Pack and Prepare
Students will rank the supplies given for an expedition to the Arctic for scientific research in order of importance.
A significant part of a scientist's job is collecting data for their research. Sometimes this means travelling through tough and isolated environments for long periods of time. In this activity, students will rank the supplies given for an expedition to the Arctic in order of importance and discuss the challenges of Arctic travel. This is an additional activity for the Climate Change Expedition workshop.
What You Need
Physical Requirements
- A computer and projector are required for a PowerPoint presentation (optional).
Materials
- Climate Change Expedition PowerPoint (optional)
- Set of Pack and Prepare Labels (10)
- Pack and Prepare Task Cards, laminated (10)
What To Do
- Separate students into 10 groups. Give each group a Pack and Prepare Task Card and a bag of Pack and Prepare items.
- Set the scenario:
- They will be travelling with a small group of people, including scientists and an Elder from a nearby Indigenous community.
- They will be making frequent stops to measure ice thickness and collect data.
- Food, water and basic supplies will be packed on an all-terrain vehicle that will allow them to travel on water and between ice.
- The expedition will last for 2 weeks at the end of January/early February.
- Groups will discuss what they want to bring with them on their mission to the Arctic. They must reach a consensus and can only bring 12 out of the 20 items.
- They will attach their chosen 12 items to the task card.
- As the groups are discussing their choices, the facilitator will walk between groups and ask them questions about their choices, such as:
- Why did you choose this item? Why did you rank this higher than ___?
- Why did you decide to exclude this item?
- Have each group hold up their task card with their ranked items. Discuss their answers as a class.
Discovery
There are no right or wrong answers. Students should be able to justify their reasoning for including and excluding certain items based on the information provided. For instance, an ice chisel would be essential for completing the expedition and collecting data. However, because the expedition is during late January/ early February when there is little to no sunlight during the day, sunscreen would not necessarily be needed but a headlamp surely would.
A scientist would bring most of the supplies discussed in this workshop on an expedition to the Arctic in a vehicle. However, it is important for a scientist to identify what pieces of equipment are essential to completing the expedition.
Refer to the Climate Change Expedition Manual for additional activities regarding Arctic data collection and climate change.
Climate Change Expedition Manual (for reference).
Climate Change Expedition PowerPoint (for reference).
What's Happening?
There are no right or wrong answers. Students should be able to justify their reasoning for including and excluding certain items based on the information provided. For instance, an ice chisel would be essential for completing the expedition and collecting data. However, because the expedition is during late January/ early February when there is little to no sunlight during the day, sunscreen would not necessarily be needed but a headlamp surely would.
Why Does it Matter?
A scientist would bring most of the supplies discussed in this workshop on an expedition to the Arctic in a vehicle. However, it is important for a scientist to identify what pieces of equipment are essential to completing the expedition.
Investigate Further
Refer to the Climate Change Expedition Manual for additional activities regarding Arctic data collection and climate change.
Resources
Climate Change Expedition Manual (for reference).
Climate Change Expedition PowerPoint (for reference).