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Instant Ice Science Experiment

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This science experiment is an exciting experiment to show your child water transforming from liquid to a solid instantaneously!

The Instant Ice experiment shows the transformation from liquid to solid in an instant! When purified water is supercooled (cooled below freezing point), it will instantly turn from a liquid to a solid when it is disturbed. This could be by a jolt to the container or just adding an ice cube to it.

To make it more exciting, your child can create fun ice sculptures while pouring the supercooled water. Since it only takes a few items that you likely have on hand, this is an easy at-home experiment.

Instant Ice Experiment Hero image

How to make the Instant Ice experiment

Supplies you will need.

For the Instant Ice experiment, you’ll need:

  • Bottles of purified water
  • A freezer with space to lay bottles flat

Before you start

I found that water bottles with harder plastic tended to be easier to handle than softer plastic. I used Dasani water bottles and had a much easier time than with a softer plastic bottle like Zephyrhills.

Instructions

Here is how to do the Instant Ice experiment:

Step 1: Place your water bottle(s) in the freezer on their side

science experiment turning water into ice

I wanted to have a few water bottles in the freezer, just in case I accidentally messed up on the experiment.

It varies for everyone, but your water bottles will likely need at least 1.5 hours to get ready, likely more. Mine needed about 2.5 hours.

If, by 1.5 hours, your water bottles are not ready, check back every 15-20 minutes.

Optional (but encouraged): I also added a water bottle with tap water in it as a control. Once the tap water bottle froze and the purified water was still liquid, I knew it was ready to go.

Step 2: Carefully open the water bottle

Step 2 of Instant Ice experiment

Remember how I mentioned that a simple jolt could ignite the freeze? Since you have to hold the bottle in order to unscrew the cap, you will want to be careful about the amount of pressure you place on the bottle.

Step 3: Pour the supercooled water into the empty container

Step 3 of Instant Ice experiment

You won’t have to be as careful with this step.

Step 4: Start the freeze!

Step 4 of Instant Ice experiment

Take a piece of ice and simply touch it to the surface of the supercooled water. You won’t have to hold it for long: it should instantly activate the freeze and you will be able to see the water transform to ice!

The ice cube you added will sit on top at this point.

Get your child involved : Let your child touch the ice cube to the top of the water and ignite the freeze. They will feel like they have superpowers!

Step 5: Add water to create ice sculptures

Step 5 of Instant Ice experiment

You can do this in either container (the newly-formed ice or the container with ice cubes).

Slowly pour the water out of the water bottle and into these containers to create fun ice sculptures!

Get your child involved : Allow your child free reign over the ice sculptures. Let them get creative! There’s no right or wrong with this step.

Here’s a quick video of creating ice sculptures:

The science behind the Instant Ice science experiment

The Instant Ice experiment showcases the transformation from a liquid to a solid in an instant.

How it works

This experiment studies supercooled water, which is when the water’s temperature falls below freezing but does not actually freeze.

When water is very pure, it is difficult for ice crystals to form because they need what is called a “nucleation point” (the first step in the formation of a new thermodynamic phase) to begin freezing.

When supercooled water is disturbed (by hitting it or introducing a piece of ice, like in our experiment), it instantly turns to ice!

More chemistry experiments to try out with your child

  • Fizzing lemons experiment – using lemons and baking soda to make a lemon volcano
  • Homemade lava lamp – vinegar and baking soda bubble around in a container of oil
  • Magnetic Slime – classic slime, but with an interactive lesson in magnets

FAQ about the Instant Ice Experiment

Does the plastic bottle have to be a harder or softer plastic.

In my opinion, plastic bottles with harder plastic allow you to handle them easier in their supercooled state than a softer plastic bottle. When I used a softer plastic bottle, I initiated the freeze accidentally every time.

Can you make instant ice with tap water?

For this experiment, it is not recommended to use regular tap water. Tap water holds contaminants that could be enough for a nucleation point, which would trigger the freeze when the water reaches the freezing point. By using purified water, you have no contaminants, which will allow your water to stay a liquid well under freezing temperatures.

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Instant Freeze Water – Bottle Slam

Sharply knock a bottle of supercooled liquid water on the table and it instantly turns to slushy ice before your eyes.

Print this Experiment

You put a plastic bottle of soda pop or water in the freezer for a few minutes to get it ice cold. It’s still a liquid when you take it out to enjoy but the second you twist the cap, the liquid instantly turns to slush! The process is amazing to watch but hard to repeat.  This is a great illustration of how supercooled liquids defy freezing even at temperatures well below their freezing points. You’ll need some ice, salt, and several unopened plastic bottles of purified water to attempt this science demo. It’s cool… below-the-freezing-point cool!

But first… If this happens to work on your very first attempt, go buy a lottery ticket! You have to be patient and understand that all of the measurements of time, ice, water, and rock salt are summaries of what has worked for others. Shoot a video of every attempt you make to document your hits and misses – and plan on several misses, too. When the ice crystals do begin to form in the water as planned, expect to hear lots of spontaneous screams and cheers coming from – you! It really is cool. Just remember: NO glass bottles!

Experiment Videos

Here's What You'll Need

Caution: do not use glass bottles, water: bottled, purified, or distilled (several bottles, refrigerated), large, deep bowl or container, crushed ice, thermometer, adult supervision, let's try it.

science experiment turning water into ice

Nearly fill the container with ice.

science experiment turning water into ice

Shove two refrigerated, plastic water bottles deeply into the ice. Keep them close to the center of the bowl but keep each surrounded by and buried in ice as much as possible.

science experiment turning water into ice

Scatter a generous amount of rock salt all over the surface of the ice.

science experiment turning water into ice

Insert the thermometer into the ice between the bottles. Monitor the temperature. Over the next half-hour, the temperature will fall slowly. Add ice and salt to the container as needed to keep the bottles buried in it. Watch that thermometer!

science experiment turning water into ice

The temperature in the bowl needs to drop to 17℉ (-8℃). If the water gets too much colder, it may freeze prematurely.

science experiment turning water into ice

After the water has been this cold for 10 minutes (and is still a liquid), gently remove a bottle from the ice/salt mixture. Strike the bottle sharply against the table. Ice crystals may immediately form near the top of the bottle and quickly move down through the liquid. Carefully remove the second bottle and twist open the cap. The same instant freezing will likely occur from the top down.

How Does It Work

You used salt and ice to drop the temperature in the chill mixture below the normal freezing point of water. This is called “freezing point depression.” This very cold salt water can be used to cool other water and soda samples below their normal freezing point to discover which of them can be be supercooled. You might also discover which samples freeze at their normal freezing points no matter what.

When water freezes, the molecules come together in a very orderly way and form a crystalline structure. Because of this, water molecules as ice have less energy than water molecules as liquid. That means to go from liquid water to solid water, the molecules have to lose heat energy. In other words, as supercooled water freezes when you tap it or open it, it also warms up the rest of the water. This heating may allow only ten or twenty percent of the water to freeze and that accounts for slush being in the bottle instead of it being a solid chunk. The formation of ice crystals happens very quickly but heat flows slowly in water.

When water is cooled to its freezing point, ice crystals can begin to collect in the water. Like snow flakes, these crystals need something on which to grow and they use microscopic impurities in the water or locations on the bottle to do just that. If you work with really pure water and cool it slowly to produce supercooled water as a liquid, there’s different outcome. When an impurity (e.g. an ice crystal) is added to this supercooled pure water, it speeds up the crystallization process even more. The water instantly freezes solid with no slush in it anywhere. This is called “snap freezing.”

