Exploration 11-19
This is a list of resources specifically selected to support the Polar Explorer Programme.
Arctic Expedition Special
In this podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection, Richard Hollingham reports from an unusual and somewhat cold location - onboard the British Antarctic Survey's RRS James Clark Ross which was stuck in the ice for two weeks 1000 kilometres from the North Pole.
He talks to researchers on the ship about their work, finds out exactly how dangerous polar bears can be and hears what it's like to dive in freezing cold waters.
He also learns that the Arctic isn't the desolate, barren place often imagined. In fact it is full of life. Not only large animals such as bears, seals and gulls, but also algae and microorganisms that literally keep our planet alive.
Let Sleeping Bags Lie
How good does your sleeping bag need to be for the arctic? Students investigate heat transfer and the thermal insulation properties of sleeping bags and
* Consider the requirements for different categories of sleeping bags.
* Measure the volume of air trapped in a number of materials used for sleeping bag fillings.
* Test the 'breathability' of cover fabrics.
* Test the thermal insulation properties of fillings.
* Test the effect of washing on the properties of the materials.
* Test the elasticity of the materials used.
* Investigate the factors affecting the stable temperature inside a sleeping bag in use.
Detailed teacher guidance and student activity sheets are provided in the materials
Classroom Antarctic
Ideas contained in Classroom Antarctica will stimulate students’ interest in real-world applications for science, mathematics and studies of society and environment, inspiring and engaging your students in learning.
Importance of exploration
The Northern Lights have been the subject of wonder for millennia. In this film, physicist Melanie Windridge explores the arctic in her search for the aurora borealis, or Nothern Lights. She briefly explains how the Northern Lights are formed and the links between science and exploration.
The Eduspace Image Catalogue Viewer
The Eduspace Image Catalogue Viewer offers access to ArcExplorer which is a freeware used to display and analyse layers of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). ArcExplorer is a geographic data explorer developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI). ArcExplorer can be used to view and query geographic data stored on a computer or on the Web.
Ways of Looking At The World
This film, from Twig World, explores some of the many ways to explore the Earth and its physical and 'human' features.
The key points made in the film are:
•Maps have been used by man throughout history to explain and navigate the world.
•Traditionally, maps are two-dimensional drawings that use scale to map the landscape.
•Aerial photography and satellite imagery allow us to view the world in a new way.
•We can use sonar technology to discover the topography of the bottom of the sea
The Voyages
This video clip provides a general introduction to the voyage of The Noorderlicht to Svalbard and to the Cape Farewell scientists Simon, Val and Sarah. The scientists discuss their work with two teachers, Mike and Subathra.
The presentation called Setting the Scene complements the clip by providing a map of the Arctic, a plot of ocean temperatures in the region together with two images of The Noorderlicht at sea. This helps to set the context for the series of activities.
Arctic Survey: The Navigation Toolkit
This toolkit explores the navigational aspects of an Arctic Survey expedition, including questions surrounding cartography and Global Positioning (GPS) systems.
The toolkit can be download as a whole or as individual components.
The individual components are:
• Finding your way around the Arctic - background article
• Mapping the Arctic with mathematics - worksheet and worksheet with guidance notes
• Finding your way around the Arctic using GPS - worksheet and worksheet with guidance notes.
Dangerous Cold
In this activity students consider the questions:
• How does heat energy move around?
• How can we model the flow of energy and changes in temperature?
• What can be done to prevent hypothermia?
• Why do we need to try so hard to stay at the right temperature?
In order to survive and be comfortable in hot or cold environments, humans (and all animals) need to control the amount of heat energy they gain or lose.
To understand this process more fully, it is important to understand the concepts and interrelationship of heat, temperature and thermal equilibrium.
Concept Cartoons: Change of State and Insulation
This concept cartoon explores student's ideas about heat and insulation. A common misconception is that some materials have the property of making things warm. In this case because we have put coats on to keep warm there is a tendency to believe that the coat will also make the snowman warm so that it will melt quickly. In fact the coat acts as an insulator, reducing the movement of energy in either direction.
The Polar Explorer Cookbook
This resource provides five activities which support learning about food, diet, digestion and food preparation and preservation all set in the context of Polar Exploration. Each activity has a context that links it to a person working in the field, which provides a context for the learning.
Activities include: planning meals for individuals working in the Polar Regions, comparing historical and modern day recipes for people living and working in the Antarctic, investigating the best way to preserve food and finding out how food is stored on research stations. Each activity is linked to one or more recipes that might be eaten by people living in the Polar Regions. So there are lots of opportunities for researching, preparing and tasting different ‘Polar Explorer’ foods!