Looking for activities you might use in the classroom for the IPY launch? Check out the "Ice in the Solar System" Exploring Ice in the Solar System, a NASA-funded educational CD authored by Dr. Richard Shope from JPL and produced by Dr. Julie Edmonds at the Carnegie Academy for Science Education for the Carnegie Institutions of Washington MESSENGER and Astrobiology projects, was rated "outstanding" in a NASA space science education product review. Twelve conceptual change lessons spring out from the activated curiosity inspired by the central Ice Experience lesson, moving from exploring ice in everyday life, to ice at the Polar Regi...

Looking for activities you might use in the classroom for the IPY launch? Check out the "Ice in the Solar System" Exploring Ice in the Solar System, a NASA-funded educational CD authored by Dr. Richard Shope from JPL and produced by Dr. Julie Edmonds at the Carnegie Academy for Science Education for the Carnegie Institutions of Washington MESSENGER and Astrobiology projects, was rated "outstanding" in a NASA space science education product review. Twelve conceptual change lessons spring out from the activated curiosity inspired by the central Ice Experience lesson, moving from exploring ice in everyday life, to ice at the Polar Regi...

In many places on this web site you will find reference to 'IPY launch' and launch events. Many of us work on an IPY Opening Ceremony scheduled for 1 March 2007. But, if you follow this blog, you have read reports from the vessel Tara, frozen into Arctic sea ice, and from Polarstern, already working near Antarctica in the southern ocean. You might have noticed in recent news and blogs that a Chilean and US expedition, on the Swedish vessel Oden, departed a ...

Norway has developed a set of Visual Profile Elements for IPY. These include images, collages, fonts, colour schemes, textual graphics, and style manuals. The 'International Polar Year 2007-2008' text at the top of this and every other page of this web site comes from the Norwegian products; several other national IPY web sites use the same textual elements. We use other Norwegian-designed elements in our printed materials, and I use the textual elements, images, fonts and colour maps in all my presentations. We do not insist on the use of these elements, or declare them as the IPY standard. Instead, we feel very pleased to offer them for use by IPY participants, secretariats, and national organisations. Norway makes them available at no cost to the user. IPY IPO thanks the Norwe...

Photo courtesy of ACE CRC (photographer Simon Marsland) Ice Investigation #1: If icebergs melt, will sea level rise? Materials (per pair or team): deep dish pie or cake pan, toothpick, modelling clay, 2-3 ice cubes, water, clear plastic wrap 1. Give each team of students a pan and a lump of clay. 2. Mould the shape of a continent, pressing the edges flat against the pan. 3. Pour in water to partially cover the clay continent. 4. Put several ice cubes in the water to represent icebergs. (Note: The more ice you use, the easier it will be to see any changes in water level.) 5. Trace the water level into the clay with a toothpick or pencil. 6. Cover the pan with clear plastic wrap to prevent evaporation of t...