Description:
15 inquiry-based activities exploring the climate, culture, research conditions, and biology of Antarctica and the Arctic make up this web site. In a typical activity, students are faced with a museum trunk full of research expedition equipment for both poles, that has been mixed up because someone in the museum didn't know the poles were different. Students must organize the equipment according to which pole it is for, and justify their choices. In other activities, they compare and graph weather conditions around the world; test the environmental limits at which microbes can survive; design an insulating "survival suit; engineer airplane technology appropriate for landing on ice; and debate the ethics of research in a land where indigenous people live. The site has a hotlink to "Polar Resources" for learning more. A Spanish language version is provided.

Organization:
National Science Foundation/NSTW

URL:
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/nstw/teach/nstw98/

Contact:
Staff for National Science and Technology Week
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
Phone: (800) 682-2716
Email: nstw@nsf.gov

Cost:
Free over the Internet

Education Level:
Grades 5-8

Subject:
Biology
Energy
Geography
Geology
Meteorology
Physics
Polar Regions
Snow and Ice

Resource Type:
Internet Site
Curriculum/Instructional Materials
 
 

Date Added to teachearth.com:
5/1/00