Popsicle Science – Invent Your Own

Math Science
Time 1 hour
Age 7 & up
Group Size 4 or more
Tags Cooking, Experiment, Freeze,   more...
Health Liquid Recipe

Time to make popsicle history?

Cooking activities are great for teaching kids how to use measurement tools, giving them a chance to apply math skills like counting, adding, multiplying, etc. In addition, when you give them a chance to design their own recipe, kids have to rely on estimation, problem solving and other science, math and engineering skills. And this activity gives you a chance to talk to them about making healthy choices in what they eat.

Preparation

Prepare all of the ingredients, making sure that they are all the same temperature.

Popsicle Science – Invent Your Own
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Suggested Materials

  • Ice cube trays (1 per team)
  • Many different kinds of drinkable liquids or other ingredients, especially real fruit juices (see list of examples from the first Popsicle Science session)
  • Clear plastic wrap
  • Toothpicks
  • Cups (100)
  • Spoons
  • Newspaper
  • A freezer
  • Sugar
  • Honey
  • Bowls (1 per team)
  • Splenda or other non-sugar sweetener
  • Food coloring
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Small “tasting cups”, such as Dixie cups

Optional Materials

  • Eyedroppers
1

Make it Matter

Opening Discussion

Go over your list of “Fast Freezers”, “Slow Freezers”, and “No Freezers” from the Popsicle Science activity. Did any ingredients taste different frozen than they did unfrozen? Did any teams decide what flavor popsicle they might make?

The Challenge

Try to make a popsicle that tastes better than what you can buy in the store.

2

Make it Happen

Doing the Activity

  1. Have your students work in the same teams as they did in the Popsicle Science activity.
  2. Each team should have their own ice cube tray for this activity.
  3. Ask each team to decide together what flavors they would like to experiment with. They can make popsicles that use just 1 flavor, or they can try mixing flavors.
  4. Follow the same process as in the first session, but this time have your students mix ingredients up to make a new flavor all their own. Encourage the use of the measuring tools, and make sure that each team writes down their recipe. Have them mix their ingredients together in a bowl before pouring in the ice cube trays. Limit them to no more than 1.5 cups of liquid total…most ice cube trays won’t hold more than that.
  5. If students want to try the liquid before freezing, make sure they do so by pouring or spooning a tiny amount into a Dixie cup and tasting it from that cup. Each student should have his or her own tasting cup.
  6. Place the trays in the freezer and wait.
3

Make it Click

Let’s Talk About It

After placing the ice cube trays in the freezer, gather your students together to talk about what they tried. What flavors did they use? Did they mix any flavors? Did they use any sweetners? If so, how much did they use?

4

Make it Better

Build On What They Talked About

As they wait for their creations to freeze, have each team decide on a name for their new popsicle, and ask them to create either a print advertisement or a commercial that they can act out for their new product. They can choose their popsicle’s name by thinking about a few questions, like “What is unique about their recipe?” and “Do the flavors they’ve chosen remind them of anything?”

When the popsicles are all frozen, take them out and place the trays next to the print advertisement, or before removing them from the freezer have each team act out their commercial—then it’s time to share. Depending on the size of your group and the size of ice cube trays you have, there might not be enough popsicles for every child to try every kind. If this is the case, ask your students to choose three of the other popsicles that they would like to sample—and make sure they don’t forget to try their own as well!

Suggestions

  • If you have the time, have each team survey the other students who sampled their popsicles. Surveys can be as simple as “Did you like this popsicle or not?,” “Rate this popsicle on a scale of 1-10.,” etc., or as complex as asking for ratings on flavor, color, sweetness and product name and advertisement. The more complex the survey, the more information each team has. Armed with this information, they can change and refine their recipes and make a new batch.
  • Most popsicles are sugar water, so are not very healthful. Talk to your students about how their popsicles tasted, and how much better for them they are than those they buy in the store.
  • Watch how the children are measuring out their ingredients, and use this as a point for discussion later on. Are they “leveling off” their spoonfuls, or simply scooping and pouring ingredients? Did they use the liquid measuring cups by checking the measurement at eye level? Does this make a difference? Will they be able to recreate their recipe exactly if they were not measuring carefully?
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