Is ice skating similar to roller skating?

No, they're not the same. If you're roller skating or roller blading, you have a boot with buckles on it, and you have wheels on the bottom of the boot. You use them on land. If you're ice skating, you have a half-shoe, half-boot that's either white or tan colored (for the girls) and usually black (for the boys). There aren't any buckles on ice skates, there are shoelaces. On the bottom, there are blades, not wheels. You use these kind of skates on ice, not on land.