Glaciers Interactive Simulation

Positives

• The simulation will help students understand glacier mass balances and the effects of climate change on glaciers because students can manipulate different parameters to see the effects over time.
• Tools are provided in the animation to measure glacial thickness, glacier velocity, and glacial budget.

Additional Prerequisites

• The activity page has other labs, lessons, and activities that can go with the simulation, but you must register for a free account to access them.
• The simulation is not self-explanatory. Teachers will need to practice using the tool before showing students how to use it.
• Some Mac/OS users may have trouble running the simulation.
  

Differentiation

• The simulation has two different levels, introduction and advanced, for middle school and high school students.
• The simulation is available in 35 languages. To view the simulation in another language, click on the Translations tab below.
  
• After working with the simulation, students can write a paragraph explaining what they learned about glaciers from the simulation.
• Math classes can use this simulation to estimate future effects by drawing a graph of the data and then using a best-fit line to estimate future conditions.