WonderLab exhibit explains the science of ice sculptures

Despite the unseasonably warm January weather, Hermann Serfling used a chainsaw and hand tools to construct a piece of art out of a 300-pound block of ice Friday at WonderLab, a science museum geared toward children.

Serfling, a teacher at the Hoosier Hills Career Center in Bloomington, has pursued ice carving for more than 30 years and considers it to be a serious hobby.
He said getting started is the hardest part.

“Once you start trimming it down, it’s more manageable,” Serfling said. “If it gets off-centered, then you’re in trouble.”

Friday’s carving marked the first program of Wonderlab’s Science of Art series, which has programs that take place the first Friday evening of every month. This month’s theme was ice sculpting.

“We chose ice for January to go with the theme nature provides for us, and we wanted to help people learn about the science and artistry of ice,” said Andrea Oeding, WonderLab’s assistant gallery operations manager.

For the full story, see Monday's print edition of the IDS.