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Here is a fun way to teach students about heat energy. Help them make ice cream to demonstrate how heat energy is being taken away to make the coffee creamer into ice cream. Take a container and fill it with ice and layer it with salt. Add the coffee creamer cups and shake for 6-10 minutes. After shaking take the coffee creamers out and you will notice that the cups are hard and frozen. Open it and eat the ice cream! This shows decrease of heat energy. How would I show the students how to increase energy? Give them some freeze pops and and instruct them to rub it in their hands and watch how the ice pop melts in the pouch. This will demonstrate heat energy increasing. These types of activities stay with the students and they will remember what heat energy does when it is decreased and increased with the help of this activity. 

This is an amazing idea! When i was in middle school, we did something like this but I am so glad you posted this and brought it back to my remembrance. I'm sure my students are going to love it.

I did this recently with my students and they enjoyed it very much. The students after they made their ice cream they were able to add different toppings they enjoyed it.

I do this with my 8th graders as a review for states of matter and heat transfer.  The coffee creamers are wonderful to use since they don't make a mess like a Ziploc bag.  It's just big enough to students to feel like they're having a treat! 

Great idea, with the coffee creamers! Quick question - did you happen to use any type of media to explain the heat transfer or science behind this? We want to do it with our elementary students for a back to school activity, but I need something visual to help explain. Thank you! Kelly Bornmann Collegiate School

Hi Kelly, I would recommend the SciPack on Energy: https://learningcenter.nsta.org/resource/?id=10.2505/7/SCB-EN.3.1 It has a few animations and other great resources for teaching a unit on Energy. If you do not want to purchase the whole SciPack the Science Objects on energy are cheaper and have the same animations.

I really like this idea! I will have to try this someday in my classroom! Thank you for sharing!

I absolutely love this idea! The kids can each have their own bag and add their own flavors. Or just make one big batch of vanilla and let them add their own toppings. What a fun science lesson!

My students love completing this as a treat for end of term.

This is the recipe that i use: 1.Add 2 tablespoons of milk, 2 tablespoons of cream and some chocolate sauce to the small Ziploc bag. Seal the bag securely. 2 Fill the large zip lock bag with ice and add a small handful of rock salt. 3.Place the small ziplock bag with the cream and milk etc. into the large ziplock bag. Make sure the small ziplock bag is secured. 4.Wrap the large ziplock bag in newspaper and shake until your ice cream has formed.