Fun and easy play-based STEAM activity for toddlers, preschool & kindergarten
Three States of Water - Fun science & mathematics experiment about states of matter & water
Activity summary
This is not JUST another science activity – it’s a play-based, hands-on STEAM activity. It will keep your children extra engaged & motivated, which helps them learn!
In this activity, your children will be little investigators helping Hoseli the robot
to solve tricky problems and find creative answers to the question: How can I make ice cream without a freezer? By doing that, they get to practice concepts like states of matter, water, and more.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Science, Mathematics
Adapt for your age group
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For this activity, you need only these simple supplies:
plates
water
ice cubes
balloons
electric kettle
You can also use
an extension cord
What will your children learn?
Your children will learn to:
Observe water in its three different states and study their properties.
Observe and wonder wonder as liquid water turns into a gas.
while practicing these concepts:
states of matter
water
Instructions
Step 1: Introduce the problem with a story letter
Teacher introducing the reseach problem through the letter that arrived from Supraland
In this play-based activity, your children will lead the investigation as an investigator. When children role play as investigators, they learn so much better! Try starting with a little ‘spin’ to get into character!
Then, they can help Hoseli the robot solve some tricky problems in their new role.
Before the activity, prepare your supplies and print the letter.
Pro tip:
When children play as scientists, they think like scientists. Try using “scientist jackets” to help them really get into character!
When you start the activity, introduce the research problem in the form of a letter that arrived from Supraland where Hoseli the robot lives.
You might be wondering: “Why should I use a story?”
Well, when you introduce a research problem through play and imaginary characters rather than just stating cold facts, children will be extra motivated to solve the problem for their new imaginary friends. Academic research shows this results in increased engagement, better focus, and improved learning outcomes.
You can find the story for this activity below (register for free to print this & many more free activities!).
Dear inhabitants of Earth, I need your help!
Mrs Noblegas’ freezer is broken! It’s making strange noises and there’s a pool of water with a couple of ice cubes in front of it.
Mrs Noblegas’ smile is upside-down, and strange little drops are falling from the corners of her eyes. She is so upset that all of her frozen party food has melted. “It’s all ruined!” she said.
Fortunately, I’ve come up with a way to make her feel better! I brought her a steaming cup of her favorite tea, and I’m going to make her some delicious ice cream! Eating ice cream makes everything better.
But now that the freezer is broken, we need to figure out how to make ice cream without one.
Dear friends, could you become investigators and help me to make Mrs Noblegas smile again?
After the child understands the problem, it’s time for some hands-on experimenting!
When children are doing the experiment, remind them why they want to solve the problem – to help Hoseli the robot.
This helps them stay engaged. If they get stuck, you can ask supporting questions like: “What do you think might help Hoseli the robot to solve this problem?”
If needed, you can get more ideas for guiding questions and adaptation tips for different age groups
(register here to get free weekly activities).
Here are the basic steps for his activity:
Phase 1: Observe the Balloons
Let everybody observe the three filled balloons and discuss what might be inside them. You can pass the balloons around in the circle.
What do the balloons feel like?
Can you hear something when you shake them?
Do they feel heavy or light?
Discuss and compare observations about the three balloons: How do the balloons differ from each other? What makes them different?
Bring out the plates and pair the balloons with their matching plate.
Study the ice cubes carefully and discuss where the water underneath them really comes from.
Conclude that the material in two of the balloons is the same: water in liquid form and water as ice cubes.
Observe the third balloon and the third plate. Interpret: What’s the stuff inside this balloon? The plate looks empty, but is there actually something on it? What about the balloon? Conclude that the material is air, which is a mixture of different gases.
Tip: You can also give the scientists the fourth (actually empty) balloon. It might help the children in realizing that the third air-filled balloon (and the “empty” plate) is not really empty, but contains air.
State that here we have examples of three different states of a material: liquid, solid, and gas.
Phase 2: Electric Kettle
Pour water into the kettle and turn it on. While the water starts boiling, you can discuss what’s going on. When the water boils, observe the steam that comes out of the kettle. Discuss what this steam is. What is it made of? Where does it come from? Conclude that it’s steam (water) that’s evaporating from the water in the kettle, the same as the tea in Mrs Noblegas’ teacup!
Discuss where the steam is going. Conclude that it gets mixed with the air around us. The air we breathe also contains some water!
Pro tip: give children the freedom to get creative and explore their own solutions!
Remember: It’s an imaginary world. It’s more than ok if children don’t give the “correct” answers right away – give them time to practice their skills.
Academic research shows children learn best through child-led play and inquiry rather than following strict instructions or memorizing facts because play allows them to build meanings and connections in an age-appropriate way.
This perhaps unintuitive approach is also proven to keep children more engaged and improve their learning outcomes.
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Adult wrapping up a play-based activity by encouraging children to share their findings with the character they’re helping.
To encourage children to analyze and share their learnings, you can gather in a circle to report to Hoseli the robot.
Again, lead with the problem the character was experiencing in the letter. Encourage sharing wild and creative solutions without correcting children if they don’t fully understand the concept.
Remember: in playful learning, we’re not leading with scientific explantions – we’re putting the problem at hand into a context that makes sense to them. We can start building meanings from there.
Scientific explanation (for adults!)
Isn’t it wonderful and extraordinary, that the three different things we just observed, ice, liquid water and water vapour, are all actually the same substance - water! Water appears on Earth in all of these three states as it continually circulates in the environment, between rivers, lakes, oceans, the atmosphere, glaciers, and groundwater. Water freezes when the temperature is under 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and evaporates at over 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit). So at different stages of the cycle, water goes from liquid form (water) to gaseous (water vapour) and solid form (ice), but the total amount of water stays the same.
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This program is incredible. The characters, the stories, the experiments are so much fun. I do not need to spend any time planning. Everything I need is given to me be Kide Science.
Elsa
Kindergarten Teacher
Super easy to plan, and the items are usually things that we already have. Planning is made very easy & the children are very motivated!
Marju
Parent
Was just observed doing one of these lessons. Principal was shocked and so was I - one of the kids with pretty severe attention issues was engaged the entire time!
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Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Science, Mathematics
60 min lesson
High preparation
Easy preparation