If you supercool soda water or soda pop, there are some other factors to consider. When soda pop is produced, large quantities of additives (like sugar, colors, and flavorings) as well as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) are pumped into water. These additives are called solutes and when solutes are added to a liquid such as water (the solvent), the freezing point of the water drops. By lowering the freezing point, soda has to reach a much colder temperature than plain water to freeze. The carbon dioxide gas in the soda is maintained only as long as the bottle is kept sealed. When the bottle is opened and you hear that “whoosh” of gas and foam rushing out of the bottle, the concentration of solutes in the water quickly goes down. The freezing point goes up and, without all those solutes, the soda freezes very quickly. Of course, all those bubbles provide places for the ice crystals to begin forming, too. You can test this by tapping a supercooled bottle of soda pop without opening it. Bubbles will form after the tap and freezing will likely occur.

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Only Passionate Curiosity

Instant Ice Science Experiment for Kids

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science experiment turning water into ice

This easy instant ice science experiment requires very few supplies but has a big impact. All you’ll have to do is pour liquid water and watch it magically turn into ice before your eyes!

science experiment turning water into ice

See the Instant Ice Science Experiment in Action

  • Bottled water
  • Glass or ceramic bowl
  • Plastic tray or shallow metal cookie sheet
  • Curious kids

science experiment turning water into ice

  • Put water bottles in the freezer for two hours. (You might want to set a timer to remind you to get them out!) Lay them on their sides for the best results, but try not to dent them.
  • Remove the water bottles from the freezer before they freeze. (You’ll know they’re ready when crystals form when you jostle the bottles.)
  • Place a ceramic bowl upside down on a flat surface (like a tray) to catch the water overage.
  • Place an ice cube on top of the pouring surface.
  • Then SLOWLY pour while instant ice forms!

instant ice science experiment

How the Instant Ice Science Experiment Works

This simple but amazing instant ice science experiment is more than just a cool one (see what I did there?). The science behind this experiment lies in the freezing temperature of water and how ice crystals form. This experiment is sometimes referred to as Supercooled Water or Flash Freezing. When the freezing temperature is reached, the water molecules freeze by forming ice crystals.

Why did we put an ice cube on top of the bowl? Because it’s easier for the water molecules to turn to ice on top of already-formed ice crystals. As the ice crystals build on existing ice crystals, they eventually freeze the entire bottle of water.

The process of starting the ice crystals is called “nucleation.” Nucleation starts from an impurity or scratch or piece of dust on the container holding the water. In this case, the nucleation is the water bottle. One ice crystal attaches to the imperfection, and the others grow on top. Isn’t science cool?!

Check for Understanding

science experiment turning water into ice

Explore this concept further by asking your kids these questions and experimenting:

  • Would the experiment work the same if the water had food coloring added to the water?
  • Would the results be the same if you started the experiment with hot water in the bottles before you put them in the freezer?
  • Does the temperature in the room change the results?
  • How high of an ice tower can you pour before it breaks?

Additional Resources

Want to dive deeper into this topic? Check out these fun resources!

science experiment turning water into ice

The Solid Truth about States of Matter –This graphic novel with colorful pictures throughout will help your students learn basic science truths in a fun format!

science experiment turning water into ice

Rookie Read About Science : Solids, Liquids, and Gases– This 5″ x 7″ book uses three examples and lot of colorful photos to illustrate the different states of matter. The text is simple and direct and perfect for young students.

science experiment turning water into ice

Many Kinds of Matter –This jewel of a science book is just the right of information for teaching this topic. Colorful photos and understandable text make this one my favorites!

Why does water expand when it freezes-Naked Science: This fun format uses high-speed drawings and simple text to get the point across. I dare you to try to stop watching!

Brain Stuff–How Can Hot Water Freeze Faster Than Cold Water–All of Brain Stuff’s videos are so well done. You can tell they’re big budget and are pros at this YouTube platform! Enjoy!

Do you love science experiments as much as we do? Then be sure to check out this experiment with salt and ice.

science experiment turning water into ice

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It is so cool ? Tried it with my older sister it was very fun.?

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science experiment turning water into ice

Instant Ice

Water is supposed to freeze at 0°C, turning from liquid to solid. But there’s a crazy science trick that allows you to get water to go below freezing without turning into ice! By adding salt to ice, you can cause it to melt at temperatures under 0°C and produce chilled liquid water.

So get ready to produce some crazy cold water that stubbornly refuses to become ice! This “water below zero” experiment is guaranteed to fascinate both kids and adults as they gain deeper scientific insight into the behavior of water.

The really crazy part is that at the end, we’ll make the super-chilled water freeze solid in less than a second!

Materials :

  • Bowl of crushed ice
  • Cup of water (preferably distilled)
  • A thermometer

What to do?

  • Fill a bowl with crushed ice
  • Place a cup of water (preferably distilled) in the center of the ice
  • Note that the ice should be higher than the level of the water
  • Generously sprinkle salt on the ice around the cup Be careful not to get salt in the cup.
  • Wait 30 minutes then carefully remove the cup from the bowl.
  • Drop a small ice cube into the water

science experiment turning water into ice

How does this happen?

In this experiment, we see a few phenomena. First, we can see liquid water below 0°C. How is this possible if water freezes at 0°C? Does the salt we added play a role? What is its role? Why do we add salt to the water?

Second, when we drop an ice cube into the cold water, it instantly freezes solid. What exactly happened here? Why did the small ice cube cause this effect?

Water Below Zero:

As we know, water turns to ice at 0°C. If we take an ice cube and leave it out of the freezer, it will absorb heat (energy) from its surroundings and melt back into liquid water. Melting ice cools the water because it requires energy to break the bonds between water molecules. This energy comes from the surroundings. Some ice melts, cools, and stops melting. It absorbs a bit more energy, melts more, and the cycle repeats. So the ice and meltwater stay at 0°C until all ice becomes liquid.

When we add salt to the water, it lowers the freezing point, allowing water to remain liquid at lower temperatures. So the ice melts faster into liquid. As mentioned, melting ice requires energy to break molecular bonds, cooling the water further and further, potentially reaching -20°C.

In addition to scientific experiments, this phenomenon also has practical value. In winter when it is very cold and roads become icy, salt is spread on the roads. As mentioned, salt allows water to remain liquid even at temperatures below zero and prevents the road from freezing.

Now for the second phenomenon – why doesn’t the water in the cup without salt freeze? Why does it only freeze when ice is added?

This is called supercooled water.

When a substance changes from liquid to solid state, it changes its spatial structure from disorderly with free molecular movement to an organized crystalline structure. This transition requires releasing excess kinetic energy into the environment.

When we put water in a cold environment (refrigerator or ice water), we draw out its heat energy and cause the liquid molecules to slow down until they move slowly enough to transition from liquid to solid state. But the cooling and velocity reduction alone are not enough – the structural change must also occur. This change requires certain conditions to take place. Mainly, it needs the initial crystal nucleus for other water molecules to attach to Usually various particles in water serve as nucleation sites, but when using distilled water, there are no particles. Also, cooling the water very rapidly doesn’t allow enough time for the initial nucleation point to appear.

Thus, we get supercooled water – water that based on temperature should be frozen, but the nucleation point enabling the freezing process hasn’t occurred yet.

When we introduce a small ice crystal into the water, we provide a nucleus for the freezing reaction to form and propagate through the liquid

science experiment turning water into ice

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instant ice

You may have seen videos of what looks like an ordinary bottle of cold water hanging out and minding its own watery business until bam! Someone taps it against the table and the whole bottle turns instantly to ice . What is this dark wizardry?

It isn't magic but instead science that causes the bottled water to completely freeze — and some pretty simple science at that. So, how long does it take water to freeze ? Let's find out.

