Frozen Color Mixing: Abstract Art Activity with a Science Splash

Frozen ice paint! I’ve been kind of obsessed with it lately. Maybe it’s my love for creating preschool art activities that are infused with science or maybe it’s that it’s mid-summer and I feel like I’m living on the sun. Not that I‘m complaining, but after a super-cold winter that was packed with almost daily school delays because of the extreme cold (I’m not entirely sure what difference two hours makes in the temperature, but it sure was chilly) the summer heat seems warmer than usual. So, I’m back again, posting an ice activity.

Combine abstractly artsy splatter paint (ala Jackson Pollock) with the science of color mixing and states of matter transformations. Sounds like a lot in one activity, right? It’s actually surprisingly simple – and magnificently messy! I highly suggest that you bring the kids outside to make this frozen art. Pick an area that is far away from your patio furniture or anything that isn’t easily cleaned. It’s more than likely that your child will get messy too. Dress her in clothes that you don’t care about getting dirty and let her run through the sprinkler before she goes back inside. It won’t get her completely clean but it will give you a head start. Now, get ready for a messy way to play with the primary colors!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        An ice cube tray

·        Water

·        Food coloring or colorful drink mix

·        Three buckets, jars or large-sized plastic ware containers

·        White paper, poster board or an old white sheet

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Make ice cubes in the primary colors (red, yellow and blue). Drip a drop of food coloring into each compartment (one color per compartment) and add water. You can also use red, yellow and blue drink mixes.

2.     Put the tray in the freezer. Ask your child to predict what will happen to the colorful water. Check in on the ice to observe how it is freezing.

3.     Fill three buckets or containers with water. Add a few drops of food coloring (again, one red, one yellow and one blue) to each container of water.

4.     Bring the water outside. Place each container on a piece of paper or a white sheet. You can also prop up another piece of paper standing up behind the container.

5.     Pop the frozen ice cubes out of the tray. Bring them outside.

 

6.     Mix the colors! Have your child pick one ice cube color and toss it into a different hue. For example, she can through blue into yellow. Let her splash away, tossing the ice into the water with enough force to make the colors spray out onto the paper. As the ice starts to melt the water will change colors. Ask your child to figure out why the yellow water is suddenly turning green (this is a great opportunity to talk about color mixing and making secondary colors from the primaries, as well as solid to liquid melting transformations).

 

 

 

 

7.     Repeat the ice tossing step with the other color containers. Continue on adding more ice and more colors to each container. As the colors splash out they will hit the paper, creating an abstract piece of art. You can reposition or move the containers to cover different parts of the paper.

Are you looking for more combo art and science activities to try? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas. Or you can check out some of these ice art and science activities:

Glow in the dark ice paint

Layered color cubes

Chalk ice finger paints

Glitter ice paint

 

Follow Mini Monets and Mommies's board Preschool Art and Science Activities on Pinterest.