Ice Color Mixing

This simple science experiment is a hands-on way to learn about melting and color mixing! Kids will love experimenting to see what new colors they can create as they melt two colored ice cubes together and magically make a third.

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Getting Started

One of the best features of this science activity was that it was so simple to set up! We just needed to gather a few things:

• One ice cube tray
• Food coloring
• Water
• Toothpicks

Our ice cube tray had 16 compartments. I wanted to make at least two ice cubes of each primary color (red, yellow and blue) and then I let my four year-old choose what colors she wanted the rest of the ice cubes to be. She chose mostly pink and purple since those were her favorite colors.

We put about five drops of food coloring in each compartment of the ice cube tray and filled them carefully with water. We stirred the colored water well with a toothpick and popped the ice cube tray in the freezer overnight – waiting for the real fun to begin in the morning!

Ice Color Mixing

When the ice cubes were frozen solid, I gave my daughter a few plates and let her choose which two colored ice cubes she wanted on each plate. I had her make a hypothesis by guessing what color would be produced by each pair of ice cubes. Then, we watched with anticipation as the ice cubes melted and the two colors blended. We couldn’t wait to see if her hypothesis was correct.

Using a fork, she pushed the ice cubes around the plates in different patterns creating gorgeous art. It was easy to see a new bright color emerge like magic on each plate!

I made sure to show her how each of the primary colors mixed to make a secondary color. Red and blue made purple, blue and yellow made green and yellow and red made orange.  The swirls looked like the sun!

Ice color mixing is a fun and simple way for your child to experiment with color mixing science!

Stay Inspired

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