A modified version of the Don't Break the Ice game is a fun way to start introducing concepts around permafrost thaw and how it can lead to land and infrastructure collapse. We 3D printed the blocks in clear and brown filament to simulate permafrost, hammers and a little house for the middle piece. These 3D files are all available for free on Thingiverse. Used Don't Break the Ice sets can also be found on eBay and work well.

A building challenge to demonstrate the effect of permafrost thaw on buildings and bridges! Students use Jenga blocks to create structures like the examples provided for them (or as tall as possible, etc). The goal is to recreate the examples that are on the "solid permafrost" (i.e. a stiff foam board like the one shown). To simulate thawing permafrost, we used water beads floating in water- giant ones or smaller ones both work well. The structures are built on a thin piece of plastic (a ziplock baggie cut up into a square) sitting on top of the beads. 

In this collaborative activity, students build a cross-section of permafrost using recycled materials (scraps of felt or fabric, bubble wrap, packing peanuts and cushion fill). The bigger the better! Start with a box, some moss and bark on the top to simulate the surface of the tundra, plates with the different scraps (to simulate soil, frozen ground and water) and bowls with white school glue and paintbrushes. 

To demonstrate how scientists use thaw probes to determine the thickness of the active layer (thawing permafrost), we placed wooden blocks of different thicknesses in a plastic tub and covered them with soil and moss. We used rocks with numbers as markers for "field sites." Students had to determine which site had the most permafrost thaw using their thaw probes (two pencils taped in perpendicular like "T" (the vertical one sharpened to a point). 

GPR (ground penetrating radar) technology can used for detecting objects such as graves or mines underground. It can also be used to find groundwater, and can help distinguish between frozen permafrost and active layer without drilling wells. This mockup of a bistatic GPR model was made using PVC pipes, some wood pieces, black wire and two empty juice cartons. The "screen" showed real GPR imagery (examples can be found here).

This activity uses cheap soil moisture probes that can be found online or in any of the big box stores for about $4-$12. Flags can be used as field sites and students test the soil at the sites. Once they have the measurements, they can discuss any variation in soil moisture and factors that might be at play. They can also develop their own hypothesis and test the moisture levels at different spots around a park, the school yard, indoor plants, etc. 

This activity simulates how the depth of water in a well can be determined using a water level sensor (a moisture sensor attached to a long measuring tape that beeps when it comes into contact with water). The box is used to disguise three big, plastic measuring cylinders (eg. 250mL). The three measuring cylinders represent wells and are filled with different amounts of water. Students use the water level sensor to determine which well was the highest/ lowest water level. Note- This activity is loud! Better done outside.

This modification of the Tundra Food Web card game is a great way to challenge participants to compete against each other and see who can complete the Arctic tundra food web most accurately first. The circles for the food web organisms as well as the food web template with the arrows/ the board can be found here for printing. In this case, we created this interactive board by adding magnets to the laminated circles and washers to the blank disks on the template. Another option is to make giant discs and use tape on the floor. 

The purpose of this demonstration is to show how groundcover affects permafrost thaw. Does it make permafrost thaw quicker or slower? We set it up using two frozen blocks of soil+water (using tupperwares, takeout containers or similar of the same size). On one, we put moss, the other we left as is. A Vernier LabQuest2 interface with two temperature probes attached was used to show the live graph of the temperature of the block. It works best to drill a hole in the frozen blocks to be able to insert the probes. It works great over 3-5 hours!