Junk Drawer Ice Melt Science for Kids

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This Science for Kids Post was contributed by Sarah of Little Bins for Little Hands.

Empty the Junk Drawer for Some Science for Kids Fun!

Everyone has a junk drawer somewhere in the house. All the little odds and ends and loose screws in the house end up there over time. Ours is so full, it has become pretty useless for finding anything. Whenever I look inside the drawer I start making up excuses for each item in there! And why are there so many toy cars? They have a place in the playroom don’t they? One snowy winter day I came up with a fun way to sort of clean out the drawer and make a fun, sensory, preschool science activity for my son. This one really kept him busy.

Simple Science for Kids with a Junk Drawer Ice Melt

This does take a little time, so plan ahead! I started the night before because you need to freeze items in a layer. Otherwise they will all end up in a clump! My awesome husband suggested a cardboard milk container so I could just peel it away when we were ready. So easy! I cut off the top and filled it with a small amount of water placed a few items from the junk drawer in it. The whole thing went carefully into the freezer. Every so often I would check on it and add more water and items. You do need to make sure the layers before are well frozen before you add water! Of course I forgot before bedtime so first thing in the morning I resumed the layers. We used this as an after lunch activity!

When we were ready to begin melting and exploring, I put the frozen milk container in a plastic tub on the table. I added a squirt bottle of warm water, eye dropper and more bowls of warm water. I was hoping to make this last as long as possible! He was so excited! Just his kind of project. We worked together to remove the milk container from the big brick of frozen junk drawer goodies. Let the melting begin!

What fun he had squirting, melting, poking and prodding this huge chunk of ice. He loved examining it and was always so excited when an item was freed! He worked hard and independently for much of it. This was a hugely engaging activity and very hands on for my son! The more hands on and appealing the more engaged he is these days. Plus he has loved melting ice this year and what a great way to explore Winter. Of course melting ice is certainly a fun summer activity too!

To extend the activity a little more, I grabbed three plastic containers. I asked him to sort the items by who they belonged to in the house. Mommy, Daddy and Liam! It was fun to see which item belonged to which person through his eyes! Also I had included some odd things as well, so it was great for talking about new words and what things are used for. In the end, I had him dry and put away his things in the play room. I threw some actual junk away, and well, the rest went back in the junk drawer for another time and another play activity!

This took a good chunk of time during our snow day afternoon. I even found it fun too! There are so many ways you can make ice melt science for kids more fun – including use fun ice-cube trays too. You can freeze all sorts of items in the ice to make fun play activities and learning activities too!

More Ideas for Ice Melt Science for Kids

• foam or plastic letters or numbers – melt and put in order
• LEGO Bricks – melt and build
• pony beads – melt and sort or lace
• coins – melt and count
• TOOB Toys – melt and make a small world play setup {Penguin Ice Melt}

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