The Mystery of Nucleation

Freezing point fun facts, quick freezing faqs and myth busting.

When any substance changes state — like liquid water changing to solid ice — the process involves nucleation . It’s the anchor that creates the first ice crystal and then promotes the rapid formation of more.

Heterogeneous Nucleation

This happens when there are impurities, like dust, present in the water, providing the necessary nucleus for ice formation in water exposed to freezing temperatures. Ice crystals then form throughout the liquid, turning our water into solid ice over time.

Homogeneous Nucleation

Pure water has no impurities, so without a nucleus to kickstart the freezing process, the water becomes supercooled. This allows the water to freeze faster when exposed to an external nucleus, making the magic of "instant" ice possible.

Water famously becomes completely frozen at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). But when water is devoid of impurities, like in purified bottled water, the freezing process requires even colder temperatures.

So, if you place bottles of purified water in the cold air of a freezer and leave them a couple of hours, they'll still be liquid because pure water with no nuclei in it freezes at minus 43.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42 degrees Celsius). It's now a supercooled liquid, which does indeed sound super cool.

Let's Make Some Instant Ice!

Ready to freeze water? Grab some water bottles and place them in your freezer. Make sure it's undisturbed for a few hours, getting it to that supercooled state. The exact freezing time? Typically, it takes about two-and-a-half to three hours .

Once the wait is over, remove the bottles with care. Then shake one or whack it on the table.

Anything can act as a nucleus at this point — air bubbles, a slight dent in the bottle. Any little change will be enough to cause homogenous nucleation. Once that disturbance is present, the uniform water molecules will freeze completely and so quickly that it looks instant.

An alternative to the whacking or shaking method is to pour the supercooled water over an ice cube. The cube will serve as the nucleus, and you'll be able to create a little tower of ice as you pour.

Which Freezes Faster, Hot or Cold Water?

An interesting phenomenon known as the Mpemba effect suggests that under certain conditions, hot water freezes faster than cold water. Crazy, right?

Do Different Ice Trays Affect the Freezing Process?

Absolutely! A metal ice cube tray, for instance, might speed up the process of freezing water for solid ice cubes compared to a plastic ice tray, because metal ice cube trays conduct heat (and the lack of it). Oversized ice cube trays, on the other hand, might take longer simply due to the larger volume.

What's the Ideal Water for Instant Ice?

Bottled or purified water is typically best for this icy experiment, but tap water, depending on how treated it is, can sometimes work too.

This article was updated in conjunction with AI technology, then fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.

Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article:

Raising Lifelong Learners

Instant Ice: Winter Science Experiment for Kids

My kids love science projects that involve something that looks just a bit like magic. We’ve had a lot of fun making glow-in-the-dark projects, flying projects, and anything that has a “wow” factor. This winter, we resolved to try and make instant ice. We knew the project could be a bit tricky, but we didn’t have any problems with it at all! The experiment turned out just as it ought to, which is always a great feeling!

Watch ice form before your very eyes in this fun science experiment!

You’ll need just a few things for this project:

  • Water bottles (we used a dozen, just in case!)

Place 6-12 water bottles in your freezer (or you can do it outside, but the temperature is less predictable out there). Lay them flat on their sides rather than upright. For some reason, they freeze better this way. If your kids want to experiment, place some upright and some on their sides and see which one works best!

Cool the water for about two to two and a half hours. At the two hour mark, take out one bottle and test it. If you can slam it on the counter and nothing forms, the water isn’t cool enough yet. When you get one that hardens, it is ready to go, but you’ll have to work quickly!

Kids will love this hands-on science project that looks like magic! Make instant ice using only a water bottle and an ice cube!

Turn bowl upside down over a towel (to catch the spills) and place a large ice cube on the bowl.

Carefully pour the water slowly onto the ice cube.

The water will create a column of frozen ice!

Kids will love this hands-on science project that looks like magic! Make instant ice using only a water bottle and an ice cube!

In about 20 seconds, the water will get too warm for this trick to work. But you can repeat it with all the water bottles you have!

Instant Ice Science Explained

Kids will love this hands-on science project that looks like magic! Make instant ice using only a water bottle and an ice cube!

The trick to this experiment is super-cooled water. You’re catching the water when it is cold enough to freeze, but hasn’t quite frozen yet. When ice freezes, the water forms small crystals that gradually spread. If you catch the cold water before the crystals have time to form, you can still pour out the water and it will freeze as you pour. Pouring it over an ice cube triggers crystals to form faster than they normally would.

You can get a similar effect by smashing a still-closed bottle of super-cooled water onto a hard surface. This triggers the crystals to form, instantly hardening the ice inside the bottle. The weather term for this process is called a “snap freeze.”

Ice Science Vocabulary

Celsius – Celsius (or “degrees Celsius”, or sometimes “Centigrade”) is a temperature scale. It is used to tell how hot or cold something is and is often written as °C. Water will freeze at 0°C and boil at 100°C

Fahrenheit – is also a temperature scale, typically used in the United States. We use it to tell how hot or cold something is. It is often written as °F. Water will freeze at 32°F and boil. at 212°F.

ice science activity

Snap-freeze –  a term used to describe a process by which a scientific sample is lowered to temperatures below -70 °C, very quickly. This is often accomplished by submerging a sample in liquid nitrogen. This prevents water from crystalizing when it forms ice, and so better preserves the structure of the sample.

Liquid Nitrogen – Nitrogen turns liquid at -210 degrees Celsius or  -346 degrees Fahrenheit. When nitrogen is liquid, it looks a lot like water.

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The Learner’s Lab is the  community created  just for your family.  It’s full of creative lessons, problem solving activities, critical and divergent thinking games, and the social-emotional support  children and teens need most.

All from the comfort of your own home. 

We invite you to join us. Get all the details HERE.

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By Erin Castellano & Christopher Earnhardt, Science Educators

science experiment turning water into ice

Everybody knows that turning water instantly to ice is a fun idea in comic books and fairy tales, but totally impossible in real life. Or is it? Believe it or not, anyone can instantly freeze water with a few simple ingredients and a little bit of science… no superpowers required!

At some point, we all learn that water freezes below 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), but the truth is a little more complicated. In fact, in order for water to form solid crystals and become ice, it needs a “starting point” called a nucleus. Ordinarily, water has many nuclei in the form of microscopic impurities. But if the water is purified, as it is in most bottled waters, it will not contain the nuclei needed to begin the crystallization process. Thus, purified water will remain a liquid even well below its freezing point. This process is called “supercooling.”  Giving the resulting supercooled water a jolt then forces the water molecules to crystalize in a process called “nucleation.” This starts a chain reaction where new ice crystals can join to existing ones, until the crystallization spreads across the entire bottle.

  • Bottle of Purified Water

Place your purified water in the freezer and set a timer for  ninety minutes . For the best chance of success, we recommend using several water bottles at once and laying them on their sides. After your timer goes off, check the water bottles for ice crystals – these crystals may be small and easy to miss. If no ice crystals appear, check the bottles again every fifteen minutes. Depending on your freezer and the size and shape of your water bottles, this may take as long as three hours. Once ice crystals appear in one of your bottles, check the others. If any bottles do not have ice crystals, you’re ready to begin. If they all have ice crystals, write down the time – when you repeat the experiment, remove the bottles fifteen minutes sooner. Once you have carefully removed the bottle(s) from the freezer, simply give it a quick jolt and watch the water freeze right before your eyes!  Be careful: even the slightest bump or shake when removing the bottle may start the process before you’re ready.

Further Exploration:

  • Why does the water turn to slush?
  • Why isn’t it solid like an ice cube?

