frozen objects are not small enough to be a choking hazard.
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