Easy Star Ice Cube Painting for Kids
Are you looking for a fun summertime activity for your children? As educators, we constantly seek engaging and educational activities that captivate young minds while fostering critical scientific concepts. This ice freezing and melting activity is a perfect blend of fun and learning, allowing children to explore the fascinating processes of freezing and melting firsthand. By creating frozen star ice using water and star glitter, students not only enjoy a sensory-rich experience but also gain a deeper understanding of states of matter and the transformation between them. Our Star Ice Cube Painting Kids encourages curiosity, observation, and discussion, making it an excellent addition to any early childhood science curriculum, or just a fun activity to keep kids engaged on a hot summer day!
Recommended Grade Level:
Star Ice DIY Supplies:
- Ice Cube Tray
- Glitter Stars
- Water
- Popsicle Sticks (optional)
- Food Dye (optional)
Star Ice Sticks Process Art
This star ice melting art activity is process art at its finest. You won’t have a finished product to hang on the fridge, but the activity of playing around with the stars in the melting ice is engaging, interesting, and educational for young learners. In fact, summer might be my favorite time of year to explore with process art because you can take the mess outside! We have a lot of ideas for you. Check out all of our Process Art Activities here!
And if you’re trying to keep kids busy in general during the summer months, you might also be interested in some other educational activities. We have them! Over the years, I’ve developed many summer-themed learning activities to keep kids engaged even during an “off” season.
Materials You Will Need for DIY Star Ice:
- Ice Cube Tray (cylinders)
- Glitter Stars
- Water
- Popsicle/Lollipop Sticks (optional)
- Food Dye (optional)
How to Make Star Ice Sticks
Step One:
First, pour the water until the tray is about 3/4 full. Do not overfill. Add in the desired amount of confetti stars.
Tip: If you are adding food coloring or paint, you will want to do that before adding the water or glitter.
Step Two:
Place in the freezer. Allow to freeze.
Tip: If you plan to use popsicle sticks, wait until the cubes are partially frozen and put the sticks into the cubes. Your child can then use the popsicle stick to move the cube during this fun summer craft.
How to Use Star Ice Sticks for Art
Once the ice cubes are frozen, they are ready for sensory play! Gently empty the ice cube tray onto a sensory mat or tray. You may want to use a darker colored tray or paper so it looks like the night sky!
Have your child move the ice around the mat.Watch as it melts and creates a path of stars!
Continue this fun summer art project for preschoolers until the ice is completely melted. Depending on the weather, this could take awhile! Have fun!
Tip: Before you let your learner explore with the ice cube, be sure to tell them that this is an arts and crafts activity and the ice isn’t for eating!
All the Ice is Melted! What Should I Do Now?
Once the ice is melted and dried, essentially you’ll have a few stars to sweep on and it’s time to move on! Try another process art activity, experiment with more freezing and melting, or delve into a unit on stars and the solar system! Any of those activities tie right into our star ice activity!
Ways to Differentiate
We want this activity to work for all kids, so feel free to change it up as needed. Here are a few ideas:
- Discuss how the ice cube changes from a solid to liquid. You can even show your child how to change the liquid back into a solid! Discuss the states of matter!
- When preparing the ice cubes, add food coloring or paint to add some “color” to the activity to work on colors.
- If you are working on color identification, ask your young learner to choose a specific color ice cube to paint.
- Print and laminate large alphabet or number mats. There are many free printables online. Have your child use the ice paints to trace the letters or numbers on the mat. Yeah for sneaking in some academics!
- Print and laminate dot to dot sheets. Have your child follow the dots using their ice cube! Many alphabet and number dot to dots can be found online!
- For even more fine motor practice, have your child use a tongs for this ice painting activity.
- Read some nonfiction literature about stars. Have students observe the nighttime sky and discuss what they observed.
- Have students illustrate the nighttime sky on black paper.
- Experiment with ways to make the ice cubes melt more slowly or quickly. You can even have ice cube races!
Check out our favorite summer-themed learning activities here:
- 50+ Ideas for Summer Themed Learning
- Beach Theme CVC Word Building Mat
- Summer Theme Emotions Board Game
- Summer Sensory Bin
DIY Star Ice Art Activity
This art activity also doubles as science, IF you want it to! It’s a great opportunity for littles to gain background information on melting and freezing, or liquid to solid to gas! You can make the star ice cubes together, letting kids help with every step of the way.
While the star pops freeze, go outside to burn off some excess energy! Or, talk about what is happening to the water as it becomes ice:
- Freezing is the process that causes a substance to change from a liquid to a solid. Freezing occurs when the molecules of a liquid slow down enough that their attractions cause them to arrange themselves into fixed positions as a solid.
- As the water becomes ice, it goes from a liquid to a solid.
- Later, when the ice cubes begin to melt they go from a solid to a gas (water vapor).
There are so many wonderful scientific vocabulary words to explore and background to build, even with little learners.
You can even talk about the stars, constellations or the solar system. The star ice activity lends itself nicely to a broad range of topics.
Important Skills Used with Star Ice Cube Activity
Creating art is also important in the development of the right side of the brain. This side of the brain is essential for imagination, emotions, spatial abilities and so much more! Strengthening the right side of the brain is one of the many benefits of painting with ice cubes.
Plus, you will be developing your child’s fine motor skills as he/she manipulates the ice cube around the tray or mat. You can switch tools for this sensory activity to help further develop fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination.
You’ll need to plan ahead to make star ice! Account for the couple of hours you’ll need to freeze the ice cubes. If kids are helping, you can even check hourly and take lab notes on how long it takes for them to freeze!
More Ways to Explore with Ice
Sometimes when kids get really intrigued by an activity like freezing, melting and playing with ice, they want more! We have two ice excavation activities you might be interested in: Ocean Animals Ice Excavation and Dinosaur Ice Excavation.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are frequently asked questions about the star ice activity.
Where can I find cylinder ice cube molds?
Amazon and Walmart are good places to find silicone ice cube molds. You might also find them in specialized kitchen supply stores.
Where do I get the lollipop sticks?
Amazon, craft stores, and Walmart are good places to shop for lollipop sticks.
Where can I find the star glitter?
Search Amazon for “star confetti,” and you will find tons of options to use in your star ice cubes.
Do I have to use sticks in the ice cubes?
No! If your child would rather manipulate the cubes with their hands, that works, too! And it’s more of a cool-down on hot summer days!
We would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below about how your star ice art activity went!
Try These Fun Ice Painting Activities, Too
Continue Exploring with Ice and Snow
Check out more process art ideas here:
- St. Patrick’s Day Bouncy Ball Painting
- Fall Leaf Marble Painting
- Foam Block Art Exploration
- Glitter Printing
Search All Activities
Looking for more? Find exactly what you need here:
