HR: 11:05h
AN: ED52A-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Educating K-12 Students about Glacier Dynamics in a Changing Climate
AU: * Stearns, L A
EM: leigh.stearns@maine.edu
AF: Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 5790 BGSC, Orono, ME 04469 United States
AU: Hamilton, G S
EM: gordon.hamilton@maine.edu
AF: Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 5790 BGSC, Orono, ME 04469 United States
AB: Public awareness of climate change is growing in the United States. Popular movies, books and magazines are frequently addressing the issue of global warming - some with careful scientific research, but many with unrealistic statements. Early education about the basic principles and processes of climate change is necessary for the general public to distinguish fact from fiction. The U.S. National Science Foundation's GK-12 program (GK-12; grades K to 12) currently in its sixth year, provides an opportunity for scientific enrichment for students and their teachers at the K-12 level through collaborative pairings with science and engineering graduate students (the Fellows). The NSF GK-12 program at the University of Maine has three goals: to enrich the scientific education of the students by providing role models, expertise, and equipment that may not be accessible otherwise; to provide professional development for the teachers through curriculum enrichment and participation at science conferences; and to improve the teaching and communication skills of the Fellows. The University of Maine is one of over 100 U. S. universities participating in this program. During the 2004-05 academic year, 11 graduate and one undergraduate student Fellows, advised by University faculty members, taught at schools across the state of Maine. Fellows from, biology, earth science, ecology, engineering, food science, forestry, and marine science, and taught in their area of expertise. We created a hands-on activity for middle and high school students that describes glacier mass balance in a changing climate. The students make a glacier using glue, water and detergent ('flubber') and construct a glacier valley using plastic sheeting. Flubber behaves in mechanically similar ways to glacier ice, undergoing plastic deformation at low stresses and exhibiting brittle failure at high stresses. Students are encouraged to run several tests with different values for valley slope, glacier mass, 'flubber' temperature and basal conditions. We compare our glacier models to the dynamics of real glaciers and discuss how and why they might be changing over time. Throughout the activities, we stress the use of the scientific method, a fundamental building block in science education.
DE: 0720 Glaciers
DE: 0776 Glaciology (1621, 1827, 1863)
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005