The story behind it
By TurkeyMom · July 2015
Ages3–8 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity30 min
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group
Freeze colored water in half-gallon juice or milk cartons, then line the giant ice blocks up on a play slide and send them sliding down one by one or all together in an avalanche. A simple outdoor summer game that can also become a melting observation activity.
⚠️ Safety first
- Adult frees the blocks from the cartons: warm water plus cutting the carton away is an adult job.
- Half-gallon ice blocks are heavy and slippery. Keep fingers, toes and bodies clear of the bottom of the slide while blocks are sliding, and gather blocks only after they stop.
- Very cold ice can hurt little hands with long contact. Let kids take breaks and warm up their hands.
- The wet slide and tarp get slippery. Walk, don't run, on the tarp.
- Colored ice is for playing, not licking or eating.
- Food color can stain hands, clothes and the tarp.
- If using salt, keep it away from eyes and cuts and wash hands afterward.
- Supervise at all times, and use sun protection and water breaks for outdoor summer play.
Before the kids arrive
- Collect and rinse 4 empty half-gallon juice or milk cartons.
- Fill each carton with colored water and freeze until solid. This takes a while, so start well before play day.
Steps
Mix food color into water and fill each empty half-gallon carton, one color per carton.
Freeze the cartons until the water is solid.
Adult: run warm water over each carton and cut the carton away to free the ice block.
Touch, feel and explore the brightly colored ice blocks.
Spread a tarp under the play slide so the blocks can travel further.
Line up all the ice blocks at the top of the slide.
Push the blocks down one at a time, then two at a time, then all four together to create an avalanche!
Gather the blocks from the tarp and start all over again.
Race the blocks to see which one slides the furthest.
Sprinkle a little salt on the slide or the blocks and look for signs of melting.
Tips
- Freezing a half-gallon of water takes a while, so plan ahead. Warm running water helps you get the carton off.from the author
- A tarp under the slide lets the ice blocks travel a little further. The sliding ice blocks were too much fun to watch.from the author
- Each kid may approach this activity from a different angle. Ours started off rolling the blocks, gathering them from the tarp and restarting, then made up races to see which block went further.from the author
- We tried taping heavy paper on the slide to catch some of the color, but that was a BUST.from the author
- Turn it into a simple learning activity: have the kids observe the effect of sunlight on the blocks.from the author
Make it your own
- Push the ice blocks around the tarp as colored ice trucks for pretend play.
- Hold races to see which block slides furthest.
- Add salt to the slide or the blocks and look for signs of melting.
- Watch how the sunlight melts the blocks over the afternoon.
- Use the colored ice blocks to build structures, or plain blocks for a salt and water colors science experiment.
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