Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
Current Program: Let’s Go Climb a Moraine
Objective: Students will learn about glaciers, how they were made, and how they can change the
landscape. They will learn about different glacial features (esker, kame, drumlin, etc.) and what they
look like in Whitnall Park.
Materials:
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Slideshow
Whitnall Park Topographic map
Glacier model
Fossils
Tables
Screen for slideshow
Before Program make sure that everything is set up. The fossils should be set up in chronological order
in the front room of the nature center. The glacier model should be set up in the classroom. The
Whitnall Park topographic map should be set up in the hallway outside of the classroom. These are
different stations that groups will rotate through before the hike. Have the kids sit in their groups so it is
easy to get them up and going after the slideshow.
Introduction: Start with the slideshow explaining glaciers and how they form the land. Glaciers erode
the land and deposit debris they pick up as they move across landscapes. Glaciers form through many
years of snow accumulation. The weight of the snow on itself makes it turn into ice. The glaciers that
formed features in Wisconsin melted 10,000 years ago, leaving piles of sediment and hills behind.
Land Features of Glaciers:
Wet and dry kettles are impressions in the land. They can form lakes if they are wet, but they can be dry
kettles as well. Kettles are formed when pieces of ice from the glacier melt and leave a dent in the
landscape.
Kames come from holes in the ice of the glacier that allows sediment to drop through and accumulate. A
kame looks like a hill.
An esker is created from rivers in the glaciers. Because glaciers are so large, they are able to have rivers
in them! Eskers are tunnels where the water of the glacier flows and drops its sediment. Eskers look like
snakes on the land from above.
Drumlins are mysterious glacial features. Scientists aren’t exactly sure how these tear-dropped shaped
formations came to be.
There are two types of moraines. Terminal moraines are also called end moraines, and are formed at the
end of the glacier. As the glacier moves forward, it pushes material in front of it, forming the terminal
moraine. Lateral moraines are hills of material that are pushed out to the sides of the glacier.
Erratic’s are large rocks that are moved and dropped out of the glaciers as the ice melts and can’t hang
on to those large rocks anymore.
After the slideshow, take the different groups around to the stations.
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
Have them look at the glacier model, and point out the different features they just learned about. Have
them explain how these features were created.
Next, take the group to the topographic map of Whitnall Park to see what kinds of features are in the
park, and what they will see on the hike.
Last, take them to the fossil table. Explain that at one point, we had sea creatures living here. We can
see evidence of this through our fossil record.
Hike the path that will lead the groups to all of the glacial features in Whitnall Park. While on the hike,
stop at the different glacial feature spots to talk about moraines, kames, and other glacial features. Have
them look at the erratics, and try to figure out how they got there. Have them look at the rock
outcropping to find fossils like the ones they saw in the Nature Center before the hike.
After the hike, gather them up one last time to talk about how landscapes can change. We now know
that large chunks of ice called glaciers can move the land and create different landscapes. As you drive
in Wisconsin, notice how the landscape changes from place to place, and also notice how a lot of the
features we see come from glaciers.
Aimee Posnanski
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Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
4-ESS1-1 – Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils to support an
explanation for changes in a landscape over time
Determine features of a topo map
How did these features get there? Patterns! Can be used as evidence to support an explanation
How did the glaciers form this land? “Water, ice, wind, living organisms, and gravity break rocks,
soils and sediments into smaller particles and move them around” (4-ESS2-1)
o 4-ESS2-1: Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects
of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation
Give them a background on glacial features – describe some key characteristics
Using these key characteristics, have them look at a map to describe the same characteristics as
glacial geography (4-ESS2-2)
o 4-ESS2-2: Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features
This can be used as the “in class” portion of the program
Still show kids the maps (topo and glacier model) – ask them to tell us what they see – using
context clues and background information
Keep in mind all of the features we just learned about and glacial geography as they go on the
hike
As you approach the features, ask the kids which one they think it is, and why
Cross cutting concepts: Patterns; cause and effect
New Program: Let’s Go Climb a Moraine
Materials
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Slideshow describing glacial features
Computer with internet access
Projection Screen
Topographic map of glacial features handouts
Glacier model
Topographic map of Whitnall Park
Fossils
Raider.mountunion.edu/~mcnaugma/Topographic%20Maps/continental_glaciation.htm –
topographic maps of glacial features
Ees.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module13swf.swf – glacial features module;
interactive
Goal: By the end of the program, students should understand how glaciers are made, and how their
movement can shape the land. Use fossils in the park to understand that Wisconsin’s landscape has
changed a lot over time. Students will understand how ice and water can erode land and move
sediments.
