This article presents the development of a hybrid educational format that integrates an outdoor glacier laboratory with a virtual learning environment. Grounded in Educational Design Research, the project enables students to investigate glacial and climate-related phenomena through hands-on experiments conducted directly on the glacier, complemented by immersive digital tools. Insights from pilot implementations with school classes informed iterative refinement. The approach illustrates how glacier environments can be transformed into accessible and pedagogically coherent learning spaces, promoting climate literacy and student engagement with real-world environmental change.
Date of publication
Feb 11, 2026
Category:
Practice Insight
Glaciers as classrooms: designing an outdoor lab as a learning space on ice
by
Philipp Spitzer
,
Jan Höper
,
Martin Gröger
,
Volker Heck
Volume 25Issue 22026Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)