This homemade slushy science experiment is a fun and easy way to teach kids about the changing states of matter. They will also enjoy their own homemade slush in the process!
Science can be a lot of fun for kids when you apply it to things they enjoy. This homemade slushy science experiment is a great way to teach kids about changing states of matter. They will love learning something new, but will also have fun watching their juice turn into a super tasty slushy.
You don’t need any special materials for this activity either, they can all be easily found around your home!
Homemade Slushy Science Experiment for Kids
Before you get started with this fun, and tasty, science lesson plan, you want to get all of your supplies together and ready to use. This helps make it easier to manage and you don’t have to worry about going back and forth while working.
Materials:
- 1 large bowl
- 1 plastic cup
- 1/2 cup of juice
- 3 tablespoons salt
- ice cubes
- 1 spoon
- timer
Directions:
1. Fill the large bowl with ice and add salt. Stir to mix well.
2. Carefully place a plastic cup in the center of the ice and pour a small amount of juice into the cup. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
3. When the timer goes off, stir the juice and note any changes. Is it still a liquid? Set the timer for 20 minutes.
4. Check the juice and stir it with a spoon. What do you see now? Is there slush in the juice as it starts to freeze? Set the timer for 10 minutes.
5. Check the juice again and report your findings.
Science Lesson Plan Concept Demonstrated: Adding salt to ice (frozen water) makes the ice melt at a lower temperature. The ice gets cold in the bowl and absorbs the mixture heat from the juice. This makes the juice colder and eventually freezing. Stirring the juice helps to break up the ice, making it a slush instead of ice.
More Science Activities for Kids:
Magnet Science Activity For Kids
Easy Water Science Experiments For Kids
7 Ways To Use Apples To Teach About Science
How To Teach Kids Science Skills In The Garden
Anita says
Hi! thanks for the great experiment idea! I teach grade 3 and we’re learning about states of matter. I’m trying the experiment right now (at home) and have decided to add a digital thermometer to the experiment, for the purpose of observing the temp of the juice decreasing as time goes on. I think the kids will love to measure the temp every 5 minutes! And then we can even graph it! Win-win!
As a little edit/observation….I’m not super sciency, myself…but there’s a sentence in the Learning Plan Objective that I had to read a few times before I realized it was the wrong word 🙂 “As a liquid, it’s called water and as a solid, it’s called gas.”
Thanks, again, for the science experiment idea!
Melissa Garcia says
I love this recipe. At school whenever we have an experiment project this is my to go project
Jocelyn Cristodero says
I really liked the recipe I used this recipe for our we call it “science day” it was a good recipe!!! Thankyou!