Sixth Grade
Worksheets
The Great Zamboni
Nearly every ice skating rink has a Zamboni. A Zamboni is an ice-resurfacing machine. This machine smoothes out the ruts and picks up the chunks of ice that break loose from the rink's surface during a skating session. Before the invention of this machine, ice in a rink had to be resurfaced by a tractor pulling a scraper. The shavings were scooped away by three or four workers. The workers would then spray water over the surface and squeegee it clean by hand. This process usually took an hour for a regulation size rink.
Frank Zamboni and his brothers knew about ice. They built large refrigerated units for dairy farmers to keep their milk cool during the 1920's. They built a plant that made ice blocks for the produce industry in California. Soon refrigeration took the place of ice blocks. Frank and his brothers looked for other ways to use their knowledge about ice.
During the 1940's, ice skating was becoming a popular sport. Because they knew a lot about making ice, the Zamboni brothers decided they would try to build an ice skating rink. They built a test rink next door to their ice plant. Frank began experimenting with different types of ice floors. When one particular experiment proved successful, the brothers built an ice rink in Paramount, California. They called it Iceland.