When water becomes a solid, it releases heat, warming up its surroundings. This makes freezing an  exothermic reaction.  Usually, this heat is able to escape into the environment, but when a supercooled water bottle freezes, the bottle holds much of that heat inside. The water simultaneously freezes and warms up, producing a slushy mixture of water and ice.

Planning a trip to the Adventure Science Center? Come visit our infrared wall to see an example of the opposite phenomenon, an  endothermic reaction .  Where an exothermic reaction releases heat, an endothermic reaction  absorbs heat. One common endothermic reaction is ice melting. The infrared wall will help you see that while the temperature in a cup of ice may be slowly rising, the area around the cup will appear much cooler. In order for water to change from a solid into a liquid, it needs to draw heat into itself from its surroundings.

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A supercool experiment

How can you turn water into ice in a single instant?

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Warn­ing! Only un­der adult su­per­vi­sion

Equip­ment:

  • plas­tic bot­tle;
  • frozen grapes;

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Fill a plas­tic bot­tle with wa­ter and leave it in the freez­er for 3 hours to ob­tain su­per­cooled wa­ter. If the wa­ter freezes, try again, de­creas­ing the cool­ing time. When the cool­ing time is up, hit the bot­tle against a ta­ble – the wa­ter in­side freezes in­stant­ly! Pour some wa­ter into a plate and put the plate into the freez­er un­til the wa­ter is com­plete­ly frozen . Take the plate out of the freez­er and pour some su­per­cooled wa­ter over it. An icy sta­lag­mite starts grow­ing! If a grape is low­ered into the su­per­cooled wa­ter, it emerges cov­ered with fluffy ice crys­tals.

Process de­scrip­tion

Liq­uid that has cooled down to a tem­per­a­ture be­low its freez­ing point is re­ferred to as “su­per­cooled.” The liq­uid’s state is rather un­sta­ble, so any out­er im­pact (like hit­ting it against a ta­ble, or putting a grape into it) caus­es it to freeze. These out­er im­pacts re­sult in the for­ma­tion of crys­tal­liza­tion nu­clei – seed crys­tals (of ice , in our case), which give rise to big­ger crys­tals, and the wa­ter freezes with stun­ning ra­pid­i­ty.

Per­form more su­per­cool and safe ex­per­i­ments with MEL Sci­ence !

science experiment turning water into ice

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One of the most exciting and ambitious home-chemistry educational projects The Royal Society of Chemistry
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I help moms with simple, natural ways to look after their families. Find recipes, fun stuff for kids, and simple DIY ideas. Plus natural solutions made easy peasy!

Instant Ice Winter Science Experiment

indoor activity STEM activity winter This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

During the winter months, kids are obsessed with ice and all things snow. But sometimes, it’s just too cold to go outside and play or learn. But you don’t have to put on a coat to enjoy the great outdoors this winter!

Try this fun instant ice winter science experiment and wow your kids, neighbors, classroom, and anyone else who will pay attention with this easy science experiment that looks just like magic!

This fun STEM activity teaches kids about the science of water and ice. They'll be amazed at how it appears you are pouring ice directly from a water bottle with this "instant ice" activity!

Follow these guidelines to make your own version of instant ice. It’s science that is just like magic!

This fun STEM activity teaches kids about the science of water and ice. They'll be amazed at how it appears you are pouring ice directly from a water bottle with this "instant ice" activity!

What you need to make the instant ice winter science experiment:

  • Water bottles (we usually stock about 6 for this activity)

science experiment turning water into ice

The secret to this experiment is in how ice freezes. In this experiment, you lower the temperature of the water to just below freezing, but not cold enough to actually freeze.

When the water molecules start to move when the water is shaken or poured, they instantly freeze, making it look like you can pour ice directly from a water bottle!

There are a few tricks to this experiment. It took us about an hour in the freezer to get our bottles to the right temperature. You can tell it’s the right temperature when you hit the bottle on the counter and ice particles form inside the bottle.

Wait much longer though, and your water will become ice, making the experiment impossible.

Cool the water bottles in the freezer for about an hour. Check every 30 minutes by hitting one bottle on the counter to see if ice forms (it will look like this when it’s ready).

This fun STEM activity teaches kids about the science of water and ice. They'll be amazed at how it appears you are pouring ice directly from a water bottle with this "instant ice" activity!

Place a couple of ice cubes on your upside down container. This will help form the ice tower.

Carefully pour the water slowly onto the ice. It should start to form an ice tower right away. If it doesn’t, your water is too warm.

This fun STEM activity teaches kids about the science of water and ice. They'll be amazed at how it appears you are pouring ice directly from a water bottle with this "instant ice" activity!

Keep pouring gently until the ice tower stops forming. You can use other bottles from the freezer to make the ice sculpture even bigger.

This fun STEM activity teaches kids about the science of water and ice. They'll be amazed at how it appears you are pouring ice directly from a water bottle with this "instant ice" activity!

Once the water warms up though, it will start to destroy the tower, so watch out when you’re pouring.

This fun STEM activity teaches kids about the science of water and ice. They'll be amazed at how it appears you are pouring ice directly from a water bottle with this "instant ice" activity!

Dear Mom, Join the Living Well Mom Insiders

Ang Paris says

January 19, 2018 at 7:11 am

What a fun project!!

January 30, 2018 at 3:01 pm

Anyone else having trouble getting this to work?

January 30, 2018 at 3:05 pm

What’s happening, Jen?

February 7, 2018 at 10:45 pm

This is a great project! Will try with my nieces this weekend!

Carrie says

January 9, 2021 at 3:52 am

We couldn’t get this to work. Chilled 6 water bottles. At 1 hour 15 min, I could hit one on the counter and get ice crystals. But when we slowly poured it on the ice cubes on the upside down container, it just poured off as water. Tested all 6 bottles, trying different speeds and techniques. None worked.

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instant ice experiment for kids photo collage

supercooled water

Unveiling the Magic of Supercooling: How to Instantly Freeze Water

Table of contents.

Have you ever marveled at a magic trick where water turns into ice instantly? What if I told you it’s not magic but science at its best, and you can recreate this phenomenon at home? Welcome to the fascinating world of supercooling, a process that defies our everyday experience with freezing and offers a peek into the intriguing behaviors of liquids under extreme conditions.

What is Supercooling?

Supercooling is an extraordinary state where a liquid or gas is cooled below its usual freezing point without it transitioning into a solid form. For water, this means having liquid water exist below 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) without it turning into ice. This phenomenon challenges our conventional understanding of freezing and provides an exceptional opportunity to explore the delicate balance between temperature and state of matter.

The Science Behind Supercooling

At its core, supercooling is all about achieving a state of delicate equilibrium. Under normal circumstances, when water reaches its freezing point, it begins to form ice as the molecules slow down and arrange themselves in a crystalline structure, releasing energy in the process. However, if the cooling process is smooth enough to avoid disturbing this delicate balance, water can be cooled below its freezing point without the formation of ice crystals. This state is unstable, though; even a minor disturbance can trigger rapid freezing.

The Instant Ice Phenomenon

The most mesmerizing aspect of supercooling is what happens when this unstable state is disturbed. Imagine a bottle of supercooled water, liquid and clear, sitting well below freezing temperature. The moment you pour it out or introduce an impurity, ice forms instantly right before your eyes, as if by magic. The transition from liquid to solid happens so quickly because the supercooled water was just waiting for an excuse to freeze. During this instant freezing process, the water actually warms up to 0 degrees Celsius as it releases latent heat.

