Secrets of the Ice is a new practical activity to teach pupils about pollution and environmental change. It is set in the context of the search for alien life. Pupils carry out chemical and physical tests to analyse an ice sample from another planet. Having drawn conclusions from their results, they will discover what conditions on the alien planet are like, and decode a message from the extra-terrestrials.

• Pupil plot-setting sheet to introduce the activity.
• Pupil experiment sheet with instructions for carrying out the tests.
  
• Teacher and Technician Notes.
  

Secrets of the Ice can be used to:

• Teach part of the Year 9 unit Environmental Chemistry (QCA SoW). For example, 'Is pollution worse now?' and 'Is global warming happening?'
• Address investigative skills by giving pupils practice in analysing and considering evidence.
• Teach ideas and evidence - the interplay between empirical questions, evidence and scientific explanations.
• Address the citizenship curriculum through science - seeing environmental issues as shared and having implications for us all.

Secrets of the Ice requires advance preparation to produce the 'ice cores' (see Technician Notes for details).

		PUPILS
		TEACHERS
		TECHNICIANS