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How do glaciers or large bodies of ice melt? This experiment lets you simulate the process and gain a much better understanding of how frozen combinations of ice, stone and sand behave in the real world.

• a small cup
• sand
• small rocks or pebbles
• water
• freezer
• piece of board, to make a slant or incline
• hammer and nail (Make sure to ask a parent for help)
• a thick rubber band
• newspaper
• watch

1. Place a one inch layer of sand and pebbles in the cup, followed by a few inches of water. Place it in the freezer. When frozen solid, repeat the process, adding sand, pebbles, and water, then freezing. The cup should be filled to the top.
2. Next, carefully hammer a nail part way into the middle of one end of the board. Place that end against something immovable like a wall to form an incline or slant. Place newspaper underneath the other end on the floor. Now you are ready.
3. Remove your model glacier from the freezer. Warm the sides of the container under warm tap water just enough to get your model glacier to slide out of the cup when tapped. With the rock/sand side down, place the glacier at the top of the incline and fasten the rubber band around its middle and around the nail. How long will it take your glacier to melt, move and leave rock and sand deposits? Grab your watch and time it.

What Happens:

Depending on the weather, melting should begin immediately, even on cooler days. Rock and sand deposits will fall off in clumps, some will slide down the board, while other separate bits and pieces will form along the board surface in strange patterns, much like moraine or glacial matter.