Can you add color to a globe ice lantern?

Adding a colorant to the globe itself does not work very well, but you can surround a globe ice lantern with beautiful winter greens or flowers (inside) or you can add a colorful LED light.

Why does adding color not work well? Pure water freezes first and pushes impurities (anything that is not hydrogen and oxygen) toward the center of the globe where it is warmer. Because a colorant is an impurity, most of the color will get flushed out when the balloon is opened and the water is released. What color that remains will create a pale-colored globe. Also, the color that does freeze is the last to freeze and so will be the first to melt when it is used. So, it will make a BIG MESS.

But don't let our warnings stop you from playing and experimenting. Please let us know if you have come up with a fun or interesting experiment for using a colorant in globes.

For vibrant colored globes, try using strings of colored cool-touch LED lights that are found at hardware stores and/or battery-operated waterproof LED lights.