Searching for Mr. Meteorite
Why do Scientists Search in Antarctica?
Topics: Astronomy, Solar
System, Planetary
Geography
Materials List
 Small rocks or dark
plastic bits to
represent meteorites
(2-4 mm in
diameter)
 Small collection
cups or zip-lock
bags
 White or lightcolored poster
board or a length of
butcher paper
 Open area of dark
colored carpet (at
least 2.5 m x 3 m
(8ft x 10ft)
 Tweezers or tongs
This activity models the benefits of searching for meteorites at the base of glacier
fields in snow-covered Antarctica.
To Do and Notice
1. Spread about 100 “meteorites” onto the white poster board and another 100
“meteorites” over the area of carpet.
2. In groups of 3 or 4, collect as many “meteorites” from the carpet as possible in 1
minute using the tweezers or tongs. Collected “meteorites” are placed into the
collection cups or zip-lock bags. (Note: Meteorites are not collected with
tweezers, but they do serve a purpose for this activity. Tweezers or tongs are used
to insure the careful collection of 1 meteorite at a time. Actual meteorites are not
“scooped up” 20 at a time and thrown into a bin, but rather are carefully collected
1 at a time, logged, and numbered.)
3. Repeat the collection process in the same group for the same amount of time
using the white poster board collection field.
4. Compare the number of collected meteorites (there should be more samples
collected from the white poster board).
5. Discuss sample findings. Students should suggest that they found more samples
from the poster board because there were more “meteorites” and that they were
easier to see. This is exactly the advantage to searching in Antarctica. Ice sheets
act as a kind of “conveyor belt” for meteorites, depositing them in higher
concentration onto high contrast ice fields. In short, there are more to find and
they are easier to see.
The Science Behind the Activity
This activity can be used
to teach:
 Meteorites (Next
Generation Science
Standards: High
School, Earth and
Space Science, 1-6)
 Science &
Engineering Practices
(Next Generation
Science Standards:
grades 4-10)
Meteorites are rocks from space, small pieces of material from the Solar System that
enter the Earth’s atmosphere and then hit the surface. As they fall through the
atmosphere and burn due to friction, they are seen as meteors (i.e. - “shooting” or
“falling” stars). Most meteorites come from asteroids or comets, but rare meteorites
from the Moon and from Mars have also been found, including the famous Mars
Meteorite (ALH 84001) that held promise of evidence of Martian life. Scientists
classify meteorites into 3 categories: Irons, Stony-Irons, and Stones. Many stony
samples contain carbon and organic molecules, some have even been found to contain
amino acids, the building blocks of life (e.g. - Murchison, 1969). Large meteorite
impacts have had widespread, even catastrophic effects on Earth, including the
Tunguska Fireball (Siberia, 1908) that leveled over 1000 sq. km of forests, and
Chicxulub crater (65 mya) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, possibly responsible for
the extinction of the dinosaurs. A great number of meteorites are found in Antarctica
because: 1) ice sheets trap, protect, transport, and concentrate meteorites into certain
areas and 2) they are easily seen against the white ice background.
Web Resources (Visit www.raft.net/raft-idea?isid=369 for more resources!)
For more information about meteorites, visit:
 http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/index.cfm
 http://www.antarcticconnection.com/shopcontent.asp?type=science-meteorites
Written by Coral Clark (RAFT)
Copyright 2015, RAFT