"Who hasn't cranked yet?" asked Colvin Run Mill park helper, Julie Bell.
"Me! Me!" Little voices rang out and little hands flew up.
"OK," said Bell, as another youngster took a spot at the old-fashioned-looking wood ice cream churn. "Turn the crank."
Mothers stood by as their children left behind the world of Baskin-Robbins and Cuisinart appliances.
Summer is a time of bare feet in dewy grass, barbecues and cold, creamy ice cream.
Every Friday, during the months of July and August, Colvin Run Mill Park features the children's ice cream making program as part of its "Milling Around Summer Afternoons." Each day mill staffers present a different themed program, age-specific, between 1 and 2 p.m.
"When we saw the ice cream making listing in the Connection, I said, 'we've got to do this," said Marie Cecil of Great Falls, at the park with son, Gabriel.
"My neighbor just got out of the hospital a few days ago and I brought her here, too."
Mother Ann Rosenblum nodded in agreement. She, too, saw the Connection listing and thought her twins, Nate and Sammie, would like to try churning ice cream themselves.
"We live across the road," said Rosenblum. "This is really convenient and so nice."
As children took turns churning, Bell peeked into the inside of the large wooden bucket holding the thickening, creamy mixture, checking its consistency. In 20 minutes, the ice cream was ready for sampling.
Some of the tasters opted to top their cups of ice cream with gooey chocolate syrup; others spooned it to their mouths straight.
"This White Mountain wood freezer is expensive but it churns out old-fashioned ice cream," said staffer Mary Allen. "The kids like cranking it.
"Ice cubes and rock salt are easy to come by," said Allen. "Making ice cream like this is something families can do at home."
Some days, there are just a few youngsters at the park for the ice cream making; on other days, as many as 20. On this afternoon, 15 tickets were sold.
A little girl in a brimmed straw hat adorned with red blooms is the seventh generation of her family to make her way to Colvin Run Mill. Briana Adkins, of Martinsburg, W. Va., whose ancestor used to order flour from the Mill in the 1900s, was visiting the park with her aunt, Merrie Newlond, of Reston.
"Her great, great, great grandmother used to order her flour here, and then, after it was milled, the flour was delivered to her home," said Newlond.
"I thought it would be fun to take her here, to learn something about her family history."