How to Make Pop Slushies

The temperatures are rising, and it is the perfect time for an ice cold refreshment. 

I remember getting cola flavored slushies from the gas station as a kid.  And I was super excited when I found out how to make soda pop slushies at home.   

This simple pop slushie recipe goes great with our Solar Oven S’mores.

Kids will have lots of fun using science to make this icy treat — no blender or other special equipment is needed!

It is one of our favorite backyard summer camp activities.  

Pop Slushie Recipe 

To make this icy treat you need a small, plastic bottle of soda pop.  We used a 12 oz. bottle of Coca-Cola for our slushie, but you could use any flavor you’d like.    (You want to make sure you use a plastic bottle, as a glass one can shatter in the freezer.) 

Shake your bottle of pop for all it’s worth.  Kids love this step!

Once it has been completely shaken, put the bottle in the freezer.   You want to leave it in there until it is just about to the freezing point. 

For our 12 oz. bottle it took 2 hours.  For a larger bottle (16 oz.), you will need to leave it in there a bit longer.

You will also want to put a heavy-weight drinking glass in the freezer.  We found that beer mugs worked great for this.

Be sure to check on the pop every 15 minutes.  You don’t want it to freeze all the way!

Once your soda pop is almost frozen, take it out of the freezer and pour it into your cold glass.

It will magically turn into a delicious, icy beverage. 

The Science Behind the Homemade Pop Slushie 

This slushe recipe works due to the process of supercooling.  Supercooling is the lowering of the temperature of a liquid below its normal freezing point, without turning it into a solid.  

Because sodas contain ingredients other than just water (scientists call this “solutes”), the freezing point is lower.   This means it has to reach a much colder temperature than just plain water in order to freeze.  

When you open up the bottle, the carbon dioxide in the pop is released and the amount of solutes in the soda’s water goes down.

This makes theliquid’s freezing point temperature go up.  The soda pop freezes quickly, thanks to all those bubbles that create places for ice crystals to begin forming.  

Kids of all ages will have fun using science to make slushies in this pop slushie recipe.  It’s the perfect summer STEM activity.

More summer fun:

• 20 Ways for Kids to Stay Cool with Ice
• Summer-Long Water Play with a DIY Water Wall
• DIY Shark Party Games
• Keep Them Learning This Summer with These Fun Gifts