As temperatures climbed into the high 90s Sunday afternoon, Zofia Cole, 2, donned her purple mittens and matching fleece hat. She and her 4-year-old brother, DJ, pushed their rented blue walkers around Montgomery Parks’ Wheaton Ice Arena in Maryland, learning to ice skate for the first time during a dangerous heat wave.

The day before, when D.C. hit 100 degrees for the first time in nearly eight years, the family had spent most of the day swimming in pools or running through the sprinkler, mother Kathy Cole said. But she said they didn’t want to spend another day outside in the blistering heat — plus, some nearby outdoor activities were closed.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Washington region for the second consecutive day Sunday, citing an expected heat index of up to 107 degrees. Parks and museums took precautions to protect visitors, with the National Gallery of Art posting on X that the Sculpture Garden would close early. Montgomery Parks closed some outdoor activities such as boating, archery lessons and the driving range, according to a news release, while Fairfax County Public Schools canceled all outdoor activities such as team practices.

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Inspiration struck the Cole family after they watched “Inside Out 2,” the new Disney and Pixar film about a young hockey player. The movie sparked Zofia and DJ’s interest in ice skating, a cool activity both parents could get behind.

“We thought, you know what? It’s a way to keep cool; let’s put our winter gear on and try it out,” Kathy said.

The Cole family had never visited the Wheaton Ice Arena until the blistering heat made them turn to new ways to stay cool.

“We live close to here and have passed this place for so long; we’ve just never been inside,” Cole said. “We like to have the kids do new adventures all the time, so with ‘Inside Out [2]’ and it being hot, we thought this would be really fun.”

For other skaters, the ice rink has offered refuge from the heat for years. Brian Jarvis, 57, and his 9-year-old stepgranddaughter, Elodie Howerton, went ice skating together for the first time last July. Jarvis, who said he grew up skating multiple times a day in northern Canada, started teaching Elodie to skate as a way to spend time together. She quickly fell in love with the sport and now takes lessons at the rink.

“It’s something we can do together,” Jarvis said. “In the summer, when it’s so hot outside, we get this wonderfully huge meat locker and it’s delightful.”

Elodie celebrated her ninth birthday with a party at Wheaton Ice Arena last week, introducing her friends to her favorite way to stay cool. She said she was surprised only about 30 people participated in the public skate Sunday, which rink workers said was one of the summer’s biggest turnouts so far.

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“We’re wondering why there aren’t more people here because it’s so hot outside,” Elodie said.

Wheaton Ice Arena employee Andrew Cudd said the rink’s average winter crowds of at least 100 people per public skate session dwindle significantly in the summer. Elodie said summer is her favorite time of year to ice skate.

“I like ice skating in the summer because then I don’t walk in already freezing cold and get more cold,” Elodie said. “When it’s warm, you just feel that subtle breeze when you open the door and it’s like, ‘Ahhh.’”

However, the cool atmosphere she described becomes difficult to maintain as temperatures rise, Cudd said.

“Because it’s so hot outside, it’s a much higher strain on the system,” Cudd said. “In a very short amount of time, the ice temperature will raise significantly, and it takes a lot longer for that temperature to go back down.”

Last week, during a children’s ice skating camp, Cudd was driving the ice resurfacer when he noticed water pooling on the ice. The rink’s two compressors responsible for keeping the ice cold broke down after trying to maintain a temperature in the mid-20s proved too much.

“Even the ice starts sweating,” Cudd said.

The compressors are up and running now, Cudd said. Although many may associate ice skating with winter, Cudd said indoor rinks such as Wheaton Ice Arena feel the same regardless of whether it’s snowing outside or approaching 100 degrees.

“The ice should always be the same temperature: 27 or 26 degrees,” Cudd said. “Skating feels the same year-round.”

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