Ice Castle Designs

[30 Minutes]

Because of its cold northern climate, Alaska is the home of several ice sculpting competitions. The winning sculpture at the International Ice Sculpture competition was created by Keiji Miyata and Janson Iwakami. Their sculpture stood 16 feet high and was made from 10,000 pounds of natural ice. Create a sculpture on a much smaller scale using containers with many different shapes.

You'll need:

• ice cube containers • ice cubes • milk cartons (different sizes) • coffee tins • ice cream cartons (different sizes) • 2 liter bottles • large sink or pan • salt • watercolors • paintbrush • chisel (ADULT SUPERVISION)

What to do:

1. If possible, print out these directions. Read them through with your child before you begin.
2. With your child, gather everything you'll need.
3. Let your child fill ice cubes trays with water and freeze them.
4. For larger blocks, help her fill various sizes of containers and bottles. Trim the tops of the containers so that the ice can easily be removed. Set them outside in freezing temperatures or if there is room, place them in the freezer. The large containers may take 24 hours to freeze.
5. Help her run the containers under warm water and "pop" ice cubes and blocks out or tear away the paper.
6. Work in a large sink, pan or use the ground. Stack ice cubes or blocks on top of each other. Invite her to sprinkle salt in between the cubes or blocks and hold them in place for a short time until they are set.
7. Together, use your imagination to design an ice sculpture or castle.
8. Admire your creation!

How to use:

1. If you wish, sprinkle additional salt on top of the castle. Narrow cracks will develop in the blocks of ice.
2. You and your child may also wish to use a chisel to sculpt the ice.
3. Using a paintbrush and watercolors, encourage her to decorate the ice castle and watch the colors flow through the cracks.

Let's Talk: Ideas to Explore Together.

• What type of a castle should we build?
• Why do you think we use salt when we build an ice castle?
• What happens when we paint the castle?