Artzooka – Frozen North Pole Night Light

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In this lesson, students learn how to create a North Pole Night Light using simple materials like a styrofoam plate, LED light, and an old pop bottle. The process involves making an ice mold, crafting a decorative holder, and assembling the components to produce a glowing nightlight that mimics the enchanting atmosphere of the North Pole. This hands-on activity not only fosters creativity but also teaches basic principles of light and design.
  1. What materials do you need to make the North Pole Night Light?
  2. How do you create the ice mold for the night light?
  3. What happens when you turn on the night light in a dark room?

Let’s Make a North Pole Night Light!

Hi there! Did you know that at the North Pole, the sun doesn’t come up for days? Imagine how dark it must be! Wouldn’t it be cool to have a nightlight made of ice to light up the darkness? Let’s make our own North Pole Night Light!

What You’ll Need

  • A styrofoam plate
  • An LED light
  • A little table from a pizza box
  • The bottom of an old pop bottle
  • Water
  • A tinfoil container
  • Scissors
  • Colorful paper for petals
  • Clear tape
  • A watch battery

Let’s Get Started!

First, take the styrofoam plate and poke the little pizza table through the center. Then, place the LED light’s two prongs on either side of one of the table’s legs. When you flip it over, the prongs should stick out from the middle.

Making the Ice Mold

Now, let’s find something to use as a mold for our ice nightlight. The bottom of an old pop bottle works perfectly! Fill it with water almost to the top. Then, flip the styrofoam plate so the LED light goes into the water. Put this in the freezer to let it freeze.

Creating the Holder

While the water is freezing, let’s make a holder for our nightlight. Take a tinfoil container and use scissors to cut out triangles along the rim. This will make it look like a flower! To add some color, cut out petals from colorful paper. Tape them inside the container, alternating colors like purple and pink. Now it looks beautiful!

Finishing Touches

Once the ice is frozen, remove the plate. Place a watch battery between the LED light’s prongs and tape it securely. Carefully slide the ice nightlight out of the bottle and place it into the holder.

Enjoy the Magic!

Dim the lights and watch the magic happen! The light shines through the ice, creating a beautiful glow. You can even use different molds, like a bear or a dinosaur, to make more fun nightlights.

Wasn’t that fun? Now you have your very own North Pole Night Light to brighten up the dark!

  • What do you think it would be like to live in a place where the sun doesn’t come up for days, like the North Pole? How would you feel, and what would you do to make it fun?
  • Have you ever used a nightlight before? What kind of nightlight do you have, or what kind would you like to have? Why do you think nightlights are helpful?
  • If you could make a nightlight in any shape, what would you choose and why? How would you decorate it to make it special?
  1. Experiment with Colors: Try adding a few drops of food coloring to the water before freezing it. Observe how the color changes the light that shines through the ice. Discuss with your friends or family why you think the light looks different with each color. Which color do you like the best and why?

  2. Ice Shape Exploration: Use different shaped molds to create your ice nightlight. You can try using a small bowl, a cup, or even a toy mold. Once frozen, see how the shape affects the way the light shines through. Which shape do you think makes the light look the brightest or the most interesting?

  3. Observe and Record: Place your ice nightlight in different parts of a dark room and observe how it lights up the space. Does it look different when placed on a table versus on the floor? Draw a picture of your nightlight in each location and write a sentence about how it changes the room.

Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:

Hi! Did you know that in some places like the North Pole, the sun doesn’t come up for days at a time? All that darkness, ice, and snow would really make me want a nightlight! I wonder what that would look like. I think it would be beautiful with light coming through the ice. Since ice is frozen water, it could be any shape you want. Let’s make a North Pole Night Light!

The first thing I’m going to need is a styrofoam plate, an LED light, and one of those little tables you find in a pizza box when you order pizza. What I want to do is take this and poke it through the center of the plate. Then I take the LED light and place the two prongs on either side of the leg like this. When I stick it through and turn it over, you can see the prongs come right out of the middle.

Now I need to find something to use as a mold for my ice nightlight. I think I might have something in my collection. Here we go! This is the bottom of an old pop bottle, and I think this will be perfect for the mold for my ice nightlight.

Next, I need water because ice is frozen water, so I’ll fill this up with some water, almost to the top. Now I’ll take back my styrofoam plate and flip it so that the LED light goes into the water. Now I want to put this in the freezer. While that’s freezing, it’s a perfect time to start working on a holder for our ice nightlight.

I had a great idea! Check this out: I have a tinfoil container. This tinfoil container will be a great holder for my ice nightlight, but first, I need to decorate it. I’m going to take my scissors and cut out some triangles along the rim of the container. Of course, I want to cover the whole rim with triangles, and when I do, I end up with this. To me, this looks like a flower, but I think this flower needs some color.

I have some petals! What I want to do now is add these to my container. I’ll start off with a purple petal, placing it right here and bending it a little bit. Then I’ll take a clear piece of tape and tape it inside. Next, I want to cover the whole inside rim of my container with petals, alternating from purple to pink. When I’m done, it looks like this!

Now that I’ve completed the holder, I’m ready to go back to my frozen ice nightlight. It’s nice and frozen, so all I have to do is take the plate off. Then I’m going to take a watch battery, place it between the two prongs, and tape it like this. Now I’m going to slide my ice nightlight out of the bottom of the bottle.

What I want to do now is put this into the holder, and it sits right inside like that. Now it’s time to dim the lights! How amazing does this look? The light is coming right through the ice. I didn’t stop here; I had some more molds! Check these out! I had cake molds of a bear and a little dinosaur for more North Pole nightlights.

Let me know if you need any further modifications!

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