Experimenting with Supercooling at Home

Curious to try this at home? With patience and careful preparation, you can witness the magic of supercooling in your own kitchen. Here’s how:

Materials You’ll Need:

  • Purified or distilled water (Impurities in regular tap water can initiate freezing)
  • A clean and smooth plastic bottle (Avoid scratches that can act as nucleation sites for ice formation)

Step-by-Step Guide:

  • Prepare Your Water: Fill the plastic bottle with purified or distilled water. Make sure the bottle is smooth and free of any labels or residues.
  • Chill: Place the bottle in your freezer. The key here is to find the sweet spot where the water is supercooled but not frozen. This usually takes between 2 to 3 hours, but it can vary depending on your freezer’s temperature settings.
  • Check Carefully: After a couple of hours, gently check the bottle every 15-20 minutes. You’re looking for water that’s still liquid but is very cold.
  • Initiate Freezing: Once you have your supercooled water, remove it from the freezer carefully to avoid disturbing it too much. For the grand reveal, either pour the water onto a piece of ice or tap the bottle gently. You’ll witness the instant transformation from liquid to ice.

Safety Tips:

While experimenting with supercooling is generally safe, always handle bottles with care as they can crack under extreme temperatures.

Understanding Supercooling’s Implications

Beyond being a captivating demonstration, supercooling has profound implications in various scientific and practical fields. In meteorology, understanding supercooled water droplets helps in predicting weather patterns and phenomena like freezing rain. In technology, researchers are exploring ways to use supercooling in preserving organs for transplants more efficiently than current methods allow.

The Wonders of Water

Water continues to surprise and intrigue scientists with its unique properties and behaviors like supercooling. It’s a reminder of how even the most common substance on our planet has secrets waiting to be unlocked. Supercooling exemplifies how science can turn everyday materials into objects of wonder and exploration, bridging the gap between the laboratory and your kitchen.

So next time you see a magic trick where liquid instantly turns to ice, remember: it’s not just an illusion but a delightful demonstration of physics at play. And with a bit of patience and precision, it’s something you can experience firsthand from the comfort of your home.

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Go Science Girls

How to Make Instant Ice? (Impressive Cold & Hot Ice Making)

  • May 25, 2021
  • 7-9 Year Olds , Chemistry

Performing science experiments , especially by kids is so much fun. Hence to add more fun, we are here with another fun-loving experiment – How To Make Instant Ice?

Instant Ice formation has been proven beneficial in many aspects. Its endothermic nature and time-saving property have been immensely used in scenarios of cold-time crunch treatments. Instead of following those long processes, we can make it in a few seconds.

In this article, we have given step-by-step experimentation and detailed information regarding every single thing you need to know about making instant ice. So, go ahead and read below!

How To Make Instant Ice?

The most basic type of instant ice formation. No additional substances except water is used.

Instant Ice Experiment

You may be interested in our Amazing 18+ Ice Science Experiments

Steps to make –

  • Grab a dozen or so water bottles (better to be safe than sorry; if one bottle fails to show the desired product, another can be immediately used).
  • Place them in the refrigerator for two hours (add a quarter or half-hour more, if the result is not achieved), preferably in a horizontal position.

Keep the bottle in refrigerator

  • Gently take the bottles out on completion of the allotted time, and place them carefully on a flat surface.

For Instant Ice in a Bottle :

  • Hold one of the cold bottles in your hand and slam it down hard on a flat surface.

Shake the bottle

  • The bottle freezes rapidly from top to bottom (roughly 5-10 seconds), turning non-transparent and having your Instant Ice.

For Instant Ice as an Ice Sculpture :

  • Pour the contents of one of the bottles on a piece of ice placed on a flat surface.

standard instant ice - Ice Sculpture Making

  • As soon as the poured water comes in contact with the already ice placed, it transforms instantaneously. Continuous pouring causes the ice to accumulate in height, and an Instant Ice sculpture is created.

Instant Hot Ice Making

Instant Hot Ice Making

  • In a beaker/pot, add 1 lt of baking soda slowly (to avoid a volcano, which may overflow) to 4 tbsp of vinegar with constant stirring. The following reaction occurs.

[HCO3]– + CH3–COOH → CH3–COO– Na+ + H2O + CO2

Sodium acetate and carbon dioxide are formed as products.

  • The solution formed is a diluted one, and we need a concentrated one. To do so, boil the contents of the solution for about an hour or so until a thin film (100ml-150ml) is obtained. Do not worry about any discoloration that may occur.
  • Remove the solution from the heat source and cover it immediately to protect it from any crystal formation. If crystals do appear, then mix a small amount of water until they dissolve.
  • Place the solution into a refrigerator.
  • For making “hot” ice sculptures, i.e., to occur crystallization, either touch the surface with an object or add a small preformed crystal of sodium acetate, which will set off the nucleation process.
  • Pour the solution on a flat surface, and your “hot” ice sculptures are ready.

Science Behind Instant Ice Formation

The Experiment performed appears quite exceptional to the naked eye and indeed very awe-inspiring to those who do not have a science background.

Diving deeper into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of it, we learn that this miracle is mind-blowing and has a very simple and straightforward explanation.

The mechanism behind the magical instant ice is a phenomenon called ‘ Snap Freeze ’.

The freezing point of water is 0℃ or 32℉. The technique of ‘Snap Freeze’ is to take water when it is super cool but hasn’t frozen yet; it’s just at the brink of it.

This method lowers the temperature to -70℃ or -94℉ in a “snap,” as the name suggests.

For the experiment to be successful, you must use supercooled water but should not reach the finish line of the freezing point yet.

On exposure of this “almost frozen water” to any kind of force, a slam or a whack (in case of instant ice in Bottle procedure) or to ice, which acts as a precursor to the pouring chilled water (in case of instant ice in Ice Sculpture procedure), ‘Nucleation’ occurs.

Nucleation is the changing of a substance from one state to another.

Water has numerous nuclei which act as a harbour for any impurity or the water molecule to turn into an ‘ice crystal’.

The ‘ice crystal’ initiates a chain reaction of crystal formations called ‘ crystallization .’

A trigger for nucleation is a contact to any deformity. Hence, when slammed/whacked against a solid surface, it begins to freeze fast and within sometime the entire bottle is frozen.

Another trigger is, contact with already prepared ‘ice crystals’. Therefore, when it touches the ice, it freezes rapidly.

Both the cases are examples of ‘Heterogeneous Nucleation’.

Suppose, ice is formed naturally without any external disturbance or introduction of any impurity, just like the usual long-term method of storing water in the freezer for an extended period. In that case, it is an example of ‘Homogeneous Nucleation.’

Influencing Factors

  • The volume of water.
  • Dimensions of the bottle.
  • Initial Temperature (before placing in the refrigerator) – preferably should be room temperature for the best outcome.
  • The temperature of the refrigerator.
  • Final Temperature (after placing in the refrigerator).
  • Position of the bottle, since the more surface area exposed, the faster is the cooling process-

Vertical – less surface area exposed – slower cooling.

Horizontal – more surface area exposed- faster cooling.

Amount of impurities –

More – hinder cooling.

Less – smooth cooling.

Presence of the tiniest of impurities may set off preterm Nucleation.

Features/Conditions

  • It can maintain its state as instant ice for about 15-20 seconds, variable, depending upon the environment it is being performed in and the climatic conditions of the location.
  • Pure water is a compulsion for this experiment because being devoid of any impurities will lead the water to reach the freezing point before forming crystals accidentally.
  • Alternatively, for an even quicker experiment time duration, add ‘salt’ to the pure water. The addition of ‘salt’ lowers the freezing point significantly. So, the refrigeration time can be reduced to 10-15 minutes which is remarkably lower than the standard period.

Liquid Nitrogen / Cryopreservation

‘Cryopreservation’ refers to preserving any substances, especially biological compounds, by subjecting them to lower temperatures. These usually range between -80℃ to -196℃.

