When I woke up today, I wondered if Winter is here. 36 degrees fahrenheit is very cold for San Diego! I guess this means that Winter is quickly approaching. Some appreciate this season but most people seem to dread cold weather. With blustering temperatures, leaving the house is hard and developing “cabin fever” is likely. To ward off such an effect, it is important to remain creative.
Fun, artistic activities are great for cold weather. If snow skiing and sledding don’t sound appealing, making a snowman ought to be enjoyable. Or, try this cold weather craft: color icicles.
The best news about coloring icicles is that this activity can be done outside or inside. Segmation SegPlay PC offers a variety of icicle pattern sets. This program can be played in the comfort of a warm home.
Another option is to bundle up, go outside, and dye actual icicles. Here is how it’s done:
Coloring Icicles
Icicles reflect the world around them. As weather causes snow to fall, melt, and freeze, icicles form. Sometimes, even when snow is all gone, icicles stick around to remind everyone that winter is still in the air.
These natural creations beautifully reflect the world around them. But there is a way to make them even more special. Once icicles form, color them with food dye.
The blog slowwatermovement.com shows readers the fascinating process of coloring icicles. According to this blog, food dye can be applied to the top of an icicle and move throughout the piece of hanging ice – even in its frozen state.
How is it Possible to Color Icicles?
As the blog name suggest, this author is fascinated by the movement of water. Upon purchasing food dye, the blogger went in search of moving water in unlikely places. When discovering the food coloring moves throughout icicles, the author credited it to diffusion.
Diffusion is a natural transport phenomenon. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, diffusion is “the process whereby particles of liquids, gases, or solids intermingle as the result of their spontaneous movement caused by thermal agitation and in dissolved substances move from a region of higher to one of lower concentration.”
Using this definition, it becomes clear to see why a highly concentrated liquid, like food coloring, would slowly color the water molecules that exist inside an icicle.
This is a great art project to try in the cold of winter. Although, when it’s too chilly to step outside, consider coloring icicles while curled up in a blanket. The only paint-by-numbers software has icicle patterns that need to be colored. Click here to view Segmation’s variety of icicle pattern sets.
Read more Segmation blog posts about fun and family friendly Art Activities:
Beach Towels: Where Art and Function Meet
Create Beautiful Wintertime Memories by Building a Snowman
Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)
Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad
Now, THIS is a true novelty! – not that it has immediate meaning here, as snow/ice are unknown to we Aussies (well, except those in the high country). Fun!
I saw a blog article last year…I am ashamed to say I can’t remember where…and they put colored water in balloons and froze them…then popped the balloon to reveal little colored balls of all sizes. Clever!!!