Create Your Own Thwaites Glacier!

TG craft finished

Join us in this fun project! To celebrate the anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty, participants are encouraged to build and decorate the glacier, our mini-sub, scientists and their field tent, and the emperor penguin.

Smaller children this is a great family project! The children make excellent artists to help with coloring but will need help with cutting and taping the pieces together.

Older students are encouraged to build and decorate the glacier and supports!

Supplies needed:

  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Colored pencils or crayons
  • Download and print the craft - designed for 8.5" x 11" paper. We suggest printing this on cardstock or heavier weight paper. 

Download glacier craft sheet here

 

Before you start cutting you might want to have the digital version of it nearby to read the instructions written on the sheet as some might get cut off as you work!

There are three main parts of the glacier: paper to cut

(A) Three pieces with this label make up the continental shelf at the base

(B) Three pieces with this label make up the glacier

(C) This one piece is the iceberg

Additional parts include a submarine, a tent, a penguin and a researcher

Steps:

  1. Color all the pieces before you cut them out.
  2. Check the key for what to do next. The key (on the top left of the drawing ) explains what lines are to be cut and what is to be folded. Solid lines are to be cut, long dashes are folded downwards like a mountain peak or tent peak and short dashes fold like a valley or funnel.
  3. Start with the 3 parts labeled A and cut and fold these as the key notes.
  4. Hint! You may want to have a few short pieces of tape pulled off and ready to use as you will want to fold and tape to create the necessary shapes.
  5. When the part A base is done move on to part B using the same approach and then part C.
  6. Do not expect that all the pieces will fit tightly together, they won’t! Glaciers are made of ice and they crack, shift and are never perfect! Have fun! No two glaciers will look exactly alike!
  7. Once you have the glacier put together you can cut, fold and tape the additional pieces of the submarine, tent, penguin and researcher!