Nitrogen’s freezing point is -210℃ or -346℉. It turns from gaseous to liquid state on attaining its freezing point and has an uncanny resemblance to water. The temperature of liquid nitrogen formed is -196℃ or -320.8℉.

This form of nitrogen applies to quick and rapid freezing, such as cooking competitions and bakeries, where time is of the essence.

The sample to be frozen is directly dipped into a container of any sort filled with liquid nitrogen. There is no chemical change in the substance subjected to this procedure.

Also, an added merit other than being a massive time-saver is, liquid nitrogen preserves the structure of the substance dipped in it and does not form crystals as seen in regular refrigerator freezing.

Purpose / Practical Applications of Instant Ice

1. beverages.

Since it is an ‘exothermic reaction,’ ‘latent heat’ is released in the ice as it freezes from top to bottom, heating it and increasing the water temperature.

The increase in temperature makes it a bit warmer, suitable for consumption. It can simply be taken or added to other beverages to enhance them.

E.g., It is added to fruit slushies like mango or strawberry to add a refreshing element to them.

2. Ice Sculptures

Different shaped ‘Ice Sculptures’ can be created by placing ice beforehand in the shape you wish to achieve. You will then simply have to pour the cooled water over the prepositioned ice, and your Ice Sculpture is ready!

3. Ice Packs

It is a 2-layered mobile bag which consists of – a plastic bag of water/water-laden gel, inside a bag of ‘Ammonium Nitrate, Calcium Ammonium Nitrate or Urea.

Here, the Ionic compound which is Ammonium Nitrate, Calcium Ammonium Nitrate or Urea, and the Non-Ionic compound is water.

science experiment turning water into ice

Interactions between an Ionic and Non-Ionic compound are always heat-absorbing.

When the barrier between the two bags is forcefully broken at the time of use, the contents of the two bags mix, and an endothermic reaction takes place, absorbing all the heat from the surroundings. Instantly, the bag turns cold, fulfilling its purpose.

The instant-mix-ready packs are crucial in treating primarily sports injuries or domestic accidents, like in sprains, strains, muscle pull, jaw injuries due to punches, etc.

4. Food Preservation

Delicate and perishable food items are subjected to sudden and instant ice to pause their physical and chemical processes, preserving their natural characteristics of taste and smell.

Their cell membranes remain intact even after denaturation. On heating, the food returns to its fresh form and is consumable.

Related Ice Experiments for you to try on:

Glowing Ice Cubes

Balloon in Hot and Cold Water

Triple point of Water

Instant Ice is both exciting and valuable to work with. Its phenomenon is nothing short of miraculous.

Even though there is a scientific background to it, it will always be an astounding manifestation to witness.

For fun-loving science enthusiasts, coloured instant ice is the latest invention. It is done by adding colour-imparting pigments to the base mixture in both standard and hot instant ices .

It has spread its branches and roots of applications vastly in various aspects of provisions.

Be it food preservation, food preparation or an instant relief for an injured football player, instant ice has got everything covered.

Happy Ice-making!

Angela

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This educational resource is part of the Cool As Ice spotlight

Make Supercool Fruit Pops

Grade level, 15 min - 1 hr, activity type:, crystallization , ice , nucleation , molecules , heat.

These Aha! resources are also available in Spanish !

When you cool water down below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), it should freeze, right?

Well, that’s not always what happens.

Most of the time, when water dips below its freezing point, it transitions from a liquid state to a solid state, which you know as ice. However, under the right conditions, pure water can remain a liquid even when cooled to well below its freezing point. When water remains a liquid below its freezing point, it is called supercooled water .

How do you supercool water, and what causes it to finally freeze solid? To find out, let’s make supercool fruit pops. Here’s how:

Wooden skewers or toothpicks

Chunks of fruit, like bananas, strawberries, peaches, or pineapple

Ice and access to a freezer

Distilled water

Large glass or metal bowl

Small glass bowl or jar

Make supercooled water

  • Freeze fruit on a skewer in the freezer for at least two hours.
  • Fill a small glass jar one-third of the way with distilled water.
  • Place the jar in the center of a large bowl and surround the jar with ice, making sure the ice comes up past the height of the water on the sides of the jar.
  • Sprinkle a dusting of salt over the ice, being careful not to get any salt in the water in the jar.
  • Rest a kitchen thermometer in the jar. Leave the jar in the bowl full of ice until the thermometer reads 30 F or below.
  • When the water is below 30 F, carefully remove the thermometer from the jar. If your water is still liquid at this temperature, congrats! You’ve created supercooled water! If not, dump the ice that has formed in the jar and try again.
  • Remove a frozen fruit skewer from the freezer and gently place it in the supercooled water in the jar. You should see ice crystals form around the fruit pop. Once the ice crystals have formed, remove the fruit skewer and observe (and eat) your frozen water masterpiece!

Be curious, ask questions, mess with stuff

  • Does supercooled water look any different from room-temperature water? If the thermometer hadn’t been in the water as it cooled, would you have been able to tell from its appearance that it was supercooled?
  • What happened when you put the frozen fruit into the supercooled water? Be as specific as possible.
  • How did the water change? Did ice crystals form? If so, where did they begin to form? How did they grow?
  • Did all the water in the jar turn into ice crystals, or did some water remain? Try putting more frozen fruit in whatever water remained in the jar. Did that fruit instantly freeze, too? Why or why not? Use a kitchen thermometer to test your prediction.
  • Examine the ice crystals that formed on your fruit pop. What do they look like? Are they smooth and glassy, or are they spikey? Is the ice that formed thick or thin?

AHA! Ice crystals help supercooled water freeze!

In order to get an idea of what just happened in your glass jar, you have to picture water at the molecular level. Each water molecule consists of a pair of hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. In a warm liquid state, water molecules bounce around and collide with one another constantly and randomly, propelled by energy in the form of heat.

But when water is frozen solid, water molecules don’t really move around. Instead, they’re arranged in a rigid, highly organized, three-dimensional grid called a crystal, where they vibrate in place. If you’ve ever noticed frost on a window, peered into an ice cube, or seen a snowflake, you’ve observed the results of this molecular organization process, called crystallization.

So, how do you get water molecules in a liquid state to arrange themselves into crystals? First you have to slow them down—and to do that, you have to drop the temperature, just like you did when you chilled the water in an ice bath. Second, you have to give those chilled water molecules something to crystallize around, called a “ seed .”

In your experiment, the seed you provided was in the form of tiny ice crystals on the outside of your frozen fruit pop! Those tiny crystals acted like a pattern, or template, for water crystal formation, providing a guide to help water molecules arrange themselves into a crystal lattice. The initial formation of crystals around a seed crystal is called nucleation , and is an essential first step in the process of crystallization.

Many substances can seed crystallization in supercooled water, even impurities like dust, other minerals, and tiny air bubbles. That’s why it’s best to use purified water like distilled or filtered water when making supercooled water!

Experiment more, make predictions. It’s what scientists do.

  • Ask questions: What other things could you use as a seed crystal for water crystallization?
  • Modify the experiment : Repeat this experiment, but instead of putting the fruit pop into the supercooled jar of water, hold your frozen fruit pop over the sink and pour the supercooled water over the top of it. How does the ice formed with this method differ from the ice that was formed when you dipped the fruit into the supercooled water?
  • Make a prediction: What other substances besides frozen fruit would cause crystal formation in supercooled water? Can you make ice crystals form on a non-frozen fruit pop? What about on a jellybean or a plain ice cube? Repeat the experiment using different substances to seed crystallization, adding the ice in your bowl as needed to keep your experiment cool.
  • Document your results : Write down all the different versions of this experiment that you try, snapping pictures of the ice that you create, and describing differences in ice crystals between experiments.

science experiment turning water into ice

Aha!  by Science Friday, is a series of short science experiments that you can do in 15 minutes or less, with materials you can find at home.

