We kicked off our year in science in a sweet way by making our own ice cream from scratch. Our students precisely followed the recipe by combining half & half, sugar, and vanilla extract into a small bag; in a large bag we combined ice and kosher salt. Then we placed the small bag inside of the large bag and shook the bags. The ice and salt reacted, causing the half & half mixture to freeze into the ice cream.
The students had a great time laughing and joking about how cold their hands were while shaking the bags to make their ice cream. They were even allowed to add sprinkles or chocolate syrup for a topping. One student in particular, Michael, is typically very resistant to trying new foods. However he had so much fun doing this project that not only was he willing to try the ice cream, but he loved it and ate all of it! There is nothing better than when academics and fun come together like that.
