2026 Winterfest, McKinley Bonis with her sugar cube sculpture.
Amani Rorie builds a sculpture.
From ice blocks to building blocks–encouraging exploration
Winterfest centered on ice sculpture: the carving, shaping and interaction with a temporary material. Inside the Creation Station, children explored those same sculptural principles on a smaller scale using wintery-looking sugar cubes.
The activity quickly became more than stacking blocks. Children experimented with balance, structure and design. Some focused on creating wide, stable bases. Others …