Bioengineers, like Dr. Sophia Yue Li, test winter boots for how well they resist slipping in icy conditions. Some materials perform better than others!

This is your chance to be a bioengineer, test materials, and keep your popsicle stick person safe!

Your challenge: to keep your popsicle stick person sticking to the ice the longest!

The specs: Create a block of ice by filling a rectangular or square-shaped container with water, and putting it in the freezer. Once frozen, remove the block of ice from the container and stand it upright. Then, test different materials to get your popsicle stick to stick to the ice, with the long portion of the popsicle stick parallel to the ground or table.  The entry with the popsicle stick that sticks to the ice the longest without slipping, wins.  The popsicle stick cannot be propped up with anything that touches the ground or table.

If more than one entry has a popsicle stick that sticks to the ice for a minute (maximum video length), without slipping, the tie breaker will be the entry with the most materials that successfully stick to the ice.  If you discover more than one successful material, the entry should show the different materials supporting different popsicle sticks, all at the same time (e.g. two popsicle sticks each sticking to the ice with a different material).  Hint: do you have better success with the materials when the ice is wet or when you pat the ice dry?

Parent/guardian supervision is recommended.