Now that we’re making our way into summertime, there are many opportunities to explore water play in different ways. Recently, we decided to do a bit of a science experiment using coloured ice. Taking the moulds carefully out of the freezer, one by one we popped out the different coloured ice shapes. 🧊

Our tamariki were super excited and curious to get their hands on their very own ice shape and when it touched their hands, many of them got a bit of a surprise.

"Oooh, it's so cold", one child said while another one noticed that it got stuck to his T-shirt. With the water trough full in front of them, they began experimenting with putting the ice into the water and observing how it looked underwater.

The water was already coloured green, so some children with yellow or blue ice shapes were interested to see what colour they could now see once they put it in the water. "Mine is getting smaller", one of our little ones soon discovered, with another one explaining, "it is melting in the sun!".

This simple experience with water and ice is a great way for children to question and make sense of the things around them. They are exploring how water can transform into different states - how water in liquid form can freeze to become ice and then with some heat, can melt again into a liquid state. This is a fun and inexpensive activity that children love!

Perhaps one for the tool bag to try at home too! 😊