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Ice Spheres

Learn about how ice melts as you create a beautiful, melting masterpiece!

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Plan

  • What supplies do you need for this activity? 
  • You will need to freeze your ice spheres in advance – who will be in charge of doing that? 
  • Where will you do this experiment? If you do it inside, how will you make sure that the melting ice does not make a mess? 
  • What do you think will happen when you pour salt and water over the ice sphere? 

Do

  • Fill balloons with water – they do not need to be overly full. Water balloons work well for this activity. 
  • Freeze your balloons – you can put them in the freezer or just leave them outside overnight. 
  • Peel the balloon off of your frozen sphere. 
  • Place your sphere on the ground (if you’re outside) or a plate (if you’re inside). 
  • Sprinkle some salt over the sphere, then use a spoon, eye dropper or syringe to add coloured water to the balloon.  
  • What happens? 
  • Keep adding salt and water – see what happens as you add different amounts of each.  

Review

  • What happened when you added salt and water to the ice sphere? Is that what you thought would happen? 
  • What happens when you add different colours of water? 
  • What happens if you try this experiment without salt? 

Materials

  • Frozen ice spheres (fill balloons with water and freeze them) 
  • Water + food colouring 
  • Table salt 
  • Spoon, syringe, eyedropper or other way to move water onto the sphere. 
  • Plate and towels for easy clean up (if you’re inside)  

Keep it Simple

  • Just add coloured water to your ice spheres and see what happens. You may need to leave the sphere for a couple of minutes before adding more water.  

Take it Further

  • Using salt to lower ice’s melting point is a key part of making ice cream. Try making your own!