Tin Can Ice Cream | STEM FUN! (2024)

If you love STEAM activities for kids, this tin can ice cream STEM activity is going to be right up your alley.

After all, who doesn’t love homemade ice cream in the summertime? (Yes, I know school is starting back up, but it’s still technically summer… and it’s still hot!)

Get ready to indulge in a deliciously cool adventure that blends STEM education with a sweet treat like no other! Homeschool parents and teachers, this one’s for you – we’ve got an ice cream experiment that will tickle taste buds and ignite young minds with wonder.

Imagine turning an ordinary tin can into a mesmerizing ice cream science experiment that yields the creamiest, dreamiest homemade ice cream. Yes, you read that right – we’re taking a classic dessert and transforming it into an exciting journey of discovery and learning.

Forget about store-bought ice creams – this is a hands-on activity that will have your little scientists buzzing with anticipation.

As your kids churn and mix their way to icy perfection, they’ll also be learning valuable life skills like patience, teamwork, and creativity. And let’s not forget the joy of savoring the fruits of their labor – a bowl of scrumptious, homemade ice cream that they’ve proudly made themselves!

So, if you’re ready to embark on an ice cream-making journey that’s both lip-smackingly good and intellectually fulfilling, grab your aprons, gather the family, and let’s delve into the world of Tin Can Ice Cream STEM Experiment! It’s one of the most fun STEM activities and a great example of a delicious edible science experiment for kids to enjoy.

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What Is Tin Can Ice Cream?

Tin can ice cream, also known as coffee can ice cream, is a fun way for kids to get involved in the making of ice cream.

Kids can combine the ingredients and learn exactly what it takes to make this creamy dessert. Then, kids can observe first hand the physical reaction that occurs when rock salt and ice are mixed together and exposed to the creamy mixture.

Finally, because you’re making this summertime treat in a tin can, kids can get some wiggles and energy out by running around the yard kicking their tin can ice cream project until the frozen treat is ready to eat!

Homemade Tin Can Ice CreamRecipe

I just found a simple vanilla ice cream recipe online.

You’re welcome to use any recipe for homemade ice cream you want! It doesn’t really make a difference.

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanillaextract
• ½ cup of sugar
• Pinch of salt

Mix all of your ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside and get ready for the fun part – science! (Afterall, this is an ice cream science experiment!)

​Making Your Tin Can Ice Cream

​Once you’ve mixed your ice cream ingredients together, it’s time to freeze it up!

Typically when making homemade ice cream, you will put your ice cream mixture in the ice cream maker and let the machine do the mixing for an hour or two. But where’s the fun in that?

For this project, you will need a few more things.

• A large (clean) tin can with a lid. We used an empty #10 tin can from our food storage. Traditionally people use really big coffee cans but we are not coffee drinkers so we used what we had available to us. Our large can worked just fine!
  
• A smaller (clean) container to fit inside the bigger can. I have seen some people use smaller coffee cans, but again, we are not coffee drinkers so we didn’t have a coffee can on hand.

  I could not find a small can at the store that would work (it needs a tight-fitting lid, remember?)We used an empty plastic water bottle.It ended up working quite well although I wonder if using a tin can would have made the ice cream colder faster?

  An experiment for another time.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to use tin cans, Amazon sells afun ice cream making soccer ballthat does the same thing.

• Rock salt (also called ice cream salt – we found ours in the spice section by the regular table salt).
  
• Ice – Lots of ice!We had to refill our tin can with ice several times as it melted. (We played outside on a 90+ degree day.)
  
• Duct tape – optional but we used duct tape to ensure our plastic lid wouldn’t pop off during our adventures.

Instructions

1. Pour your liquid ice cream mixture into your small can (or whatever container you used). We used a funnel for this part. Make sure the lid is on tight!
   
2. Place your small can (or waterbottle) inside your large can.
   
3. Pour layers of ice and rock salt in your large can, surrounding your small can. We alternated 1 cup ice with 1 cup rock salt until the ice and salt were all the way to the top.
   
