Icebox Experiment Teacher Directions
Because this experiment requires a freezer, you may wish to do it as a class experiment,
instead of in groups.
1. As a class, discuss “How can ice break up rock?”
2. Each team sets up the experiment and predicts the outcome on the Experiment
Report or science journal.
3. The next day, students observe the experiment and describe what happened and why.
4. Class discusses the experiment to include ice as a source of erosion.
A Scientific Explanation
Water is sometimes trapped in the cracks of a rock. When this water freezes, it
expands, or gets bigger, and causes the cracks to widen. After a while, this freezing and
expanding will break up the rock into smaller and smaller pieces until all that’s left is
dirt. This never-ending process is known as erosion.
Danbury Public Schools, 1/06 adapted from Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/simplescience/archive/labs/erosion.htm
Icebox Erosion Experiment
You will need:
• Balloons
• Water
• Play dough
• freezer
What to do:
1. Read all the directions and predict what will happen on your Experiment Report.
2. Fill a balloon with water and tie off the end.
3. Cover the water-filled balloon with play dough.
4. Put the covered balloon in the freezer over night.
5. Check out the balloon the next morning.
6. Can you explain what happened to the play dough? Use your Experiment Report to
record your findings.
Danbury Public Schools, 1/06 adapted from Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/simplescience/archive/labs/erosion.htm