Explore the Adventures of Echo the Bat in which ICESat-2 is featured in the active remote sensing section. The book is written and illustrated by Ginger Butcher and sponsored by our Landsat partners featuring Landsat images in Arizona and ICESat-2 data over the Grand Canyon.

See what happens when sea ice and land ice melt in this DIY activity. Note: Aquarium not required!

Did you know that most of the world’s oceans are interconnected and move around the Earth like a giant conveyor belt? The motion of the ocean occurs because of differences in density (heaviness) of waters. Learn how to make your own ocean in a tube with simple materials.

Download the Kid-Friendly activity!

This elementary-level hands-on activity utilizes Unifix cubes (or other building blocks) and a data sheet for children to build your own 3-D model of Arctic sea ice coverage over a 41 year period. Activity also fun for adults!

Download the Sea Ice Towers activity

In this activity, you will calculate some comparisons between ice loss and the size of a local/favorite lake, as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Plus, discover how many ice cubes it would take to equal the amount of ice lost, each year, and over 16 years, from Greenland and Antarctica.

Download the Ice Loss Comparison activity

Build a paper clinometer with simple materials like a straw and a weight, like a paperclip or a washer, and use it to measure trees.

Download the clinometer

Learn how to build and use the paper clinometer

Taking great measurements and observations of tree height is vital to the accuracy of the science, to the comparison of the data to that of ICESat-2 and to the understanding of local to global impacts of trees on the environment. The objective is to do a comparison of the tree height measurements using a hand-held paper clinometer versus the NASA GLOBE Observer Trees Tool for citizen science and to explain any differences between the two measurement methods.

Download the tree height comparison activity

This activity uses building bricks to explain the different ways that scientists study forests from space, and why it is important to have multiple types of data.

Download the 2d and 3d tree activity

Learn why scientists need to collect ice cores by creating your own using simple craft supplies.

Download the make your own ice core activity

Have fun with this really cool bookmark activity!

Download the Bookmark Activity!

The experiment demonstrates how fluids move depending on their densities.

Download the Motion in the Ocean activity

Check out a video of the Motion in the Ocean activity

Make your own Pho the Photon!

Download the Pho Crochet activity

Pretend that you are the ICESat-2 satellite! Learn about photon counting and spacecraft engineering by using green bouncy balls.

Download the Photon Counting activity

How thick is the ice covering Greenland?

Investigate this question, key to the ICESat-2 mission, with a coloring activity, then learn more about Earth’s different forms of freshwater in EO for Kids.

Download the Greenland Ice activity

Get creative assembling a paper model of the satellite!

Download the model PDF

Download the Instructions PDF