This summer has been so much fun for our family, we traveled, gardened, went to camp, taught camp and were lazy and very busy. We also purchased an old (1973) pop up camper from Craig's list. We fixed it up and took it out and had the best time, we are converts now, and we want to camp as much as we can.
So where does the ice come in? Well being a 1973 camper it has an old-fashioned icebox in it. For the ice box to work, you have to get a large block of ice, the old-fashioned kind. The ice fits in the top of the icebox and as it melts it drains out the bottom into the ground. If you camp for one night then you have a great big block left when you get home, I threw it in the freezer for another day. This is where the play comes in, what to do with an over sized block of ice?
It was hot after school and the kids needed something to keep them busy. I put the ice outside on some rocks far away from anything valuable.
I got a few turkey basters (I have no idea why I have more than one) and filled a few cups with warm water. The water got a few drops of food coloring so the kids could see how the warm water affected the ice.
We shot the water in to the ice and made craters and rivers, they had such a blast with it. I did end up running to the kitchen a lot to refill and change out the colors per request.
It was a great experiment for them; we talked about what happened when you shoot the warm water in, as opposed to slow drips. We talked about freezing our own ice with rocks so they could get the treasure out by the force of the water. You could make ice blocks with all kinds of goodies in them, army men, gems, blocks to name a few. It was a great afternoon and I can't wait to do it again.
Who knew camping could lead to such a fun after school activity.
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