Meet the Writer

About ariel zych.

Ariel Zych is Science Friday’s director of audience. She is a former teacher and scientist who spends her free time making food, watching arthropods, and being outside.

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science experiment turning water into ice

Supercool Science Trick : How to Turn Water into Ice on Command

How to Turn Water into Ice on Command

This is an awesome little science trick that has to be seen to be believed. Simply by emptying a bottle of "supercooled" water into a glass, you can watch it turn into ice right as your pour! It's no magic trick or chemical craziness—it's normal water and you can try it yourself right in your own home.

The scientific concept behind the phenomenon is known as " supercooling ," and in layman's terms, it's the process of lowering the temperature of a liquid below its normal freezing point, but without it actually freezing. It can be pretty tricky, but you don't need anything more than a freezer and some water bottles to try it out.

  • 1 full water bottle (filtered water, no flavored or mineral)
  • 1 empty water bottle
  • Some tap water

Step 1: Freeze Water

Fill the empty water bottle with ordinary tap water. This bottle won't actually be "supercooled", because tap water doesn't work, but it will help us determine the amount of time the filtered water needs to be in the freezer. Take both full bottles of water and place them in the freezer. Let them sit for at least two hours before taking them out.

Step 2: Check Them Every 10 Minutes

The tap water should completely freeze before the filtered water. Once the tap water has frozen, you're good to go. If you miss this window and the filtered water has frozen, you will need to thaw both and start all over again. The idea is to get the filtered water chilled to just before the freezing point.

Step 3: Impress Your Friends

Pour out the supercooled filtered water and watch the insanity. Your friends will think you're a wizard. You can also just smack the bottle to turn it into ice instantly, like so...

This process will work with other beverages, too, like beer , but the trick with any of them is figuring out the exact right moment to pull them out. Wait too long and you'll just have a frozen chunk of boring ice. No one's impressed by that.

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I use to store 5 gal water jugs in the garage for water dispenser. I forgot about the outside temps as winter was approaching. When it came time to bring one in, I realized we had a streak of out-of-season freeze week or so. Sure enough all the jugs had bursted or deformed except for one which was still liquid. I immediately figured it was super cooled; I knew if I had disturbed the water it would start forming. Sure enough, I picked the jug up and ice started forming, so I ran the jug inside to show the rest of the family a spectacular science phenomena that last nearly a minute before the bottle solidified (and started deforming the jug, so it made its way back outside, just in case). One of the coolest things to experience.

Cool story. Thanks for sharing. It doesn't get that cold around here, and my freezer is pretty small, otherwise I'd try supercooling my 5-gallon water jugs.

i dont think that it is true,maybe he put some polymer into the plate,so it will absorbe the water and form like an ice.

I don't see why it couldn't be true, super cooling water is a very real thing

This only works if the water and the vessel have zero impurities (distilled water). But you can do this same trick with tap water; here's how:

-Fill a 500ml water bottle completely with cold tap water.

-Fill a 500ml water bottle with HOT tap water, but don't fill it completely, leave a 100ml gap of air at the top. Shake the hot water bottle to heat up the 100ml of air in it, you should notice the bottle trying to expand slightly, and becoming more firm. Quickly open and close the bottle to release this build up of pressure.

-Place the bottles in sub-zero conditions (ideal temperature is about -7 C; too warm and it will take forever, too cold and it will freeze unless you are checking it every 10 minutes).

-Go out and check them every so often. Your hot water bottle should start to shrink, like someone squeezed all the air out of it.

-Wait until the cold water bottle is completely frozen (not just starting to freeze, but completely frozen. the hot water bottle needs time to catch up because it started out hotter)

-Open the hot water bottle. Air will rush in and the bottle will bounce back into shape, and the water inside will quickly turn into ice.

This demonstrates the varying freezing/melting points of water at different air pressures; the hot water in the bottle has less pressure on it because the 100ml of hot air in it cooled, and shrunk, thus creating a partial vacuum inside the bottle, and lowering the freezing point of the water.

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The Imagination Tree

Creative play and learning for kids

Freezing and Melting Objects in Ice

May 29, 2012 by Anna Ranson

A fun scientific investigation for kids on a hot day: freezing and then melting objects in blocks of ice!

Freezing and defrosting ice experiment

Then out came the forks and some ice was gradually chipped away from the edges, but not enough to reach the toys and flowers.

Science experiment for kids with ice

Then Cakie had the idea to drop the ice blocks into the paddling pool! She noticed very quickly that the blocks began to melt at the edges. “It melts in water Mummy!” After a short while she was too impatient and pulled them back out to examine on the patio again.

Defrosting toys from ice blocks

But by now the toys were beginning to emerge and the fun began! Back to the forks and more chiselling around the edges. “They’re coming out! Look!”

science experiment turning water into ice

She was thrilled to be able to reunite Wendy and Peter Pan (who she claims are deeply in love and about to get married!)

They have loved this investigation so much that I’ve found Cakie freezing things all by herself the past few days! I found my gorgeous silver napkin ring suspended in ice in the freezer along with a whole host of favourite toys, feathers and tid bits!

We have another ice post on the way because of this new obsession, this time linked to learning colours! Stay tuned 🙂

  • knowledge and understanding:  investigating how water turns to ice and then melts again (changing materials from liquid to solid to liquid again), using thinking skills to try and solve problems, observations and predictions, cause and effect, combing materials to make a change e.g. salt and water added to ice
  • physical: gross and fine motor skills in chiselling, chipping and bashing at ice

Cakie: 3 years 7 months Pop: 2 years 2 months Bean: 13 weeks

See our other ice play activities here!

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May 29, 2012 at 11:37 am

Oh wow that’s fantastic! And how clever to pop it in the paddling pool! I feel you may have a mini scientist on your hands! xx

May 29, 2012 at 11:58 am

That looks like so much fun!!! I had seen this before but how lovely with the flowers and the beads!! I think it’s about to cool down around here so I think I might keep this in mind for the next hot weather batch we have!

May 29, 2012 at 12:35 pm

How cute and how girly! We did a similar activity about a year ago, so it’s time to repeat it and this time I want to make it all girly and pink, too. 🙂

May 29, 2012 at 1:11 pm

My preschool students experimented with objects in ice back in the winter. They loved working to get the items out of the ice. Such a great experiment to see the science behind freezing and melting. http://www.brennaphillips.com/experimenting-with-ice-in-preschool

May 29, 2012 at 3:36 pm

I love this idea. Thank you so much for sharing! I can’t wait to try it with my daughter.

May 29, 2012 at 4:24 pm

I love the selection of items in your ice blocks – the flowers look wonderful! I have done this a couple of times with my Nursery class at school and feel inspired to do it all over again – thank you for the reminder! I’m just about to make some of your gold dough for school tomorrow – thank you for so much inspiration : )

May 29, 2012 at 9:03 pm

Brilliant! Just brilliant!

May 29, 2012 at 11:21 pm

Wow! These are so pretty and look like fun to play with.

May 30, 2012 at 4:20 am

It’s supposed to be close to 100 degrees in the next week, so I see this in our future. Thanks for the great idea.

