The Vital Ice STEM Kit has model ice cores that let students explore real data collected in Denali National Park. Students will create a permafrost model, study glacial ice core data and learn about climate change.
Big Concepts: include: 1) permafrost; 2) glacial ice cores; 3) climate change; and 4) cultural context.
Scientific Inquiry Skills include: 1) data collection and analysis; 2) using a multimeter; 3) graphing; 4) scientific illustration; and 5) use of science notebooks.
Vital Ice STEM Kit Tutorials
- Using the Ice Core Scanning Device video (coming soon)
- Vital Ice STEM Kit Use Instructions (complete teacher guide)
- Vital Ice STEM Kit Clean-Up & Repacking Instructions
- Vital Ice STEM Kit Material List
Vital Ice STEM Kit Resources
- Ice Core Graph Templates
- Science Notebook Template (for use in lieu of Science Notebooks)
- Science Notebook Template (Spanish version)
- Science Notebook Evaluation Rubric
- Vital Ice STEM Kit Classroom Discussion Questions
- Vital Ice STEM Kit Instruction Booklet (for more information, contact Andrew Warnock)
Other Helpful Resources
- Global Surface Temperature Visualization
- Climate Change at Denali National Park
- What is an Ice Core?
- Temperature Changes in Alaska
- Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
Borrowing Vital Ice STEM Kits
Educators in Alaska should contact Stacia Backensto at stacia_backensto@nps.gov or 907.455.0669 for information on how to borrow the kits – there are sets in Fairbanks and at Denali and Kenai Fjords National Parks that can be mailed out to teachers around the state.
Colorado Educators should contact the NSEOC through the loan applications below.
There is no charge to educators who wish to borrow any of our STEM kits. Educators who are located in the Northern Colorado area and can come to the CSU Fort Collins campus to pick up the kits should complete the Local Pick-Up Loan Application. All other educators in Colorado should complete the Delivery Loan Application Form and the NSEOC will ship the classroom set of kits to you free of charge. Complete the Loan Application Form below – please note that in order for it to be submitted to the EOC, you will need to verify the form via an email that will get sent to you once you click Submit. We appreciate applications to be sent 2 weeks in advance to the desired use date.
Please contact Courtney Gooding Butler with any questions for to find out the kit’s availability.
- Local Pick-Up Loan Application Form – for educators in the immediate area of Fort Collins (i.e.: Greeley, Loveland, Ault, Windsor, Johnstown, etc.)
- Delivery Loan Application Form – for educators in Colorado outside of the immediate Fort Collins area
- Educator Feedback Survey – must be completed after returning kits to the NSEOC and before another kit can be requested
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. – John Muir
