Ice Out

Ideas and activities for you and your students.

Ice Watching Tips

Pick a body of water that you and your students will see on a regular basis. The most local natural lake or river is best, but a dammed river or man-made body of water will do in a pinch. When you have picked you body of water, E-mail Wolf Ridge so we can put it on the chart.

Environment Canada's Ice Watch website has good advice for ice-out watching.

Following Minnesota Ice Out

Use this activity to follow Minnesota ice out dates, create and print out a Minnesota map on-line, and learn a bit of Minnesota geography.

Students will need access to an on-line computer, printer, and Minnesota State Highway map.

1. Have students go to the Minnesota Climatology Working Group's Ice Out Status page. Lakes are listed for nine different areas of the state. Use a Minnesota Highway map to help you determine:

  • Which area are you in?
  • Which lakes listed are closest to you?
  • Do you think the lake or river your class is watching will be ice free about the same time?
  • Why, or why not?

2. Go to the Minnesota Mapper web page and follow the simple steps to create and print your own map. Just check the boxes next to what you want your map to show and label, then print it out following the instructions on-line. (5 minute process)

3. Use a Minnesota Highway map to locate the lakes (vary the number of lakes according to the age of your group) listed on Minnesota Climatology’s Ice Out Status web page. Mark the lakes on a map. Check the website on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, then make updates to your map and watch the state melt!

Questions to consider:

  • What are historic ice out dates for that lake?
  • Do you have any predictions for this year?
  • Why did you choose that date?
  • If you are keeping track of several lakes, do the ones that are ice free first have anything in common?

To find out more about a particular lake, go to the Minnesota DNR Lakefinder page and type in the name of your lake.

Lake Report (older students)

Go to the Minnesota DNR Lakefinder page. Search for a local lake or other lake of interest. You will be connected to a chart with links to information collected about that lake, including it's depth, plant growth, bottom character, fish species present, water clarity and quality, maps, stocking information, and more. Use this as a starting point to write a report about your lake. You might write for a particular audience, such as anglers, boaters, canoeist, campers, home owners, etc, providing information that they would be specifically interested in.

Water and Ice: Exploring Physical Changes

  • It's the classic "Expanding Water" Experiment! Have younger students fill a see-through plastic container about 4/5 full. Mark the waterline. Ask for predictions about what will happen when the water freezes. Will the ice line be the same as the water line? Lower? Higher? Ice floats because of the unique way water molecules join together when they freeze. Instead of packing tightly together, they join in an airy lattice, full of tiny spaces. Talk about the importance of this property to all aquatic life in cold climates. (Lakes freeze on top, allowing animals and plants to continue to live through the winter in the water below.)
  • If you have access to a place to heat water, try melting a block of ice while keeping track of time. How long does it take to melt the ice? Now, how long does it take to heat it? Make a graph of how the temperature changes over time. Students will find that the ice takes a long time to melt and change temperature, and that once the water is all liquid, the temperature goes up at a constant, faster rate.
  • Older students can follow links to more technical information in African Water Page and More info for advanced students.

Lake, River, and Frozen Lake Study at Wolf Ridge

In the Frozen Lake Study aquatic ecology class, students will examine the ecosystem of Wolf Lake under the ice. Working in groups, they will explore the lake through holes drilled in the ice, from inside ice houses, and by sampling the ice itself. Studies will include ice depth and structure, lake bottom structure, plankton sampling, and possible catch and release ice fishing opportunities.

Lake and Stream Study are aquatic ecology classes. Students will examine the physical, chemical and biological properties of Wolf Lake or Sawmill Creek. Wearing boots which are provided, and working in small groups, the students will test temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen, and, in the stream, velocity. They will use nets to collect and examine aquatic animal life, and will evaluate the health of the lake/stream based on their findings.

More About Ice Out on the Web
When will the ice go out? Check to see if you lake or river, or one nearby, has been followed before.
The Minnesota State Climatology Office follow the ice on many lakes. Check this year's conditions (updated on Mondays)
The whys and hows of watching for ice out
Great website for studying lake ecology.
What makes water so special? Read this, then take the quiz!
Follow the water cycle and more.
Find the watershed for your local river, lake, or stream.
15 things you and your class can do to make a difference in your watershed.
Both of these sites have more technical information that may be of interest to older students.