Please make sure that all teachers and chaperones attending the field study are aware of the following information:

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1 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 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 Request that information be sent to your or school address. Call Kim Compton or Andrew Zeiger at 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

2 Pre-Trip Activities The Ice Age at Glacial Park Pre-Trip and Post-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., 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, 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: 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, 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?

3 Glacial Landforms Crossword Across Down 7 Words Crevasse Drift End Erratic Esker Glacier Ground Moraine Ice Front Kames Kettle Lateral Moraine Moraine Outwash Recessional Striations Terminal Till 3. The is a layer of material left behind when a glacier melts 5. A is a huge crack in a glacier 8. A is an accumulation of glacial till 9. An is a long ridge of outwash from subglacial streams 11. are glacial hills formed by meltwater depositing drift at the ice front or in a crevasse 13. The farthest edge of a glacier is called the 14. is unsorted rock material deposited directly by the ice 15. A is a massive sheet of ice formed from snow under extreme pressure 16. End moraine marking a glacier s farthest advance is called the moraine 1. An moraine forms a ridge of till along the ice front when the glacier is stalled 2. A is formed at the sides of a glacier 4. is sorted deposits made by streams of glacial meltwater 6. are long scratches on the bedrock that are parallel to the direction of ice flow 7. moraines are end moraines behind the terminal moraine 10. All deposits of glacial origin are called 11. An ice block buried in a moraine melts and leaves a circular hollow called a 12. A glacial is a large boulder deposited away from its origin by a glacier

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9 Field Study Evaluation Mail or fax your form to: Education Services Manager, Prairieview Education Center, 2112 Behan Road, Crystal Lake IL Tel / Fax 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, , 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 address here.