Objective: Students will be able to look at a topographic map, and identify glacial features and explain
how they got there. Students will be able to explain how glaciers can change a landscape over a long
period of time.
Theme: When huge sheets of ice, called glaciers, cut through Wisconsin many years ago, they left battle
scars on the land that we can still see today.
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
Before the Program: Make sure that all stations are set up (glacier model, topographic map of Whitnall
Park, fossils). Make sure that computer and projector are working. Have copies of topographic maps
with features to hand out to groups.
Introduction: Whitnall Park and the Wehr Nature Center are great places to go to see evidence of the
past in Wisconsin. We can especially see evidence from glaciers. Do you know what a glacier is?
Glaciers form from many years of snow accumulation and packing, and are massive blocks of ice.
Glaciers have the power to erode land, create land features, and deposit large rocks or large piles of
rocks. Although these are huge blocks of ice, glaciers are moving features that pick up debris as they
move and create different landscapes. How can glaciers change the landscape?
When glaciers move, they pick up debris like rocks or sand from the landscape. As they leave the area,
they leave deposits that create features like kames, drumlins, eskers, and moraines.
Glaciers also erode the land as they move. Do you know what erosion means? Erosion occurs from wind,
water, vegetation, and ice. As the glaciers move across the land, they scrape the surface and rip up
much of the loose debris in their path.
Use the slideshow here to go through what these different types of formations are. Update the
slideshow to contain pictures of these features from above, so they can pick out what they may look like
from a topographic map later in the program.
Land Features of Glaciers:
Wet and dry kettles are impressions in the land. They can form lakes if they are wet, but they can be dry
kettles as well. Kettles are formed when pieces of ice from the glacier melt and leave a dent in the
landscape.
Kames come from holes in the ice of the glacier that allows sediment to drop through and accumulate. A
kame looks like a hill.
An esker is created from rivers in the glaciers. Because glaciers are so large, they are able to have rivers
in them! Eskers are tunnels where the water of the glacier flows and drops its sediment. Eskers look like
snakes on the land from above.
Drumlins are mysterious glacial features. Scientists aren’t exactly sure how these tear-dropped shaped
formations came to be. They can be from glacial erosion or meltwater floods from the glacier.
There are two types of moraines. Terminal moraines are also called end moraines, and are formed at the
end of the glacier. As the glacier moves forward, it pushes material in front of it, forming the terminal
moraine. Lateral moraines are hills of material that are pushed out to the sides of the glacier.
Erratic’s are large rocks that are moved and dropped out of the glaciers as the ice melts and can’t hang
on to those large rocks anymore.
Which of these features do you think came from erosion?
So, now we know what kinds of features came from glaciers. Do you think you can pick them out from a
map?
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
At this point, hand out the three different pictures. The first picture is of an end moraine with kettle
lakes. The second picture is of an esker. The third picture is of drumlins. Have the kids try to identify
these features, and come up with an explanation as to why they labeled the features like they did.
The Stations
The first station is the glacier model. After the kids have labeled the topographic maps of glaciers, this
part should be a little bit of review for them. Have them point out the different features left by the
glaciers. Have them move the top layer back so they can see for themselves how they retreat.
The second station is the topo map of Whitnall Park. Explain to the kids the path you will take through
the park. Have them point out what features you will see, and tell them to keep this in mind as they go
through the park.
The third station is the fossil station. Here, kids will see what kinds of organisms once lived here, and
based off this, what kind of environment used to be here. They can use the types of organisms to give
them clues to what past Wisconsin may have been like before glaciers rearranged the landscapes. Have
them keep the fossils in mind, as they will see them later in the hike. How do you think marine fossils got
to be here in Wisconsin?
The Hike
Depending on which way you decide to hike, this part of the program will be different for each educator.
