Frozen Fountain

A dome of ice has collected over an active, bubbling outdoor fountain.

Possible Guiding, Compelling and/or Anchoring Questions

• Thinking of phase changes, how would liquid water be affected by air temperatures? At what exact point does water “collect” and become a solid? Do larger bodies of water show the results of temperature changes in the same way that smaller bodies of water do?  How does the fact that running water is introduced into the phenomena affect the outcomes of the “dome of water?” How would the force of gravity become a factor in this process? Thinking of gravity, why does the ice form and stay above the bubbling fountain?
• What would cause this fountain to create a dome of ice above itself?
• Thinking of temperatures, why does the cooler ice not melt because of the warmer temperatures of the liquid water? 

Classroom Suggestions

• I used this right before winter break as a guide into weather and atmospheric conditions for my fifth graders. Although not specifically NGSS aligned, this short video was interesting to my kids. Along with experiencing the outdoor classroom in December, this created an adventure in learning. By coincidence, the sky was completely overcast with ominous clouds threatening to bring us more snow. It worked out well.  
• This might work right along with (formerly) running water freezing as it exits a culvert tube. With the idea of gravity and temperatures in mind, why would the ice form a dome and not simply blend itself into an ice covered pool of water. 
• I have never seen our fountain do this before at school. To add to the mystery, we hadn’t even had any severely cold weather prior to this phenomena taking place.

Related Resources

Weather 101: Surveys varying cloud types.
5 Amazing Water Experiments and Tricks: Entertaining video depicting temperature related phase changes with water.