June 1, 2012 at 2:47 am

I froze my girls’ magnetic letters! I built simple three-letter “mystery” words with the ice blocks and as they melted L loved trying to figure them out. It was a great way to stay cool on this crazy hot day! Next time, I am going to try freezing colored-water as well.

http://excited2learn.com/blog/frozen-letters-an-educational-cool-down/

June 1, 2012 at 7:51 am

I love this Anna! So pretty! xx

June 3, 2012 at 3:35 pm

Awe…I want to come play at your house!! ;’)

science experiment turning water into ice

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  1. How to Turn Water into Ice in Seconds Explanation Tutorial

    science experiment turning water into ice

  2. How to make liquid water turn into ice instantly with just a few

    science experiment turning water into ice

  3. How To Make Instant Ice Science Experiment

    science experiment turning water into ice

  4. The water turns into ice

    science experiment turning water into ice

  5. Turn Water Into Ice Story

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  6. How to Make Water Freeze into Ice Instantaneously « Science Experiments

    science experiment turning water into ice

COMMENTS

  1. How To Make Instant Ice Science Experiment

    How cool is this instant ice experiment? But let me be honest. This experiment looks simple, but it is not! The idea isn't new, and we wanted to try it for a...

  2. Instant Ice Science Experiment

    Step 1: Place your water bottle (s) in the freezer on their side. I wanted to have a few water bottles in the freezer, just in case I accidentally messed up on the experiment. It varies for everyone, but your water bottles will likely need at least 1.5 hours to get ready, likely more. Mine needed about 2.5 hours.

  3. Instant Freeze Water

    Add ice and salt to the container as needed to keep the bottles buried in it. Watch that thermometer! The temperature in the bowl needs to drop to 17℉ (-8℃). If the water gets too much colder, it may freeze prematurely. After the water has been this cold for 10 minutes (and is still a liquid), gently remove a bottle from the ice/salt mixture.

  4. Instant Ice Science Experiment

    This easy instant ice science experiment requires very few supplies, but has a big impact. Pour liquid water and watch it magically turn into ice before your eyes! ... Because it's easier for the water molecules to turn to ice on top of already-formed ice crystals. As the ice crystals build on existing ice crystals, they eventually freeze the ...

  5. Instant Ice

    Place a cup of water (preferably distilled) in the center of the ice. Note that the ice should be higher than the level of the water. Generously sprinkle salt on the ice around the cup Be careful not to get salt in the cup. Wait 30 minutes then carefully remove the cup from the bowl. Drop a small ice cube into the water.

  6. From Liquid to Solid: How Long Does It Take Water to Freeze?

    It isn't magic but instead science that causes the bottled water to completely freeze — and some pretty simple science at that. ... turning our water into solid ice over time. Advertisement. Homogeneous Nucleation. ... Bottled or purified water is typically best for this icy experiment, but tap water, depending on how treated it is, can ...

  7. Instant Ice: Winter Science Experiment for Kids

    Turn bowl upside down over a towel (to catch the spills) and place a large ice cube on the bowl. Carefully pour the water slowly onto the ice cube. The water will create a column of frozen ice! In about 20 seconds, the water will get too warm for this trick to work.

  8. PDF EXPERIMENT WITH INSTANT ICE!

    2. Pour a couple tablespoons of purified or distilled water into a clean glass. 3. Nestle the glass with water into the center of the bowl of ice so that the ice is higher than the level of water in the glass. Be very careful not to spill any ice into the glass of water. 4. Generously and carefully sprinkle the salt onto the ice.

  9. Kids Science Experiment: Turn Water Into Ice

    Learn how to turn water into ice, instantly, just by pouring it out. Watch as we pour water and make ice towers within seconds. When you place your water bot...

  10. Insta-Freeze Ice

    Depending on your freezer and the size and shape of your water bottles, this may take as long as three hours. Once ice crystals appear in one of your bottles, check the others. If any bottles do not have ice crystals, you're ready to begin. If they all have ice crystals, write down the time - when you repeat the experiment, remove the ...

  11. A supercool experiment

    Fill a plas­tic bot­tle with wa­ter and leave it in the freez­er for 3 hours to ob­tain su­per­cooled wa­ter. If the wa­ter freezes, try again, de­creas­ing the cool­ing time. When the cool­ing time is up, hit the bot­tle against a ta­ble - the wa­ter in­side freezes in­stant­ly! Pour some wa­ter into a plate and put the ...

  12. How to Turn Water Into Ice Instantly

    Did you know that you can turn liquid water into ice just by pouring it out of a bottle!? Okay, it might be a little more complicated than that, but this in...

  13. Instant Freeze Super-Cooled Water

    To instantly freeze a super-cooled water bottle, hold it by the neck and tap it on the bottom with your other hand. If a snowflake or ice crystal forms, it should grow until the entire bottle is frozen. This may take just a few seconds to a minute, depending on how cold the water is. Another way to initiate freezing to to shake the bottle, but ...

  14. Instant Ice Winter Science Experiment

    Cool the water bottles in the freezer for about an hour. Check every 30 minutes by hitting one bottle on the counter to see if ice forms (it will look like this when it's ready). Place a couple of ice cubes on your upside down container. This will help form the ice tower. Carefully pour the water slowly onto the ice.

  15. CuriouSTEM

    After 2 hours, take out one water bottle. Set the bowl upside down on a flat surface. Place an ice cube on the bowl. Quickly pour the water bottle over the ice cube. Watch as the water instantly turns into ice as it touches the ice. The science behind this experiment comes from the idea of supercooled water. Purified water can be chilled below ...

  16. Unveiling The Magic Of Supercooling: How To Instantly Freeze Water

    For water, this means having liquid water exist below 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) without it turning into ice. This phenomenon challenges our conventional understanding of freezing and provides an exceptional opportunity to explore the delicate balance between temperature and state of matter.

  17. Instant Ice

    Everyone knows the freezing temperature of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius. When this temperature is reached, the water molecules freeze by forming ice crystals. It's easier for the water molecules to turn to ice on top of already formed crystals. Ice crystals build on existing ice crystals to eventually freeze the entire ...

  18. How to Make Instant Ice? (Impressive Cold & Hot Ice Making)

    Instant Hot Ice Making. Source. In a beaker/pot, add 1 lt of baking soda slowly (to avoid a volcano, which may overflow) to 4 tbsp of vinegar with constant stirring. The following reaction occurs. [HCO3]- + CH3-COOH → CH3-COO- Na+ + H2O + CO2. Sodium acetate and carbon dioxide are formed as products.

  19. Turn water into ice without a freezer

    Fill the cup with water. Use equal parts acetone and water to speed the process. Step 2: Place in bell jar. Place the cup inside the bell jar. Step 3: Connect to vacuum pump. Connect the bell jar to the vacuum pump and turn it on. Step 4: Watch the water bubble. Watch the water begin to bubble. Step 5: Watch the water turn into ice.

  20. Make Supercool Fruit Pops

    Fill a small glass jar one-third of the way with distilled water. Place the jar in the center of a large bowl and surround the jar with ice, making sure the ice comes up past the height of the water on the sides of the jar. Sprinkle a dusting of salt over the ice, being careful not to get any salt in the water in the jar.

  21. How to Turn Water into Ice on Command

    Step 1: Freeze Water. Fill the empty water bottle with ordinary tap water. This bottle won't actually be "supercooled", because tap water doesn't work, but it will help us determine the amount of time the filtered water needs to be in the freezer. Take both full bottles of water and place them in the freezer. Let them sit for at least two hours ...

  22. 5 Amazing Water Experiments & Tricks

    In this learning video you will see 5 amazing science experiments with instant water freezing to ice. Do you konw how to freeze water instantly? In this vide...

  23. Freezing and Melting Objects in Ice

    A fun scientific investigation for kids on a hot day: freezing and then melting objects in blocks of ice! We have had some wonderfully hot weather this week and our play has been mainly outside from breakfast to bedtime. To help cool down we had a go at the simplest of scientific experiments, turning water into ice and then back again to water!