When teaching about Colonial America, we should include some of the fascinating, lesser-known aspects that help bring the 18th Century to life.

Did you know that George Washington and his family enjoyed ice cream and cold drinks, but they had no easy way to obtain ice? Ice is something that we take for granted today.

Washington developed a process by which his enslaved workers would go out into boats on the chilly Potomac River, which flowed past his house, to harvest the ice.

The challenge was to keep the ice frozen and protected even after the weather started to warm. The STEM competition touches on this aspect of the ice harvesting/protection process.

In the video below, I will explain how Washington’s ice harvesting process worked, how to teach this historical tidbit to students, and how to lead your students in a STEM competition on this topic. You’ll be able to download the slides that I use in the video so that you can use them with your own students!

Grab the free slides and printable file here:

Don’t worry, if you are already signed up for my VIP email club, this won’t sign you up twice. This is just the easiest way for me to distribute printable files to the teachers who want them 🙂