• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Amazon Favorites
  • My Account
  • Log Out

A Dab of Glue Will Do

Little Learners, Big Ideas

  • Literacy
  • Math
  • Science
  • Seasonal
  • Teacher Ideas
  • Membership
Home
  • SHOP
  • Blog
    • Literacy
    • Math
    • Science
    • Seasonal
    • Teacher Ideas
  • Membership
  • Amazon Favorites
  • About

PSPKK12

Ice Painting with Salt and Watercolors

I'd love it if you shared!

332 shares
  • Facebook8
  • Twitter1
  • Reddit

Once in a while, we find a science experiment that is just as much art as it is science. Kids in preschool and kindergarten particularly love these creative and colorful science experiments. Ice painting with salt and watercolors is the perfect balance of art and science and is all kinds of fun!

A chunk of ice painted

Getting Ready for Ice Painting with Salt and Watercolors

Ice painting is super easy to set up. We already had everything that we needed.

  • Blocks of ice or ice cubes
  • Tray or baking sheet
  • Table salt
  • Liquid watercolors

In the past we used ice cubes in our experiments, but this time I thought it would be fun to freeze some larger blocks of ice. I filled up a plastic Tupperware container with water and threw it into the freezer for several hours.

Once it was frozen I ran the plastic under warm water for a few seconds to loosen up the block of ice. Once it had melted around the edges a bit it easily slid out onto a baking sheet. The students were thrilled to have such a large canvas on which to work.

Ice Painting with Salt and Watercolors

I showed the kids what happens when salt is sprinkled onto ice. They were amazed to watch the salt melt tiny tunnels right down into the block of ice!

They had fun sprinkling salt and waiting for it to melt little tracks and tunnels and caves. Then we got to the REALLY fun part.

Once in awhile we find a science experiment that is just as much art as it is science. Kids in preschool and kindergarten particularly love these creative and colorful science experiments. Ice painting with salt and watercolors is the perfect balance of art of science and is all kinds of fun!

We used liquid watercolors to paint on top of the ice and into the salt tunnels. It was amazing to watch the color illuminate all the secret little passageways made by the salt.

Once in awhile we find a science experiment that is just as much art as it is science. Kids in preschool and kindergarten particularly love these creative and colorful science experiments. Ice painting with salt and watercolors is the perfect balance of art of science and is all kinds of fun!

The kids spent a solid amount of time painting, creating, and experimenting with the salt and watercolors. In the end they produced some gorgeous works of art!

Clean up was a breeze. Once the kids were done painting I simply put the ice blocks in the sink and let them melt away.

Once in awhile we find a science experiment that is just as much art as it is science. Kids in preschool and kindergarten particularly love these creative and colorful science experiments. Ice painting with salt and watercolors is the perfect balance of art of science and is all kinds of fun!

The Science Behind Ice Painting

If you live in an snowy place in the winter, you may already be familiar with how salt melts ice!

Under normal conditions ice melts at 0 degrees Celsius. However, when it is mixed with salt, the melting point of ice decreases because salt molecules get in the way of water molecules bonding together. In simple terms, this means that the salt makes the ice melt.

Once in awhile we find a science experiment that is just as much art as it is science. Kids in preschool and kindergarten particularly love these creative and colorful science experiments. Ice painting with salt and watercolors is the perfect balance of art of science and is all kinds of fun!

Since the ice melts in interesting patterns, painting over the patterns creates a gorgeous and unique tunneled masterpiece!

More Science Activities and Ideas

Walking Water Science for Kids

Science Notebook

Oil and Water Science Activity

Want science planned for you ALL YEAR LONG?!

Do you want science planned for the ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR!? This Endless Science Mega Bundle will save you so much time and keep your students engaged and excited about learning. This amazing resource contains 53 science topics including life science, physical science, earth science, and animal studies.

Filed Under: Crafts/Activities Tagged With: Craft, First Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K, Preschool

You May Also Enjoy These Posts

Using paper and seeds to show students the stages of an apple tree growing over timeFrom fun games to math and literacy to engaging science activities these January classroom activities will get the year started off in the right way.

Reader Interactions

7 Comments

  1. Lucas Hachting

    April 24, 2022 at 9:36 pm

    Usually I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thanks, very nice post.

    Reply to this comment
  2. taurus raging judge magnum for sale

    April 29, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. What can you do with your kids in a Polar Vortex? says:
    February 2, 2019 at 3:07 pm

    […] We found instructions for making a cool wreath and random geometric shapes in this post. I love how the wreath turned out, it’s so pretty. I also love these easy ice sculptures for kids! Another great idea – painting ice with water colors and salt — you can find the directions here. […]

    Reply to this comment
  2. What can you do with your kids in a Polar Vortex? Or Severely Cold Weather says:
    February 2, 2019 at 3:08 pm

    […] We found instructions for making a cool wreath and random geometric shapes in this post. I love how the wreath turned out, it’s so pretty. I also love these easy ice sculptures for kids! Another great idea – painting ice with water colors and salt — you can find the directions here. […]

    Reply to this comment
  3. Winter Craft and Snack For Kids - says:
    August 13, 2019 at 6:40 pm

    […] Ice Painting […]

    Reply to this comment
  4. 18 Supercool Science Experiments with Ice says:
    October 26, 2020 at 12:44 pm

    […] Want to know more about this creative art activity!? Read on: Painting on Ice Science Experiment […]

    Reply to this comment
  5. Ice Cream in a Bag Science Experiment- Icy Science Fun! says:
    May 3, 2021 at 5:47 pm

    […] Ice Painting Experiment […]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS PreSchool
  • PK Pre-K
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 First Grade
  • 2 Second Grade

Hello Friends!

I’m Jennifer…. I taught Kindergarten and 1st grade. At a Dab of Glue Will Do, we help busy teachers and their little learners by creating awesome classroom resources which makes teachers’ lives easier and encourages kids to love learning.

Meet the Team

Join the Club!

When you join the Dollar Teachers Club, you get access to all of the printable AND digital products we’ve ever made, all of our freebies, exclusive monthly resources made just for you, and lots more, all in ONE place. Save some money, some stress, and lots of time, and join the Dollar Teachers Club today!

Learn More

Do you like freebies?

A rhyming freebie just for you...

Words That Rhyme Sort

Download!

Words That Rhyme Sort

CAT and HAT? NET and BED?
Rhyming can be tricky! Grab this Words that Rhyme Sort freebie to help your students listen for rhyming pairs.

Sign up for one of these FREE email courses for more helpful tips!

Small Groups Email Course

Get Started

Small Groups Email Course

Digital Learning Email Course

Get Started

Digital Learning Email Course

Name Building Email Course

Get Started

Name Building Email Course

Differentiation Email Course

Get Started

Differentiation Email Course

Join us over on Facebook for conversation, tips, and teaching ideas for your little learners!

Join the Facebook Group

Must-Read Posts from the Blog

A black piece of construction paper with a ball of foil and a grey painted moon on the paper.
The letter L made out of salt on a paper with green liquid in a dropper being dropped on
3 cups on a table in the dark with glowing liquid inside

Copyright © 2023 A Dab of Glue Will Do •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs

332 shares
  • 8
  • 1