Learn and Play with Ice Cubes and a Ramp
The other day we had so much fun playing and learning with ice cubes and a ramp. The kids really enjoyed racing ice cubes down the slide. It was a blast!
On a hot summer day, we went outside and played with some colorful ice cubes. It was a great way to experiment with a ramp and explore force. It was also an excellent way to cool down!
Supplies Needed:
- Colored ice cubes
- A slide
I made the ice cubes by mixing water and washable tempera paint. I find that it washes more easily than food coloring and doesn’t stain hands as easily. If you choose this option, remember that the ice cubes are not edible and shouldn’t be put in mouths.
It really isn’t necessary to color the ice cubes, but it added some color to the activity. I think next time we will just use plain ice cubes because it didn’t seem to matter much to the kids and would be less messy.
Playing with Ice Cubes and a Ramp
Evan and Alyssa sat at the top of the slide and pushed ice cubes down the slide. Eventually they decided to race a blue ice cube against a red ice cube. They loved watching to see if their ice cube won.
After all the ice cubes were pushed down the slide, they brought the bowl down to the bottom of the slide and collected the ice cubes. Then they went back up and started pushing them all down again.
Evan experimented by applying more or less force while pushing the ice cubes down. He also noticed that partially melted ice cubes went down the slide more slowly than the ice cubes that had not yet melted much.
I think we will be doing this a few more times this summer. It was a fun and simple way to learn and play with a ramp!
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