by Meghan Rose Tonery
Do you love sensory ice crafts that combine art and science? Me too! Making frozen hands is easy and super colorful! Your kiddos will love color mixing while making these vibrant ice hands. This simple ice activity encourages fine motor skills, problem solving, language development, and only requires a few materials! Plus, crafters will observe the chemical change of liquid to solid first HAND! (Sorry, we couldn't resist a hand pun!) This frozen hand craft is so much fun, you'll be giving me a round of applause! (That was the last one!)
Ready to get crafting? Let's do it!
Supplies:
Latex gloves
Food coloring (gel or regular)
Rubber bands
Twisty ties
A freezer, or VERY cold outdoor temperatures (below freezing for several days in a row)
Scissors
Paper towels
A Quick Note about Latex Gloves:
Know your allergies. If you or someone in your family has have an allergy to Latex do NOT use Latex gloves for this craft.
Step 1: Take one Latex glove and hold firmly around your sink faucet. Turn on faucet and begin to fill glove slowly with water. Turn off the faucet when the glove is filled halfway.
Step 2: Hold the glove steady while you carefully add drops of food coloring into the glove.
Add as many drops of color as you like! I always use gel food coloring and I tend to use a LOT of it because I love vibrant colors.
Color Theory Experiment:
You can add one color per glove, or mix two colors at a time.
Remember: more food coloring = brighter colors, less food coloring = lighter colors!
Step 3: Twist the glove opening tightly, and loop around your finger to tie a knot (just like you would a balloon). Then secure the knot with a rubber band, or a twisty tie, or both!
You want to make sure the end of the glove is very secure, because if you place it outside or in your freezer, and it isn’t tied tightly, you may end up with a watery mess!
Pro-Tips: Keep Your Glove Flat While Freezing!
Be strategic when placing your gloves in position to freeze. If you can lay them flat, do that! This will allow the water to freeze evenly.
Broken Fingers!
Watch out for floppy fingers in the freezer! (Say that five times fast!)
Sometimes the fingers of the gloves can flop over, especially if they are propped up while in the freezer or snow.
Position the gloves as flat as possible for more even freezing.
Step 4: Check Your Ice Gloves!
In your freezer, the gloves should be frozen in a matter of hours.
If your gloves are outside, it may take a day or two depending on how cold it is in your location. You will find best results with consistent, below freezing weather.
Step 5: Remove the Glove from Your Ice Hand.
When the gloves are solidly frozen, use scissors to carefully cut or peel the gloves off of the ice. Be sure to discard all bits of glove plastic indoors. Always supervise scissor use with your littles, or grown-ups should remove the gloves from the ice.
If your glove isn't completely frozen, don't cut it off. Cutting off the glove too soon will lead to the colorful water running out. The result will be partially frozen hands, or very light-colored ice (which can still be cool and an opportunity to talk about cause and effect!)
If this does happen to you, discuss the chemical differences between liquids and solids. How the water moves quickly out of the glove, but the frozen ice holds it's position.
But... How Can You Tell the Glove is Frozen?
If you poke the glove and feel ANY squishy parts- your glove is NOT completely frozen!
Pro-tip: Check all sides of your glove to see if it's frozen. Turn over the hand and check for water pockets. If you are freezing your ice hands outside remember that the ground may be warmer than the air. You can turn your glove over after a day, to make sure both sides are freezing.
I hope you have so much fun making these colorful ice hands, I know I did! Leave a comment below if you have tried it, I would love to hear how it goes! Be sure to follow me on Tiktok for more crafty fun!
Ready to try another ice activity? Check out my How to Make Ice Balloons blogpost! You can make stunning ice globes in all of your favorite colors!
