BY TAMARA DINKINS
4-H Volunteer
CINDY SANTERS
Interim Extension Director
UF/IFAS Bradford County Extension
With summer break here, children are home and ready for a vacation from school. However, it might not be long before the excitement of being free from homework wears off and you hear the words, “I’m bored!” If that happens to you, we have an activity that will not only cure the boredom for a bit, but help your kids keep their brains active and learning.
“Learn by doing” is the 4-H motto and a great way for youth to have fun and learn at the same time. This process can be summarized with the words “Do, Reflect, Apply.” By actively experiencing the world around them using hands-on activities under adult guidance, youth connect personally in a way that they remember. Next, through talking about what they did and answering questions, young people develop logic and verbal skills deepening their understanding of what they learned. Finally, adults can help them apply what they have done to other circumstances and situations.
An activity you can try with your kids that is perfect for summer is “Ice Cream in a Bag.” The items you will need are things you probably already have at home: ice, salt, milk, sugar, vanilla (optional), zipper bags (gallon and quart size), and a kitchen towel.
To make “Ice Cream in a Bag,” pour a cup of milk into a sealable quart sized plastic bag. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. (Alternatively, you can use flavored milk.) Make sure the bag is properly sealed. Next, half fill a gallon size sealable bag with ice and add a good amount of salt. Put the milk bag into the ice bag and shake, keeping the milk in contact with the ice as much as possible. The ice in the bag will get very cold, so put a towel around the bag to protect your hands. Check the milk after five minutes. It should be a similar consistency to ice cream, if not keep shaking a little longer. Remove the small bag from the large bag and wipe off the condensation and any salt that may have accumulated on the bag. Open the bag, grab a spoon and enjoy.
What is happening here? Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Adding salt lowers the freezing point by a few degrees which means when it is added to the ice in the outer bag, the ice (which is at 32 degrees) is above its freezing point and will begin to melt. Melting needs energy, which in this case comes from the milk and sugar mixture in the inner bag. Heat is absorbed from the milk mixture causing it to freeze and the ice to melt. This is why the ice will feel very cold.
Ask your kids if they have ever heard of people in cold climates putting salt on the roads to melt the ice in the winter. We don’t have this problem in Florida, but thinking about this expands their knowledge of the world around them. Another fun thing to do to take this new knowledge further is to work alongside your children to do an internet search for other experiments they can try with salt and ice.
Try this project with your kids this summer. It’s a perfect hot weather activity to do outside and not only will your children learn some science principles, but you will get to help them eat the delicious results!
Be on the lookout for upcoming 4-H programs this summer!
4-H is open to all youth ages 5-18. Enrollment in the new 4-H year begins Sept. 1, 2023. Call the Bradford County Extension Office at 904-966-6224 for more information.
