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...

What is more fun than learning about penguins? How about adopting one for your classroom! A teacher traveling to Antarctica with Dr. David Ainley, an adelie penguin scientist, will send your class pictures and updates on your adopted penguin’s health and activities, as she aides in his research. Even after the research expedition ends, this website will provide images and activities for teaching about penguins and Antarctic science. Activity: Students will be able to adopt a breeding pair of adelie penguins, and analyze the factors and variables that will make their pair successful parents. Pictures of each pair will be posted on the Internet for students to observe along with other data they can record and analyze. The interactive website will also provide general...

A real-time view of sunlight on the Earth. You can view a flat map, the Earth from the sun’s view, the moon’s view, and a night view. Understanding why the Arctic and Antarctic experience 24 hours of sunlight or darkness becomes clear with this visual representation. Activities: - An ideal way to use this website would be to acquire an old computer having the capability of displaying this website constantly in the classroom. Students can observe daily, monthly, seasonally how sunlight changes on the planet in relation to the Earth’s rotations, tilt and revolutions. - Have students measure across the map and then across the sunlight at their latitude. They can work with ratios of available sunlight and compare them to other places on the globe. Over...

This page by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center gives access to 14 pairs of glacier pictures showing the loss of ice over time. (You need to scroll down the page, click the box titled, “Long-Term Change Photograph Pairs;” then scroll to the bottom of the page and click “submit.”) Activities: Print out the glacier pair photographs. Put the dates on the backs. Have students match the photos by noting topographical features, shapes of landmarks, etc. Using the website, identify where the glaciers are located and mark them on a world map. Discuss what strategies they used to match them. Compare areas to historical records of climate and temperature of the areas during the period of time when the photos were taken. ...

This page by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center gives access to 14 pairs of glacier pictures showing the loss of ice over time. (You need to scroll down the page, click the box titled, “Long-Term Change Photograph Pairs;” then scroll to the bottom of the page and click “submit.”) Activities: Print out the glacier pair photographs. Put the dates on the backs. Have students match the photos by noting topographical features, shapes of landmarks, etc. Using the website, identify where the glaciers are located and mark them on a world map. Discuss what strategies they used to match them. Compare areas to historical records of climate and temperature of the areas during the period of time when the photos were taken. ...

The British Antarctic Survey has developed an “Antarctic Schools Pack” which is downloadable and provides images and information on living and working in Antarctica, science in Antarctica, the Antarctic Treaty, geology, ice, climate, ozone hole, lake ecosystems, marine species, tourism, and environmental protection and conservation. This website also has a picture gallery, posters and an interactive section called, “Fun and Games.” Activity: Divide your class into expert groups. Either have them choose one of the topics from the Schools Pack list, or assign topics to groups. Have them read the information and use a “jigsaw” technique to share with the rest of the class. ...

The British Antarctic Survey has developed an “Antarctic Schools Pack” which is downloadable and provides images and information on living and working in Antarctica, science in Antarctica, the Antarctic Treaty, geology, ice, climate, ozone hole, lake ecosystems, marine species, tourism, and environmental protection and conservation. This website also has a picture gallery, posters and an interactive section called, “Fun and Games.” Activity: Divide your class into expert groups. Either have them choose one of the topics from the Schools Pack list, or assign topics to groups. Have them read the information and use a “jigsaw” technique to share with the rest of the class. ...

This website has a wealth of information and activities to help teachers introduce life and science in Antarctica. There are images, charts, and lots of engaging activities on a wide range of topics including understanding the continent, exploration and explorers, plankton, krill, sea birds, seals, whales, penguins, food webs, sea ice, glaciers, icebergs, clothing, shelter, insulation, anti-freeze, sun and earth, geology and weather. It also has activities based on art and sculpture. Activity: Students draw an Antarctic food web and then illustrate the animals to scale. What would happen if one of the animals disappeared? Students th...