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STEM Lab: "Frozen" Activities Inspired by the Popular Movie

☀️ Cool Off with Some Hands-On Fun on a Hot Summer Day

By Julie Follansbee, Macaroni Kid Johnstown PA Publisher August 27, 2014

It may be summer, but the Disney movie Frozen knows no season! It's just as popular in summer as it was when it was released in the theater last winter. If your kids are fans (and let's face it, there aren't many kids who aren't), then they will love these hands-on activities inspired by Elsa, Olaf, and all their friends!

❄️ Elsa's Frozen Hand ❄️

What You Need:
  • Plastic gloves
  • Trinkets to fill gloves with
  • Food coloring
  • Glitter
  • Rock salt (used for making ice cream)
  • Plastic spoons
  • Flat-edged knives (for excavating)
  • Squirt bottles
What You Do:
  1. Put trinkets into a glove. We used, bells, bracelets, small figurines, pipe cleaners cut up, buttons, beads, glitter... anything can work!
  2. After the glove is full of trinkets, fill with water, tie off, and freeze. We let ours freeze for three days.
  3. In the meantime, prepare your melting equipment. Mix a few drops of food coloring into a bowl with about 3/4 of a cup of the rock salt. We used pink, blue, and purple. Fill squirt bottles with water and add a drop of food coloring. You can add a dash of salt to aid in the melting process but we didn't and it melted just fine.
  4. Remove your frozen hands to a tray. Let melt slightly so that you can gently cut the glove off or slide it off. Then let the kids start digging for the treasures by sprinkling the rock salt on the ice and squirting with water!
❄️ Olaf the Exploding Snowman ❄️

What You Need:
  • 2 cups of baking soda
  • 2 Tablespoons of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap
  • Water
  • Foam for nose, buttons, hair, and other features
  • Branches or pipe cleaners for arms
  • Vinegar
  • Squirt bottles
  • Tray with a high lip
What You Do:
  1. Mix the baking soda and salt in a bowl.
  2. Add the liquid dishwashing soap. The mixture will start to get crumbly.
  3. Add 8 tablespoons of water. This is best mixed by little hands as it forms a dough.
  4. Shape dough into a snowman and add features.
  5. Fill squirt bottles with vinegar then squirt Olaf with vinegar and watch him EXPLODE! ❄️
❄️ Frozen Silly Putty ❄️

What You Need:
  • 5 ounce bottle of clear school glue
  • 5 ounces water
  • Blue food coloring
  • Glitter 
  • 1/2 cup of hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon borax
What You Do:
  1. Mix the school glue and water.
  2. Add a drop or two of the food coloring and the glitter.
  3. In a separate bowl combine the hot water and borax making sure it is well mixed.
  4. Add the borax mixture to the glue mixture and watch as silly putty instantly forms!