Add to ORKGIn this activity, students determine ways to make observations about unknowns, such as the land beneath an ice sheet or the interior of the Earth, using tools other than sight. In groups, the students build mystery boxes and exchange them with other groups. Each group is permitted a limited number of probes (cores) into the box; they must define a sampling strategy to maximize the amount of information acquired. These conditions simulate restricted resources available to research teams tackling similar challenges. The students map their results and describe the interior of the box based on their measurements. This activity leads into a subsequent activity that examines remote sensing of the base of ice sheets. Educational levels: Middle sch...