How to Make Ice Cream in the Classroom

Make ice cream with your class.

Treat your class to a tasty history lesson by setting aside an afternoon to make ice cream together in the classroom. Use the activity as a way to engage students' attention in the history of ice cream and dairy products in America, or the chemistry behind how salt and ice work together. Resist the urge to write-off the activity because it's messy -- and treat your class to some good old-fashioned fun.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2-cup whole milk
• 1/2-teaspoon vanilla
• 1-tablespoon sugar
• 4-cups crushed ice
• 4-tablespoons salt
• 2 quart-size sealable plastic bags
• 1 gallon-size sealable plastic freezer bag
• Hand towel

Instructions

1. Ask students to work in groups to measure out the various ingredients and pour them into a quart-size sealable plastic bag. Instruct them to squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible.

2. Place this filled bag inside a second quart-size sealable plastic bag and seal the second bag, removing as much air from it as possible. Place the double-bagged mixture inside of a gallon-size sealable freezer bag and fill the bag with ice. Sprinkle salt on top of the ice. Force excess air out of the bag and seal it shut.

3. Wrap the sealed bags in a hand towel and shake the bags for 10 minutes. Have students work in groups, taking turns shaking, so one person does not get tired during the process.

4. Remove hand towel and observe how the mixture has solidified into ice cream. Discuss how the salt and ice work together to cool the liquid down rapidly. Remove the frozen mixture from the bag and portion it out into small serving bowls and enjoy it together as a class.

Tips & Warnings

• Send a permission form home to parents before conducting the activity, to make sure parents are okay with their children eating ice cream -- and to discover if any students in your class are lactose intolerant or have dairy allergies. Allow those students to participate in the project, but provide an alternative dairy-free frozen snack for them to enjoy.

References

• Teacher Net: Make Ice Cream in a Plastic Bag