The Easton High School Interact Club has been visiting several of our sites during the school year and throughout summer camp. For STEAM Saturday this week, we’re going to share one of our students’ favorite STEAM activities that they did together with the Interact Club – Ice Cream in a Bag! As we head into the final month of summer break, this is the perfect summery STEAM activity to get a break from the extra-steamy weather we’ve been experiencing.
We know you probably want to get straight to making ice cream so you can sample some of the finished product, but it’s always great to pair your lesson with a good book. For this project, we read The Boy Who Invented The Popsicle by Anne Renaud. This is the true story of Frank Eperson, who invented one of the most popular frozen treats in the world! Check out a wonderful read-along of the book here.
After you have read this inspiring true story, gather the ingredients for your ice cream:
- 1 cup of half and half
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups of ice
- 1/3 cup of kosher salt
- toppings of your choice
In a small resealable plastic bag, combine the half and half, sugar, and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal.
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the ice and salt. Place the small bag containing your ingredients into the large bag with the ice and salt. Shake your bag vigorously for 7 to 10 minutes until the ice cream has hardened. Take out your ice cream, add toppings, and enjoy!
This activity is a great opportunity to talk about chemistry, states of matter and the science of temperature. How do the ingredients change during the experiment? How and why do they go from liquid to solid? How does the salt lower the freezing point of the ice to help form the ice cream?
Learn more about the science behind homemade plastic bag ice cream from Science Buddies here.
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
