Ice Sensory Bin - Winter Creative Play

Sensory bins are a great way to introduce imaginative play with the added benefit of a sensory learning experience. Recently we created an Ice Sensory Bin and it was huge hit!



To Create Your Own Ice Sensory Bin:

• Put down a few towels on the surface where play will take place.
• Use a large storage bin - anything from a roasting pan to a large see-through storage bin will work. Make sure there are no holes in your bin for this activity!
• Add lots of ice cubes!
• Add a few icebergs! To create icebergs fill a food container or paper bowl with water, add a few drops of food coloring (optional) and stir, freeze. 
• Add some animal play figures (water-proof). 
• Add some "rescue" tools like ladles, tongs, and measuring cups. 
• Add a few cups of water.
• Let the kids play!

Additional play ideas:

• Add a few drops of food coloring to the melting ice cubes to make the water an interesting color.
• Add an animal to each "iceberg" before freezing. Then, kids will have fun trying to get to the animal (or dinosaur, insect, or penguin etc). Will they wait 'til it melts? Nah, give 'em a spoon and let them use both ends to try to break the ice!
• Make a slide for the animals to dive into the habitat. We made a simple slide by taping a paper towel tube to a bucket. The penguins really enjoyed the slide!
• Introduce some large and some small bowls or containers. My kids made soup for the penguins by combining melting ice, water, salt, and sprinkles. Sounds awful, but the penguins loved it!
• Use science! Sprinkle a liberal amount of salt onto one of the icebergs. Notice how that iceberg melts faster than the untreated one. Is it magic?
• Notice what happens when 2 different colored icebergs melt together? What color does the water turn?

Click for larger view.

 Does your family or school use sensory bins?