The Arctic Ocean Curriculum Unit was created by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States with funding from the North Pacific Research Board. This project aimed to update and revise existing Arctic Ocean-related lesson plans originally created by PolarTREC program teacher alumni. The format used lends itself to the changes in education - providing student-facing slide decks that allow
This resource is a 2-minute immersive video that takes students inside the Permafrost Research Tunnel outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. It includes footage of both the new and old sections of the tunnel.
Objectives
Through watching this video, students will get to see what permafrost looks like from the inside, identifying typical features geological features (ex. ice wedges). Through the
This lesson was created by 2017 PolarTREC teacher Steve Kirsche who took part in the Dynamic Observations of the Microstructural Evolution of Firn expedition. The lesson is intended to introduce students to the concepts of isostasy and postglacial rebound through a demonstration and related instruction. Students will then see how postglacial rebound is an important factor when assessing the
This lesson is intended to introduce students to the concept of using ice core samples to learn about the past. Students will be “collecting” a sample from a model of ice. They will then evaluate the sample to see how the layers change as the depth changes.
Objectives
At the completion of this lesson, students will gain a greater
Ice that forms in the polar oceans is an important driver behind the global climate. This ice is physically different from frozen precipitation in a number of different ways. In this brief inquiry activity, students make qualitative observations about two types of ice cubes and deduce ice composition based on their observations. This activity may serve as an introduction to
Operation IceBridge is an aerial survey that measures both land and sea ice in the Arctic and the Antarctic. There are many reasons to monitor the polar regions. The cryosphere is essential in helping to maintain global climate. One important reason is to investigate sea level rise. Land ice can cause sea levels to rise, when it melts, by adding
Attached is a resource for lessons and simulations that involve studying the Greenhouse Effect and how it affects temperature readings on our planet. The simulations created by PHET are incredible. https://phet.colorado.edu/ Aside from the Greenhouse Effect simulation in this lesson, this site has a large variety of resources for any grade levels to be used as lessons, labs
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR):
Seeing Below the Surface While Keeping Scientists Safe
Overview
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a valuable technology that utilizes waves of low frequency electromagnetic radiation to help polar scientists understand what is beneath their feet! Using real field data from the Icelandic glacier Múlajökull, along with a small selection of short videos and web-based resources
My high school has a Science Club whose members visit local elementary schools and run various “stations” that (elementary) students visit for 10-15 minutes before rotating to a different one. This lesson is designed to be one those – a quick hitting, but engaging look into polar science that will stir the kids’ inherent curiosity and get them