Melting Ice for Kids | Which Ice Cube Melts First? 🧊 | The Dropples S1 E2

Which ice cube melts first? Frost the ice cube is ready for a party… but somebody made him all wet! 🧊 Frost says he never disappears. Drip and Puff aren't so sure! Play "Which ice cube melts first?" with them: sun or shade? A warm hand or a plate? Fridge or freezer? One big block or lots of little pieces? Towel or no towel? Guess, watch, and shout "WATER!" 🧊 Try it at home with a grown-up: put two ice cubes the same size on two plates, one in the sun and one in the shade. Which one melts first? It takes a while, so keep checking! This ice is for racing, not eating. ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 Frost's party 0:19 Ice is water that got very cold 0:49 The game · Round 1: Sun or shade 1:34 Round 2: Hand or plate 2:07 Round 3: Fridge or freezer 2:44 Round 4: Big block or little pieces 3:22 Round 5: Towel or no towel 4:09 Drip turns into ice! 4:47 Try it at home 5:08 Goodbye 👪 For grown-ups This episode is about melting and freezing. Ice is water that got very cold. Warm things (the sun, a hand, the air) give their warmth to ice and melt it into water; freezing-cold things keep it frozen. A fridge is cold but above freezing, so ice melts there slowly, while a freezer keeps it frozen. Broken-up ice has more surface touching warm air, so it melts faster. A towel doesn't make anything warm: it slows warmth getting in, so wrapped ice lasts longer. And water can freeze into ice and melt back again. The melting in the games is sped up; a real ice cube takes much longer. Questions to ask after watching: Where did Frost's puddle come from? Why did the hand feel chilly? Why did the ice in the towel last longer? Small pieces of ice can be a choking risk for little ones, so keep the ice for watching. Freezers and fridges are never for climbing or hiding in. 📚 Science sources (for grown-ups) • Ice melting and water freezing (0 °C / 32 °F): NOAA JPSS, Water Cycle Activity Manual — https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/s3/2025-0... • Freezing point: University of Illinois Physics Van — https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/... and https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/... • Warmer surroundings melt ice faster: University of Illinois Physics Van — https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/... • Sun vs shade: UCF Florida Solar Energy Center, Ice Cube Race — https://energyresearch.ucf.edu/icecub... • Sun and touching surfaces warm ice: RAFT, The Ice Preserver Challenge — https://raft.net/wp-content/uploads/2... • Warmth moves from warm to cold; air pockets slow it: Science Foundation Ireland, Discover Primary Science — https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary... • Fridge and freezer temperatures: US FDA — https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/bu... and Virginia Cooperative Extension — https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/2908/2908... • Little pieces melt faster (more surface): University of Illinois Physics Van — https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/... and https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/... • Wrapping ice slows melting: American Chemical Society, Milli's Insulation Investigation — https://gems.education.purdue.edu/wp-... #ScienceForKids #MeltingIce #TheDropples