Saturday, April 26, 2025
We know ice breaks, but did you know it also bends? Although ice breaks when it’s under a lot of stress, under steady pressure it will bend and flow! In this icy session, explore glacier movement with a biogeochemist. Create a model glacier and investigate the flow!
Time
Ages 7-12: 8 am PT • 9 am MT • 10 am CT • 11 am ET • 12 pm AT
Ages 13-17: 10 am PT • 11 am MT • 12 pm CT • 1 pm ET • 2 pm AT
Materials and Preparation
- ½ tsp Borax powder (or ½ tsp baking soda and 1 tbsp contact lens solution – we suggest the travel-sized bottles to reduce cost)
- 5 oz cup warm water (or about 150 mL)
- ½ cup (4 oz) Elmer’s white school glue (this is about the size of one standard bottle)
- 3 mixing bowls (or plastic cups)
- ½ cup measuring cup
- ½ tsp measuring spoon
- Stirring utensil (disposable like a popsicle stick, chopsticks or plastic spoon or something that can be washed, like a metal spoon)
- Food colouring
- Rubber gloves (if you don’t want to stain your hands with the food colouring)
- Baking sheet or other similar surface
- Empty paper towel tube or 2 toilet paper tubes
- Scissors
- Slippery tape like duct tape, electric tape, or packing tape (no masking tape or scotch tape)
- 5 or 6 books to prop up the paper towel tube chute
- Black marker
- Straw
Meet the Expert
Kyra St-Pierre, Ph.D.
Dr. Kyra St-Pierre is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Her research group, the Land-to-Ocean Biogeochemistry Lab, uses a holistic approach to study aquatic ecosystems and their response to environmental changes. When she is not in the field or the lab, she loves to be in the kitchen cooking or baking, or doing barre, Pilates or yoga.
This programming was developed by Sydney Brooks. Mikaela Moore, and Dr. Kyra St-Pierre.
