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Polar Lab

Provided by: CLEAN |Published on: November 26, 2025

Games

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Synopsis

In this virtual expedition-style interactive game provided by Nova/PBS, students will virtually travel to the Arctic, Colorado, and Minnesota to explore tree rings, fossils, sediment and ice cores, seal data, and much more to understand what polar climates were like long ago and how they have changed in the recent past.
Students will play this game by exploring virtual landscapes, watching videos, reading notes, and finding clues that tell the story of how the poles have changed over time.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: NOVA, Public Broadcasting Service

Region: Polar Regions, Minnesota, Colorado

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

Students will love the first-person point of view this game has.
The mini-games provide an excellent break that will keep students engaged in the content.

Prerequisites

To save their progress, students will need to log in with a Google or PBS account. Students can play without signing in by selecting Guest Pass. If students are expected to complete all of the missions, they will need to sign in and save their progress.
Each mission will take students at least 15-20 minutes.
Students will need to complete missions before the next one is unlocked, and will not be able to jump around the content.
Though the resource does touch on carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect, and climate change in general, students may benefit from having background knowledge on these topics.

Differentiation & Implementation

To keep track of their progress and what they learned, students can create physical copies of their field notebooks. Students can use these to write their answers to the questions posed in their virtual field notebooks, record their questions, and jot down connections they make.
Some students, especially those who experience motion sickness, may start to feel discomfort when navigating and exploring the 360° view. Prompt these students to take frequent, short breaks or make the size of their screen smaller.
The bonus content is a great option for early finishers.
To make connections to the Sustainable Development Goals, teachers can ask students to think about Goal 13, Climate Action, Goal 14, Life Below Water, and Goal 15, Life on Land, as they explore this game.

Scientist Notes

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Resource Type and Format

About the Partner Provider

CLEAN

The CLEAN Network is a professionally diverse community of over 630 members committed to improving climate and energy literacy locally, regionally, nationally, and globally in order to enable responsible decisions and actions. The CLEAN Network has been a dynamic group since 2008 and is now led by the CLEAN Leadership Board established in 2016.

Related Teaching Resources

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.