The first stop on the hike is at the top of the prairie. Stop here and point out the moraines that are
visible looking east across the valley.
These are moraines! Do you remember what moraines are? Moraines are made up of glacial debris, or
till, that was dropped out of the glacier as it melted back. As the glacier melts back, ice and debris from
the inside of the glacier are pushing their way forward. Can glaciers have more than one moraine? This
process happens over and over again, and every time this happens glacial debris is dropped out, forming
moraines. *If using nature journals, have them draw this, and then compare it to what they remember
from the topo maps*
Continue hiking on to Goat Mountain, the Kame in Whitnall Park. Along the way, if you think of anything
to add, feel free to do so.
Glaciers left debris in all shapes and sizes. We saw moraines in the prairie, and those are made of glacial
debris. Here, we see a hill, called a Kame. Do you remember how kames were made by glaciers? Water
washed down a hole in the glacier, bringing debris with it. The debris piled up and formed Goat
Mountain. If this kame is this large, and this is just debris from inside of the glacier, imagine how large
the whole glacier must have been! (give them some scale of size).
Remember those fossils we saw inside? Well, this rock outcropping has fossils in it. Can you find any?
Give the kids a little bit to find the fossils. When they are done, have them gather up so you can talk to
them about the fossils. These fossils came from saltwater creatures that were around 400 million years
ago! During that time, Wisconsin was a tropical area. It was warm and covered with shallow seas. In the
recent geological past, glaciers dumped lots of debris on top of the rock that harbored these fossils.
*Nature Journal*
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
Cross College Ave. to the ephemeral ponds. Explain what ephemeral means, and how these depressions
could have gotten here. Hike through the woodlands with the ephemeral ponds, through the oak
savannah. Through the oak savannah, have the kids keep an eye out for erratic’s. Past the oak savannah
is the woodland, that does have all of the erratic’s.
Large boulders that dropped out of the glacier as it moved are dropped all over the landscape. We can
see them here in our woods! Some were dropped in formations, like circles, some were moved from
areas when they were farmed, and some were left where they were, dropped randomly all over the
park. *Nature Journal*
Remember when we were talking about erosion? How do you think erosion will affect these erratics?
Will they still be here in 100 years? 200 years? Will they be different if they are still here? How does this
erosion relate to glacial features?
When large rocks erode, they break down into smaller rocks, that can break down even smaller, and
they keep breaking down until they make very small sediments. Small sediments like this can be found
in glacial debris, or glacial till. When glaciers move or retreat, they cause the land underneath them to
erode, and the glacier essentially gobbles up this debris. When retreating, the glacier spits the sediments
back out. Glacial till can be seen in some stream beds here and on the trail.
Conclusion
At the end of your hike, bring the group together for some final thoughts.
Glaciers are huge hunks of ice that are formed from snow pack. These large chunks of ice have the
ability to move and change the landscape around us. What do you think our landscape would be like if
we didn’t have glaciers? Do you think that, if we get glaciers again in the future, our landscape will be
different? What kinds of features would you expect to see? If you were to look at a map, would you be
able to pick out some features that we talked about today?
Hopefully, you enjoyed hiking a moraine and exploring some other glacial features today!
Nature Journal Option
If you wish to, you can implement a nature journal aspect to this program. This is not outlined in NGSS,
but can be a great tool in helping students remember features. If you have them do the nature journal,
here are a few suggestions.
Have them bring a sheet of paper/journal/notebook and a pen.
Chose sites for the students to do their journaling. Sometimes it is easier for them to draw smaller things
they see rather than larger. For this, they can draw erratic’s, how they envision moraines from above,
what the kame looks like to them from the top or the bottom, what the fossils look like, etc.
Give them a set time limit. 1-3 minutes is usually a good time limit, unless they are going for a whole
landscape type drawing. For this, use 5 minutes.
Have them write the date, the place, the weather, and things that will help them remember where they
are and what they are doing at the top of their drawing.
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – “Let’s go Climb a Moraine”
Nature Journals and other activities like this can help students remember what they are seeing and what
they have learned for longer periods of time.
You can also have them answer questions with pictures: What was the most beautiful thing you saw?
What was the most surprising thing you saw? What was your favorite thing you saw, etc.