Project Ice: A New AMS-COLDEX Summer Enrichment Course for Teachers
Dave Curry teaches 8th grade Earth/Space science at Newtown Middle School in Newtown, PA.
As a K-12 science teacher for more than thirty years and most of that time teaching middle school, I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to often travel during the summer to interesting locations throughout the globe to further my knowledge of the Earth sciences. Nothing quite surpasses the classroom enrichment that is possible when one has the ability to tell students that you were actually present and witnessed a particular volcano, glacier, or canyon in-person. Middle school students often gasp and jaw-drop, asking, “Wait, that’s you on that volcano? Seriously?” This is usually followed up with the usual question “Can we take a field trip there?” Sorry, kids!
Dave Curry in his NASA spacesuit he sometimes wears to school
The summer of 2023 was certainly no exception, as I had the opportunity to spend a week during an intense and fascinating deep dive into the ever-changing science of Paleoclimate ice core studies. Thanks to a new partnership between The American Meteorological Society (AMS) and COLDEX, The Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, me and ten other science teachers spent a week at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon to meet and learn from many of the experts at the forefront of this exciting field that is deepening our understanding of Earth’s climate in profound ways. The Director of Education for COLDEX, Dr Kristen Rahilly, and PennWest Professor Dr. Chad Kaufman planned five solid days of incredible classroom lectures, interactive talks, roundtable discussions, and group presentations that positively immersed us into the complicated but important field of paleoclimatology. I can say with some authority that the majority of us were stunned by the level of information that can be gleaned from a careful study of the ice core record. We all had a refresh of undergraduate General Chemistry classes as we reviewed the nature of the many ice core isotopes and what they can teach scientists.
Holding an ice core up to the sky makes it easy to see (and hear) the many trapped atmospheric bubbles.
There were many incredible sessions during the week, but perhaps the three stand-out highlights were (1) an opportunity to live stream an actual ‘live’ alpine glacier drilling session with Dr. Peter Neff. Though technically not a part of the COLDEX study, seeing scientists in the field and the challenges of extracting deep ice cores was a treat for every teacher in the room. (2) A visit to the cryogenic storage facility for ocean sediment cores, some sediment examination activities, and a trip into the freezer to see the current batch of investigation ice cores presently housed at OSU. What an incredible (and very cold) reminder of the challenges of obtaining and safely transporting these critical ancient climate proxies. (3) Finally, on the last few days of our immersive learning experience, Dr. T.J. Fudge and Dr. Rahilly allowed us to experiment with some ‘clear’ bubble-free lab-grown ice samples as well as actual ice core samples from Greenland. We each got a chance to hold them in our hands and hear the popping and crackling sound of ancient air as it escaped from its long-held icy prison. None of us will ever forget the wonderful week of learning and we are all very excited to share our many photos, videos, and stories with our students and colleagues as we return to the classroom this fall. I am so thrilled that twenty-two more teachers will get a chance to repeat the educational adventure during the summer of 2024. Please encourage science teachers to apply for this amazing, incredible experience! Thank you, AMS and COLDEX!
The Project Ice program is a summer professional development course focused on ice core and paleoclimate science for K-12 teachers. Applications for the Summer 2024 cohort are now OPEN through November 30: https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/education-careers/education-program/k-12-teachers/project-ice/
