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 Chilling Out with Ice Sculptures

Chilling Out with Ice Sculptures
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.43

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    chisel, creativity, proportion, sculpt, emotional, difficulty, presented, determination, equipment, jury, contestant, whiz, unique, cubes, works, mermaid
     content words:    Ice Art Championship, Single-Block Classic, Kids Park, Ice Age-the Meltdown, Alaska Communications System

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Chilling Out with Ice Sculptures
By Colleen Messina 		  
1     Ice cubes cool off our drinks on hot summer days. Ice-based sports like hockey and skating warm us up in the winter. Some artists have discovered a unique way to use ice. They think that doing sculptures with ice is very cool!
 
2     The history of ice sculpture goes back for hundreds of years. Some people believe that ice carving began in China. Eventually, artists in Europe and Asia decided to try this chilly art form. Classy chefs in the 17th and 18th centuries found that having ice sculptures around food kept the edibles fresh and also entertained the guests. This new and very refreshing twist to the culinary arts made food more enticing. Even a picky eater could be tempted into trying salad greens if they were presented by a frozen, merry mermaid or a friendly ice fairy.
 
3     Like most forms of art, the right materials create the best finished products. For ice sculpture, this means high-quality ice. Ice artists prefer ice that is clear and crystalline. They do not like bubbly ice! They know that bubbles might distract the viewers from the fine points of the sculpture. Some ice sculptors just use blocks of ice cut from lakes or rivers. However, this kind of natural ice is usually murky and bubbly. The best artistic ice comes from boiled water and is formed in a mold. This type of ice looks clear and bubble-free. Some dedicated ice artist probably made lots of ice cubes in different ways to discover that fact.

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