Fun Glacier Demo

So when I found out that part of the current science unit included glaciers, I was enthused! I've actually been to Portage Glacier, and hiked on Byron Glacier and discovered ice worms. (Who would have thought ice worms? Now I tell children that ice worms are my favorite animals!)

So I looked for different demonstrations, and finally came to my own.

1. In a plastic take out container I froze water, soil, and birdseed. (I couldn't get to any frozen rocks and dirt in my backyard, and the various size seeds worked well.)

2. Remove the frozen "glacier" from the container. Place it on a table covered with paper. Important: Lift one side of the table to get run-off. (We just put a classroom dictionary under each leg on one side of the table.)

3. Observe! It's best if you have all school day to keep checking back. Student were so excited to record their hypothesis and observations in their science notebooks. We ended up with a lake over the edge of the table. (This was especially cool since we are close to the Great Lakes that were formed by glacier, and still hold evidence of their past.)

I love a lesson or demonstration in which I don't spend much time or money, but the learning is big and fun! Kids really enjoyed this. We had 2 different glaciers on different days for 2 classes. Each was very different! The one pictured was in my neighbors classroom.

What has gotten you excited about work this week?