What you’ll learn: This activity is all about heat energy and light energy. It’s a great way to teach kids about concepts such as light absorption, light reflection and the transition between different states of matter (solid to liquid)
What you need:
- A white piece and a black piece of construction paper (cut into 3 inch squares)
- Two ice cubes
- One tray (cookie tray works well)
- Two flashlights
What to do:
- Place two ice cubes on a tray
- Cover one ice cube with a white piece of paper and one ice cube with a black piece of paper
- Hold a flashlight over each piece of paper (equidistant) and “race” to see whose cube melts first
After the race:
- Reflect about the effect of light energy on the ice cubes (what happened to the ice cube and why?)
- Reflect on why the ice cube under the black paper melted first (because white reflects all visible light, while black absorbs all visible light)
- Discuss applications in the real world (buildings, clothing on a hot day, etc.)
