I saw this Ice Sculpture idea over at The Artful Parent and knew that we had to do it! It has been quite HOT here and any project including the word "ice" in it seems appropriate! Here are some of our Ice Sculptures! This is just one picture because these sculptures went through so many transformations throughout the afternoon as you will see in the pictures that follow.
First you need to make some ice. We used some regular cube ice, milk carton ice, balloon ice, plastic container ice, and more! C's favorite was the balloon ice and she wanted to not even use them for her sculptures. Since this post I have frozen more balloons for future projects/fun!
You'll need some watered down food colors or liquid watercolors and some salt. Also some eye droppers and spoons.
Start by sprinkling some salt on the ice and this will cause it to form holes and different textures on the surface of the ice. Add some drops of color and enjoy the process of experimenting.
We moved to a shadier location because C was complaining it was too HOT! Here she built up more pieces and added more salt.
The color never lasted very long, so it was a good thing I was snapping a lot of pictures to capture the process! It reminds me of a mountain here.
In this picture a lot more has melted away! C enjoyed watching the melting and all the different transformations in her sculptures.
C loves these eye droppers and kept adding more and more color! She was pretending she was adding gas (fuel) in the holes on the sculpture! This particular part of the sculpture formed these cool air bubbles that you could fill with color.
All I can say is that C enjoyed this project from beginning to end! Even when the sculptures were tiny melted pieces she continued to add color and salt! They looked like icebergs floating in the brown water!
I hope that you try this project with your children. Cassie probably learned so many things that I don't even realize while doing this Art Experiment!
Links you might want to check out: (the science behind why salt melts ice)
How does salt melt ice and snow?
How to Perform Science Experiments Using Salt.
This Post is Linked to:
It's Playtime
First you need to make some ice. We used some regular cube ice, milk carton ice, balloon ice, plastic container ice, and more! C's favorite was the balloon ice and she wanted to not even use them for her sculptures. Since this post I have frozen more balloons for future projects/fun!
You'll need some watered down food colors or liquid watercolors and some salt. Also some eye droppers and spoons.
Start by sprinkling some salt on the ice and this will cause it to form holes and different textures on the surface of the ice. Add some drops of color and enjoy the process of experimenting.
We moved to a shadier location because C was complaining it was too HOT! Here she built up more pieces and added more salt.
In this picture you can see the cool textures the salt was making!
The color never lasted very long, so it was a good thing I was snapping a lot of pictures to capture the process! It reminds me of a mountain here.
In this picture a lot more has melted away! C enjoyed watching the melting and all the different transformations in her sculptures.
C loves these eye droppers and kept adding more and more color! She was pretending she was adding gas (fuel) in the holes on the sculpture! This particular part of the sculpture formed these cool air bubbles that you could fill with color.
All I can say is that C enjoyed this project from beginning to end! Even when the sculptures were tiny melted pieces she continued to add color and salt! They looked like icebergs floating in the brown water!
I hope that you try this project with your children. Cassie probably learned so many things that I don't even realize while doing this Art Experiment!
Links you might want to check out: (the science behind why salt melts ice)
How does salt melt ice and snow?
How to Perform Science Experiments Using Salt.
This Post is Linked to:
It's Playtime
Wow! What a fun project!
ReplyDeleteI really loved this ideas too!
ReplyDeleteMe and my daughter make "Ice Castles" but add things BEFORE the water turns into ice. We used pieces of tissue paper which gave awesome colors. We also added some flowers and leaves from the garden which we collected on a nature walk. Then we found a tub with mixed beads and buttons and threw those in also. You can even add the watercolor or food color but we reall liked using tissue squares and strips. Then we put the conyainers in the freezer over night and got to build our castles the next day. It was beautiful and lots of fun collecting our treasures (beads and buttons etc) as the ice melted. After we discussed other things we could use and next time we decided more treasures like her little toys. We had a blast.
ReplyDeleteHow much fun is this!! C's focus has me convinced that we need to be the next ones to jump on the salt/ice sculpture train. Thanks, Melissa!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love this project. It looks like she had a lot of fun with it and it certainly kept her interest. I also like "Laurie's" suggestion of adding things to the water prior to freezing.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like fun and it's perfect for a hot summer day!!
ReplyDeletelooks like serious hot weather fun!! i love the studious face on your little miss as she's adding her colors...so sweet!! and i'm still LOVING that signature bow in her hair!!
ReplyDeleteWow, this looks like an absolute blast!!!
ReplyDeleteperfect! thank you for adding the links to the science behind the project- great fun!
ReplyDeleteI like that you have multiple blocks of ice for your daughter to work with. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLove it - it looks so very colorful!
ReplyDeleteHey Melissa - I featured your post this week:
ReplyDeletehttp://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-playtime-ice-ice-baby.html
I love how the little cubes and the big ice block melted together and created those big holes perfect for injecting color. Think I'm going to go stick some water in the freezer right now! You've been featured on this week's It's Playtime: Ice is Nice. Thanks for playing with us!
ReplyDeleteInspired by the ice sculptures around, we made some of them with easter eggs, egg shells and building blocks
ReplyDeletePlease check -
http://creativitymypassion.blogspot.com/2011/08/seven-ice-sculptures-plastic-easter.html
Thanks for sharing
Esther
This kid is so adorable! She is so imaginative and very daring. That is a good sign. She can be as great as she wants someday with a proper guidance today.
ReplyDelete