A glaciologist is a scientist who studies glaciers. Glaciers are huge sheets of ice found on mountains or near the poles which move slowly towards the sea. Glaciologists are:
Curious because they want to know more about how the ice in glaciers moves.
Observant as they watch the ice carefully to see how it is moving and changing.
Resilient because they need to be able work in cold and windy conditions. They need to be quick to recover and get back out in the cold again each day.
Includes statements form Development Matters (birth to age five) and the relevant ELGs
Play, Be, C Units provide enabling environments with teaching and support from adults. Reflecting on the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, children will have opportunity to learn and develop by:
- Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
- Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements.
- Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework: accessed November 2024. Available under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Our suggested book for this Unit if you are using it in the winter is The Not-So-Perfect Penguin by Steve Smallman. The Google Books page will link you to retailers and local libraries.
In the spring, we suggest using Little Bear’s Spring by Elli Woollard, illustrated by Briony May Smith. More details at the publisher’s site, and the Google Books page.
Includes statements form Development Matters (birth to age five) and the relevant ELGs
Includes statements form Development Matters (birth to age five) and the relevant ELGs
These adult led activities and provocations will support the introduction of the glaciologist career to the children in your setting.
We have included these links to our related STEM at home activities. These could be sent out for families to try at home, or run in school at a family session.
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Sonia Singh
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Sonia Singh2020-06-04 14:21:512025-03-12 15:28:41Melting IceThis is a link to the instructions for a related family STEM story time activity. This is an opportunity to introduce STEM ideas and activities to parents, carers and other family members in a relaxed and enjoyable way.
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Melanie Horan
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Melanie Horan2025-03-12 12:16:132025-03-12 15:49:57Glaciologist family story time
The Glaciologist poster (PDF)
Glaciologists are scientists who study glaciers and other natural phenomena involving ice, such as how it forms, travels and transports materials.
Glaciers form in places where more snow falls than melts. Soon after snow falls, it becomes more tightly packed, turning into ice pellets. These ice pellets get covered by even more snow and become more compressed. This results in a grainy ice forming. Every year as snow falls, layers of this granular ice fall on top of each other. When the pile grows to about 50m thick, the granular ice fuses together into a huge lump of ice. You can see the layers of ice in this photograph of a section of the glacier.
The ice then begins to move under its own weight. The ice is so heavy and under so much pressure that the underneath begins to melt without any change in temperature. Think about squeezing an ice cube tightly in your hand – it melts faster from the pressure of the squeeze than from the heat of your hand alone.
The melt water makes the bottom of the glacier slicker and more able to move. The ice sheet spreads out from its centre and gravity pulls it downwards. Most glaciers only move a few centimetres a day. If they reach the sea, parts of the glacier can calve (break) off, creating icebergs floating in the sea.
Glaciologists study how moving glaciers erode the ground around them by lifting up and depositing soil, rock and clay. They can pick up boulders as big as houses and carve out valleys. Glaciologists also study how climate change affects the movement and changes in glaciers, and how the changes in glaciers influence the climate and surrounding environment.
You can download our Glaciologist poster to use in your setting.
