Tutorial: Icy Insect Eggs

Don't forget to check out how we made Frozen Dinosaur Eggs in our 10 Days of Dinos unit!


I want to start by saying how much fun my boys (ages 3, 1) had playing with icy insect eggs! NOTE: You'll need to prepare these a day in advance as it takes time for the eggs to freeze. It's snowy and cold outside, so we decided to do this activity in the bath tub. I placed all the eggs in a plastic bin and my boys tried to get the insects out with their hammers and tools, salt and warm water. The colored eggs colored our tub water, which just added to the fun. Don't forget to check out our other Letter I Activities!  


Supplies: 
  • 12 Plastic Insects (I found ours from The Dollar Tree). 
  • 12 large water balloons
  • Food Coloring (optional)
  • Salt (optional)


Directions:

1) Place the insect and a drop of food coloring, if desired, inside the water balloon. I found it was easiest to put my index and middle fingers inside the balloon and slide them down until I reached the bottom portion of the balloon - which is much wider than the neck of the balloon. 


2) Fill the balloon with water and tie close. 


3) Place the filled balloons in the freezer to freeze overnight. My balloons were in the freezer for a full 24-hours before playing with them. 


4) When you're ready to use the eggs, cut the top of the balloon off with scissors. Pull the remainder of the balloon off the egg (this is fairly easy) and set them in a bin to play!



5) Use tools, salt and warm water to get the insects out. My boys played for about an hour!



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