Minnesota Children’s Museum
St. Paul, MN
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Materials
Can water always be poured? Not always! Water has three forms: solid, liquid, and gas. Even though water looks and feels different in each form, it’s still water. Water changes between its forms when heat is added or taken away. In this activity, you experienced freezing and melting. Freezing is when liquid water cools down and changes into its solid form - ice. You can make ice cubes by putting liquid water in a cold freezer. Melting is when ice (water in its solid form) warms up and changes into liquid water. Think about what happens when you hold an ice cube in your warm hand! Other Activities: Ice Cube Away Experiment with ice cubes. What happens if you pour water on an ice cube? What if you use hot water? What if you use cold water? How long will an ice cube last in the refrigerator or on the counter? What happens if you crush the ice cube? Does it melt more quickly? What happens if you put salt on ice cube? Try placing an ice cube in the sun. Does an ice cube melt faster on a dark or a light colored surface? Watch It Melt Put a couple of drops of food dye in water and use the colored water to make ice. Once frozen, drop a cube into a clear glass of warm water. Observe what happens to the ice cube as it melts. Watch how the color moves to the bottom of the glass. Try a dyed ice cube in cold water too. Does it do the same thing?