Virtual Field Labs (VFLs) are unique interactive Education Outreach products of the NSF IDP designed for students from late middle school to college. Virtual Field Labs are designed for students to watch with a teacher present (virtually or in person), or independently on their own computers. Each Virtual Field Lab engages students in investigating current climate questions with experts in the field.
Episode-1 (~10 min): Get to know the climate scientist as they introduce themselves as well as the climate question that will be investigated.
Episode 2 (~30 min): Join the scientist in their own lab or research location where data related to the question being investigated are collected and analyzed together.
Episode 3 (~20 min): Each scientist ties the research and analysis from Parts 1&2 to our collective climate future.
Assessment: Virtual Field Labs are designed to engage students in active note taking, building data tables, sketching, graphing, calculating and analyzing. Active participation will produce student artifacts that are designed to be easily checked by the teacher.
Meet the scientists, educators, logistics experts, and engineers that make ice core science possible.
Ice core researchers work in extreme conditions where Mother Nature can play a key role in the success of their mission. Face-to-face with the polar environment, they’re quick to share their passion for its spectacular beauty and the importance of the work they do, piecing together the historic story of earth’s fragile climate systems as recorded in the ice. Explore the website for stories from the field, links to repositories of field images (both still and video), classroom resources, and links to trusted, valid resources for understanding climate change.
Explore the labs and field work of scientists around the world, presented via YouTube by scientific experts in the field of climate science and delivered to you, wherever you are in the world!
Providing participants the opportunity to expand their knowledge of Earth’s climate record through analysis of paleo-climate records in ice cores collected by the U.S. Ice Drilling Program.
Ice core researchers are quick to share their passion for the spectacular beauty and the importance of the work they do, piecing together the historic story of earth’s fragile climate systems as recorded in the ice.
Explore the website for stories from the field, links to repositories of field images (both still and video), classroom resources, and links to trusted, valid resources for understanding climate change.
With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Ice Drilling Program conducts integrated planning for the ice drilling science and technology communities and provides drilling technology and operational support that enables the community to advance the frontiers of climate and environmental science.
The goal of the Education and Outreach Program is to provide cutting-edge information based on current ice core research for educators, students, and the public. We hope these resources contribute to classrooms or informal science program efforts, and will provide data that is useful to decision-makers of all backgrounds. Our website name is inspired not only by the “extreme“ travel undertaken by ice core drillers and climate scientists, but also for the mindful explorations undertaken by you, your students or your colleagues as you engage with the resources provided here.