Turn an ice melting science activity into a creepy fun Halloween melting ice experiment this month! Super simple and super easy, this frozen hands activity is sure to be a big hit with kiddos of all ages! Just making the hands and unwrapping them is part of the fun too. Perfect for a Frankenstein theme, we take a classic science idea and give it a Halloween twist for simple science every day!

Pin

Enjoy Frozen Halloween Science

Get ready to add this simple Halloween science activity to your Halloween theme lesson plans this season. If you want to learn about the melting point of water, let’s dig in! While you’re at it, make sure to check out these other spooky Halloween science experiments.

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

All Kids Can Be Scientists!

So what exactly is a scientist and how can you encourage your kids to be scientists without a whole lot of effort, fancy equipment, or difficult activities that create confusion rather than curiosity?

A scientist is a person who seeks to acquire knowledge about the natural world. Guess what? Kids do that naturally because they are learning and exploring the world around them. All that exploring brings up a lot of questions!

A good scientist asks questions as they explore the natural world, and we can further encourage this with simple science experiments. Knowledge is gained through all of these questions, explorations, and discoveries! Let’s help them by providing fun science activities that really spark their inner curiosity.

Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

Pin
Creepy Hands

The Science of Melting Ice

At what temperature does ice melt? Water not only freezes at 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it also melts at the same temperature! This is why we call this temperature the FREEZING and MELTING point of water!

Freezing and melting are examples of phase changes. They are physical changes of water, not chemical changes.

Freezing occurs at this temperature as heat is removed from the water to form ice crystals. In order to melt ice, you have to use heat energy. The heat energy first goes to break down the ice before it raises the temperature of the water.

Ice at the freezing point of water actually has less energy or heat in it than water at the same temperature!

Check out more ways to experiment with water, as well as tons of ice play activities!

What Makes Ice Melt Faster?

Depending on the age and development of your kiddos, create your own melting ice experiment to investigate what makes ice melt faster. Read more… Scientific Method For Kids and Variables in Science.

Suggestions:

  • What happens when you add water to the ice at different temperatures? Eg tap water, cold water from the refrigerator and boiled water.
  • What happens to the ice when you add solids like sugar or salt? See our What makes ice melt faster experiment for ideas.

Get your free printable Halloween activity guide!

Halloween Frozen Hands Experiment

Let’s get right to learning about what makes ice melt faster and the melting point of water with this Halloween theme science activity.

Supplies:

  • Disposable Gloves
  • Water
  • Rubber Bands
  • Food Coloring
  • Glitter
  • Halloween Items (spiders, eyeballs, and other plastic treasures)

Instructions:

STEP 1:  Choose a handful of Halloween decorations you want to use.

Pin

STEP 2:  Add the Halloween decorations and a few drops of food coloring to a disposable glove.

Pin

STEP 3: Fill up your glove with water, leaving enough space to tie off the end with a rubber band.

Pin
Pin

STEP 4:  Make up several hands and lay them flat on a tray. Put the tray of hands in the freezer and leave overnight.

Pin

STEP 5: Once frozen, remove the hands and place them in a large container. This will help control the mess! Then peel off the rubber glove.

You now have some spooky Halloween hands ready to experiment with!

Pin

STEP 6: Set out a bowl of warm water and a choice of “tools” for melting the ice. We always love the classic meat baster from the dollar store. Eyedroppers and squeeze bottles work well too!

TIP: Once the ice has melted you may want to add a bit of warm water to keep everyone’s hands from freezing. This will definitely create a more enjoyable experience!

Pin

More Spooky Halloween Experiments

Check out our complete list of spooky Halloween science experiments for kids!

Bonus Halloween Art Activities

Go ahead and add some of these favorite Halloween art activities to your countdown!

Printable Halloween STEM Activities Pack

150+ Pages of Halloween-Themed Materials!

This Halloween project pack is suitable for home, school, and group use for kids in grades Kindergarten through elementary but is scaleable for many ages and abilities.

What’s Included:

  • 25+ Halloween theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, and helpful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited-time needs. Includes a Halloween engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve!
  • The skeleton activity pack includes building a skeleton challenge and a coding challenge! Try a skeleton bone bridge-building STEM challenge!
  • Halloween theme brick printable activities for hands-on learning with math that is perfect for early finishers or home fun and reinforces basic math concepts.
  • Bonus fun pack includes games and activities to round out your Halloween theme, such as I Spy, bingo, matching, Would You Rather cards, scavenger hunt, word search, A-Z Halloween hunt, and a coloring page.
  • The Halloween STEAM Pack includes artist-inspired projects by Warhol, Lichtenstein, and more!