Dear Teacher,
Thank you for signing up for “The Ice Age” at the Lost Valley Visitor Center in Glacial Park. The visitor center is located in
the middle of Glacial Park. Follow the signs from the Harts Road entrance. If you need further instructions on how to get
here please contact us at 815-678-4532. In the event of inclement weather on the day of your field study, please call us
to discuss the day’s plans.
Please make sure that all teachers and chaperones attending the field study are aware of the following information:
1. Your field study consists of two halves; one indoor and one outdoor. The first 1.5 hours consist of a variety of indoor
lessons on glacial geology. Instructors use PowerPoint, video, lecture, and worksheets to teach about geological
timelines, ice age origin and geography, and glacial landforms. The second half of the field study consists of a 2 mile hike
through the park, exploring various glacial formations. A lunch break in between the two segments will be given at a
picnic area outside if weather allows but there is indoor space available if necessary.
2. Teachers, chaperones, and students should dress for the weather including appropriate footwear for hiking over hilly
terrain. Fall weather is variable and while it may feel warm at school, Glacial Park tends to be windy and cooler because
of the hills. Students should be encouraged to bring layers, including jackets, hats, and gloves.
3. Encourage everyone to bring a waste-free lunch! Pack lunches in insulated containers and include items that can be
eaten in their entirety, recycled or composted. Examples are whole fruits and vegetables, drinks in reusable bottles,
snacks purchased in bulk and brought in a reusable container, cloth napkins, and reusable ice packs.
4. Background information as well as pre and post-trip activities are available for this and other McHenry County
Conservation District school field studies in your choice of format. Completion of the activities ensures a more successful
learning experience for your students.
•
Download information from our website at http://www.mccdistrict.org/rccms/index.php/school-programs/
•
Request that information be sent to your email or school address. Call Kim Compton or Andrew Zeiger at 815678-4532.
Again, we thank you for your interest in the McHenry County Conservation District. We are looking forward to a day of
fun and learning with your class. Should you have any questions, please feel free to call us.
Sincerely,
Kim Compton and Andrew Zeiger
Lost Valley Visitor Center Education Program Staff
The Ice Age at Glacial Park Pre-Trip and Post-Trip Activities
Pre-Trip Activities
1. Complete the “Glacial Landforms Crossword” activity. A copy and teacher’s key is enclosed.
2. “Glacier Formation” – From Earth Science. Namowitz & Spaulding. D.C. Heath and Co., 1989.
Glaciers form from snow. To see how solid ice can form from snow, take a handful of snow or shaved ice and
squeeze it between your hands. Keep applying pressure until you notice a change in the snow or ice particles.
What does squeezing seem to do to the particles of snow or ice? What happens when you stop applying
pressure? What would cause the packing of snow to form glaciers? How is this activity different from how a
glacier forms?
3. “Ice on the Move” – from Ranger Rick’s Nature Scope: Geology—The Active Earth. National Wildlife
Federation, 1987.
What you need: sand, several flat pieces of shale or limestone, ice cubes, 2 paper towels, water, ice cube tray,
a freezer.
What to do: Mix several teaspoons of sand with water, and pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze.
Use a paper towel to pick up one of the sandy ice cubes. Hold the ice tightly against a piece of shale or
limestone and slowly push it across the rock several times. Examine the surface of the rock. Do the same
thing with a regular ice cube on another piece of rock.
What to think about: How do the rock surfaces compare? From what you know about glaciers, how does this
experiment explain how glaciers help shape the land? Explain your answer.
(Teachers) What should have happened: The ice cube with the sand acts like sandpaper and should leave
scratches on the rock surfaces. The control should not be scratched. When glaciers move across land, they
pick up and move rock material. Some of this rock material can scratch and gouge rock surfaces. These are
called striations.
4. Read “The Life of a Glacier” at this website: https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/life-glacier.html
This information may be useful as background information for you or your entire class.
Post-Trip Activities
1. Do the enclosed activity entitled “The Contour Connection”, taken from Ranger Rick’s Nature Scope:
Geology—The Active Earth. National Wildlife Federation, 1987. This activity will introduce students to contour
mapping of landforms. Once they have completed the first two examples in the book, have them draw
contour examples of some glacial landforms – moraines, kettles, drumlins, etc. You could also use the activity
we completed during the field trip to have the students draw a map with multiple features.
2. Using the enclosed topographic map of Glacial Park, have the students locate the kettles and kames they
visited during their trip to Glacial Park. Can they locate any other similar landforms in the area? Locate a
topographic map of your school’s region, or the area where the students live. What do the landforms tell
them about that local area?
Glacial Landforms Crossword
1
3
Words
Crevasse
2
Drift
4
End
5
Erratic
6
7
Esker
Glacier
8
Ground Moraine
9
10
Ice Front
11
Kames
12
Kettle
13
14
Lateral Moraine
Moraine
Outwash
Recessional
Striations
15
16
Terminal
Till
Across
Down
3. The ______________ is a layer of material
left behind when a glacier melts
1. An ___ moraine forms a ridge of till along
the ice front when the glacier is stalled
5. A ________ is a huge crack in a glacier
2. A _______________ is formed at the sides
of a glacier
8. A _______ is an accumulation of glacial till
9. An _____ is a long ridge of outwash from
subglacial streams
4. _______ is sorted deposits made by streams
of glacial meltwater
11. _____ are glacial hills formed by meltwater
depositing drift at the ice front or in a crevasse
6. __________ are long scratches on the
bedrock that are parallel to the direction of ice
flow
13. The farthest edge of a glacier is called the
_________
7. ___________ moraines are end moraines
behind the terminal moraine
14. ____ is unsorted rock material deposited
directly by the ice
10. All deposits of glacial origin are called
_____
15. A _______ is a massive sheet of ice
formed from snow under extreme pressure
11. An ice block buried in a moraine melts and
leaves a circular hollow called a ______
16. End moraine marking a glacier’s farthest
advance is called the ________ moraine
12. A glacial _______ is a large boulder
deposited away from its origin by a glacier
Field Study Evaluation
Mail or fax your form to:
Education Services Manager, Prairieview Education Center, 2112 Behan Road, Crystal Lake IL 60014
Tel 815-479-5779 / Fax 815-479-5766
Thank you for participating in a McHenry County Conservation District field study with your class. The Education Services
Department wants to make sure the field studies are the best they can be, so that you meet your classroom goals. We sincerely
appreciate your feedback on the field study you attended.
School Name __________________________________Grade ____ Teacher’s Name _____________________________________
Name of the Program _____________________________________ Date of Field Study___________________________________
Conservation District Leader Name(s)___________________________________________________________________________
1.
Did you choose to receive your field study packet by mail, email, or did you download it from our website?
2.
How was the field study packet helpful in preparing you and your class for the program? What activities did you use?
How could the packet be improved?
3.
What were your goals for the field study? Were they met? How could the program better serve your goals?
4.
Were the activities and information educational and stimulating for the children? What activities do you recall that
worked especially well? What activities could use revision?
5.
Was your leader well informed about the subject matter and enthusiastic about working with the group?
6.
Would you participate in another Conservation District field study?
7.
Do you have any additional suggestions, comments, or remarks?
If you would like to receive our Environmental Education Opportunities Teachers’ Guide electronically (Adobe pdf format)
please provide an email address here. _______________________________________________