We are enjoying a bunch of fun science activities in preparation for St Patricks Day with a leprechaun theme. My little leprechaun hopes he catches one of the sneaky little guys this year. Let’s see if he builds a trap good enough! In the mean time, how about a little St Patricks Day ice melt science activity. The poor leprechaun’s pot of gold is frozen along with his treasure. Can you help him?
St Patricks Day Ice Melt Science Activity
This St Patrick’s Day ice melt activity is a great extension of our previous science activity, a sink-the-pot coin STEM experiment. Both of these St Patrick’s Day science ideas are super easy to set up and use similar supplies!
SUPPLIES USED:
- Mini Black Pot/Kettle
- Gold Coins
- Gold Glitter
- Jewels in Rainbow Colors
- Eyedropper and Squeeze Bottle
- Pennies
- Container
- Water
Instructions:
To set up this St Patrick’s Day ice-melt activity, make sure to plan for the freezing time! It is very important to freeze your items in layers! This way, you have treasures all the way through, and it is that much more fun.
With this container, I froze in two levels with pennies, jewels, coins, and glitter on each. I put the pot in the first level of ice. You will need to fill the pot with pennies to sink it. Make sure it freezes completely before adding the next layer.
Below you can see I finished it off with glitter and coins. Below that you can see the underside of the block completely frozen.
Ice melting science activities cover so many fun learning topics for young kids. Not only is this a fun and simple science concept, but it is also a great fine motor activity. Throw in a book or two about St. Patrick’s Day, and you have covered literacy, too. Make sure to count the coins for math skills.
💡 Why is the ice melting? What does the ice feel like? Reversible or Irreversible change?
Eyedroppers are a really fun way to practice fine motor skills. My son has been using them for three years now and loves our eyedropper activities. Check out all the awesome fine motor finger grasp.
Another big time favorite here is squeeze bottles. They are also excellent fine motor work and strengthen hand muscles. Fine motor skills practice is great fun with a holiday theme.
Science Behind the Ice Melt Activity
In this fun St. Patrick’s Day-themed ice melt activity, kids will explore how ice melts and what can speed up or slow down the melting process! Ice is a solid form of water, and when it absorbs heat from its surroundings, it starts to melt and changes from a solid to a liquid.
For an extra challenge, try experimenting with warm water, sugar, baking soda, or salt to see how they affect the melting speed! This simple hands-on experiment introduces kids to concepts of states of matter and cause-and-effect.
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