Read this aloud:
On a cold winter morning, Nadia found the car windows covered in white, feathery patterns. The grass sparkled too, and the porch rail was furry with white crystals. "It didn't snow last night," she said. "So where did all this ice come from?" Her dad held up an empty soup can. "Let's see if we can make some ourselves." Your job: make frost on the outside of a can, and find out where it comes from.
Jobs:
- One child does everything, with you helping.
- Two children: the Ice maker (crushes the ice and fills the cans) and the Watcher (checks the outside of each can every minute and reports).
- Three children: add a Checker, who makes sure the two cans get the same ice and only one of them gets salt.
In the full lesson PDF
- Bet (5 min)
- Hunt (20–30 min)
- Reveal (10 min)
- Act (10 min)
- The science, for grown-ups
- Questions they'll ask (and what to say)
- Make it easier, make it harder
- Go further
- Student sheet
Written for parents: no science background needed. US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white, with a kids’ sheet on its own page.