Make Your Own Mini Glaciers

17 January 2025
The "knob-and-kettle" landscape in this photo was caused by glaciers during the Ice Age! RICHARD SCHNEIDER

BY EVI WIART and PHOENIX STOYLES

Did you know that thousands of years ago, Alberta was covered by huge sheets of ice called glaciers? As the glaciers melted, they left behind sand and rocks that were trapped in the ice. This gives the landscape in some places a bumpy "knob-and-kettle" texture. Some pieces of rock left by glaciers can be huge. Have you ever seen Big Rock near Okotoks? It’s a giant boulder that was dropped by a melting glacier! Glaciers also scraped the ground when the ice moved. Try the experiment below to create your own glacier and see how it changes the landscape when it melts and moves.

You will need:

  • Baking sheet
  • Modelling clay
  • Ice cube tray 
  • Sand
  • A rock that fits in the ice cube tray 

Fill each section of the ice cube tray with a little bit sand. Place the small rock in one of the sections. Fill the tray to the top with water and put it in the freezer overnight.

Part 1: Moving Glaciers

  1. Roll out and flatten the modelling clay on the baking sheet
  2. Take one of the ice cubes and drag it across the clay surface. Let the ice cube melt. Does it scrape the surface as you drag it? Does it leave any sand behind?

Part 2: Glacial Lakes

  1. Squish an ice cube into the clay
  2. Leave they ice cube in the bowl until it melts
  3. Now you’ve created a glacial lake! Notice how all the dirt and sand is now sitting at the bottom of the lake

Part 3: Big Rock 

  1. Place the ice cube with the rock in it somewhere on your clay
  2. Let the ice cube melt
  3. Now you’ve created your own Big Rock!
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