4. Put your lid on your large can
   
5. Make sure your lid is secure!!We used duct tape.
   
6. Send the kids outside and tell them to get their ice cream mixing!Your kids will be the ice cream machine in this STEM experiment and they are going to need to churn the ice cream.

   My kids did this in a variety of ways. Playing soccer, rolling the can down the driveway, or taking the can for a walk around the neighborhood are all good options.

7. Make sure you keep a steady supply of ice in your can. Check it every 15 minutes or so and keep adding ice and rock salt.
   
8. Repeat until your ice cream is at the desired consistency.
   
9. Eat and enjoy!

When I was first looking up directions for this activity, everything I read said the ice cream only needed to be churned for 15-20 minutes.

We found this to befalse!

It took us a good hour and a half to make our homemade vanilla ice cream into a good soft-serve consistency. Maybe that’s because we used plastic instead of a small tin can. Maybe that’s because it was a really hot day.

Or maybe it’s because we are just extra special and things take longer for us! Who really knows?

The point is, don’t believe everything you read online and do what works for you.

The Science of Tin Can (Coffee Can) Ice Cream

Why does this work? What’s happening?

The basic answer is this – when you add salt to ice, you lower the temperature of the ice, which then lowers the freezing point. This makes the ice colder. (Crazy!)

When the ice gets colder, it gets cold enough to freeze your ice cream.

We actually proved this to be true by putting a couple of other water bottles filled with liquid ice cream into the freezer while we kicked around our can.

While our tin can ice cream was ready to eat in about an hour and a half, the ice cream in the freezer took a good 4+ hours to reach the same consistency.

Now that’s science!

Follow Up Questions

Discuss the following questions with your students after completing the tin can ice cream science experiment to reinforce lessons learned through this activity.

1. What would happen if we did not add salt to the ice?
2. Why do we use rock salt instead of table salt? Does it matter?
3. What happens if you use dry ice instead of regular ice? (Note – this would be considerably more dangerous so just discuss, do not actually try.)
4. Do you think placing the ice cream in a freezer would freeze it faster than your tin can?
5. How did the ice cream change in texture and taste as it froze? Why do you think that happened?
6. Did you notice any differences between your own ice cream that we made and store-bought ice cream? What were they?

Tips and Tricks for Making Ice Cream

• Make sure you have enough ice on hand! It melts quickly and you will need to keep adding more – especially if you are experimenting with insulation. (We recommend 2 or more bags.)
  
• Make sure your container is closed tightly! You don’t want salt getting into your ice cream.
  
• Be patient – this takes longer than you think it should.

Ice Cream Science Experiment: Taking the Learning Further

If you have older kids, you can easily take the lessons learned in this activity even further! Feel free to try some of the following suggestions or come up with your own.

• Try other homemade ice cream methods such as ice cream in a bag.
  
• Make homemade toppings for your ice cream such as whipped cream or homemade chocolate sauce.
  
• Try making frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.
  
• Design a sellable kit for Tin Can Ice Cream. Build and test your design until you have perfected it and it’s ready to sell or gift to friends and neighbors.
  
• Test out changing our design by adding some type of insulation to the outside and test to see if your ice cream freezes faster.
  
• Experiment with different ice and salt combinations.

More STEM Resources for Kids

This activity is part of our STEM Made Easy Digital Subscription. If you liked this activity, you are going to love the rest of the activities in the subscription.

Want a free sample? When you download the free sample, you will be getting a good idea of what sort of projects you’ll receive on a monthly basis when you sign up!

Plus you’ll have a printable copy of the Tin Can Ice Cream instructions, information, tips and tricks, and so on. (Plus some exclusive images.)

Click here to download your free Tin Can Ice Cream instructions!

Free STEM Project Guide Download

Want a free sample STEM project guide? Sign up to have one sent to you so you can see exactly what to expect from the STEM Made Easy Digital Subscription. Just click the button below!

Or read more about the otherSTEM Made Easy Digital Subscription here.Each month includes 5 STEM project guides along with instructions for how to make them fun and engaging for kids ages 3-19.

I’ve also got this ultimate list of STEAM and STEM activities for kids of all ages if you want to take a look.

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