Ice-Skating in the Summer?!

By Kathy Ross

Ice-skating in the summer? "What a COOL project!" reported the Hannan family after making these action figures that have their feet embedded in ice. They found lots of different ways to play with them. Try this easy activity with your family--you'll need to schedule in a short waiting time while the water in a cup (the base) turns to ice in your freezing compartment. The LaClairs made the craft in the evening so that the ice was frozen solid when they got up the next morning. The Hannans did their figures in the morning and scheduled a hockey game for 2 p.m.

• Construction paper
• Old catalog or magazine
• Scissors
• White glue
• Two crafts sticks (wooden sticks from frozen treats work well)
• Plastic cup
• Aluminum foil
• Water

Here's what you do:

• Choose a figure from an old catalog or magazine to be the skater. Cut the figure out, omitting the legs. The craft sticks will become the legs.
  
  
• Fold the sheet of construction paper in half. Glue the figure to one side of the construction paper with the bottom of the figure touching the edge of the paper.
  
  
• Cut around the figure and through both layers of construction paper so that the figure has a front and back piece.
  
  
• Glue the front and back of the figure together with the ends of the two craft sticks in between, coming down from the bottom of the figure to form the legs.
  
  
• Fill the cup half full of water.
  
  
• Cover the cup with a double layer of aluminum foil.
  
  
• Poke two small holes in the foil. Slip the legs of the figure through the two holes so that it stands in the water. The foil will help to keep the figure standing up.
  
  
• Put the figure in the freezer until the water is solid.
  
  
• Remove the figure from the cup, but save the cup for a refreeze.

The skaters will glide quickly over any smooth, waterproof floor or a sidewalk for a few minutes. Once the bottom of the ice melts enough to expose the sticks, the figure will be ready for a new ice block. Stand the figure back in the cup with some more water and put it back in the freezer.

Note:

• Be sure that the figure is completely dry before storing it for use another day.
  
  
• You might want to draw your own figures instead of cutting them from a magazine. If you do, use crayons or colored pencils. Most markers will run when exposed to moisture.

You can enjoy this activity idea without doing the craft portion. Replace the crafted figure with plastic toy figures (as the Hannans did). Freeze several toys the night before to surprise your children with the next day. Make lots of skaters and have a family ice-skating show. To use this idea as a party activity, freeze several figures ahead of time for a unique play idea.

The endless creativity of children definitely showed with this project. Jack (4) "immediately knew he wanted to do something different," reported his dad, John. After rummaging around in the toy room, the family ended up freezing a team of animals and a team of pirates to play hockey. Meanwhile, the LaClair children, Ryan (12), Rachel (9) and Christine (4), set up ice races fro their figures, followed by a raucous game of bumper cars.

When the Hannans took their figures out of the freezer, they found the outer ice was solid while the center was filled with water, but the game was played as scheduled. The game started on the driveway, but "the rough concrete surface would not allow the ice to slide without tipping them over." After trying the deck, which was some improvement, they ended up on the children's plastic picnic table. This was ideal, and the game began. Here's Dad's play-by-play:

"I allowed Jack to take the smaller animal skaters, (since they were so experienced) so I took the larger heavier pirate team. My men played with spirit, until the outer film of ice began to melt and all the water that had not completely frozen inside spilled onto the field. Soon their skates were hollow shells of ice, which Jack's animals ate up. Needless to say, my pirates took a cold bath of defeat that day."

How did it all end? The Hannans reported a round of bungee jumping from their deck onto the driveway "without bungees." This relieved the figures of the remains of the ice skates and made a very satisfying "Thwack" upon impact.

What was Jack's final reaction? "Let's freeze them again!"

Finding just the right surface is important to the mobility of the skaters. I have always used my tiled kitchen floor for this project, but the Hannon family came up with an idea that made cleanup a breeze! "The (plastic) picnic table was perfect, even had seats for the coaches. When we were done we tipped the picnic table over to dump the water and picked up our men from the driveway."

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