Name: ____________________ Hr___
Glacial Ice Cream Lab
Materials for each group:
1 tray
1 cup/bag each of crushed cookies, chocolate chips, and crushed Fruit Loops. I got the sprinkles.
1 slab (1/2 carton) of ice cream.
**Before starting the lab,
WASH your hands with soap, and clear off your desk except for your NB & pencil!**
1. Mark one end of the tray “north” with a post-it note. Write your names on the NORTH post-it.
2. Pour most of the chocolate chips, cookies, and cereal in separate rows up next to each other on the
tray—near (an inch or so from) the NORTH edge. Save some back in each cup for instructions #3.
3. The wide edge of your ice cream goes along the north edge of the tray on top of the stuff that is
spread there. Sprinkle the rest of the materials (cookies, chocolate chips, sprinkles, and cereal) ON
TOP of your slab of ice cream, especially on the narrow end. Be sure you are following directions.
4. Stack two books/binders under the NORTH end of the tray to about a 30 degree angle.
Note what happens to the materials as the ice cream starts to melt.
**Keeping in mind that the ice cream represents a glacier and the cookies, chocolate chips, sprinkles, and cereal
represent rock and soil materials, look for the following answers as the lab progresses!
5. Number & Answer the following questions in your notebook—organized neatly:
#1) Sketch a large (full page) picture of the results you see on your tray. If the ice cream
were to melt away at the south end of your tray, what landforms do you think would result after the ice
cream was gone. (hills, rivers, lakes, plains, etc.)? However, label any landforms you actually see, too.
You will have to use a little imagination here. Remember, this simulates a large process in real life.
#2) Explain where & how your “glacier” is showing constructive and destructive forces, and
where the processes of either weathering, erosion, and/or deposition are happening. Label the pic.
#3) Some solid materials will flow along with any ice cream rivers that form along the way. What
would happen to this solid material carried in the rivers if the flow of the ice cream river were to slow
down and eventually dry up? Explain what process this would be.
#4) What landforms resulted from your glacier’s activity? (You may need to think of this on a larger
scale! What if it was huge? What would you see on the Earth’s surface?). Label the picture
6. Get checked out by your teacher (sketch and questions done) and get cleared to eat your lab
7. Rinse, dry, and return trays. Clean your desk(s). Clean and dry the area around the sink you used.
NB page set-up
#1 Sketch
Weathering
Erosion
Deposition
Constructive
Destructive
Hill
Valley
River
Lake
Plain
#2 Define the following and describe where they are happening.
WeatheringErosionDepositionConstructiveDestructive#3 Explain what process this would be if…?
#4 What landforms actually resulted from the “glaciation”?
I.D. & label them on the sketch.