How to Make Ice Cube Paintings

Ice cube painting is a fun, easy way to entertain young children and also demonstrate the way that ice melts into water as it is exposed to room temperatures. Once you get toddlers started on this project, they will be able to continue nearly on their own--with some discreet supervision--for hours, creating unique masterpieces that can be proudly displayed on the refrigerator or given to relatives as gifts.

Things You'll Need

• Ice cubes
• Paper
• Powdered tempera paint
• Large baking pan

Instructions

1. Place a sheet of paper in the bottom of the baking pan. If the pan is much larger than the paper, you may wish to tape the paper down. However, this is entirely up to you, as the sliding effect will change the look of the painting and could make it more interesting and exciting for your young artist.

2. Sprinkle a little tempera paint on the paper. You can use one or more colors. It works best to place all the powdered paint on the paper at once before you start painting. This will also give you an opportunity to talk about how primary colors can be used to create other colors by blending them together.

3. Rotate the ice cube around the pan to make a pretty painting. As the ice melts, it will leave a trail of water behind it. The water will wet the paint and your child will make a beautiful, one-of-a-kind creation.

4. Let the painting dry completely. If the paper is waterlogged, then you will need to leave it in the pan until it dries. However, if the paper is still in tact, then you can replace the painted piece with a fresh, blank piece and repeat the process.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also do this project with powdered jello and powdered drink mixes of different colors.