ICE! was an exhibit that ran during the holidays at the Gaylord Palms resort outside of Orlando. They cooled a large exhibit hall to 9ºF, then brought in 2,000,000 pounds of ice and 42 ice artisans from China. The sculptors worked for 27 consecutive days to create the exhibit.
The exhibit hall was kept at 9ºF. Everyone was issued a long blue parka, which was pretty warm, but we had to bring our own hats and gloves. We were in there for 25 minutes, and even with ski hats and gloves we couldn't feel our toes and our fingers were freezing by the time we got out. It was cold!
Three kinds of ice were used in the exhibit: Crystal, white, and colored. Crystal ice starts with purified and deionized water, which is frozen very slowly (I think over three days) to allow the water molecules to line up and produce an ice that you can see through. White ice is just regular old ice made fromregular old water. Colored ice is regular ice with coloring added. Choosing which ice to use in which circumstances is part of the artistry of the exhibit.
The exhibit itself was divided into five sections or themes: Santa's Workshop, the Fort with the Ice Slides, Winter Wonderland, the Cathedral, and the Nativity (these are our names for them). Archways, tunnels, or passages connected the sections, making each theme distinct. This album contains a page for each section of the exhibit. Use the tabs at the top of each page to change pages. On each page there are a number of thumbnail images. Clicking on one will open a new window with a large version of the picture. You will notice that there are fewer pictures of the Cathedral and Nativity. That's because these were the last two themes, and by the time we got to them we were numb with cold, and also my camera had died.
We hope you enjoy these pictures, and that you are toasty warm at your computer.