Exploration 5-11
This is a list of resources specifically selected to support the Polar Explorer Project.
- ALL
- Teacher guidance
- Video
- Activity sheet
- External link
Teacher guidance
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!
Video
KS1/2 Antarctica: Teachers in the Freezer
From Teachers TV, this video follows a group of British teachers on a four-week expedition to Antarctica. It helps to illustrate the conditions in cold environments and how animals are adapted to live in such conditions. It demonstrates what humans need to do to be able to live at the South Pole.
Designed for use in primary school geography and science lessons, the programme begins with an explanation of where Antarctica is, what the climate is like and what it takes to live there.
The teachers then show what clothes people should wear in Antarctica, how they should travel and what food they should eat in order to survive such cold conditions. They also explore a science project that tests what effect the cold has on their bodies.
Activity sheet
Planning an Antarctic Expedition
Within this resource, learners will work in groups of four, use their mathematical skills and scientific knowledge to help plan for an expedition to the Antarctic in 3 sessions. They will consider the appropriate clothing, food and other essential equipment they will need to take with them. Learners will also use thermometers/data loggers to investigate layering and use weighing scales to ensure the food they carry isn’t too heavy. They will then consider the calorie intake needed to survive in extreme conditions and plan their expedition whilst working to a strict budget.
Blubber gloves
In this lesson children investigate the insulating properties of blubber and consider how the adaptations of Arctic organisms help develop these.
Children imagine what it would be like to live in a really cold place like the Arctic. How would they keep themselves warm?
How do humans and animals keep warm in the Arctic
How do humans and animals keep warm in the Arctic?
In this lesson children investigate the insulating properties of materials and consider how the adaptations of Arctic organisms help develop these. The context of the lesson is helping to develop new clothing for Tyler Fish, one of the Catlin Arctic Survey explorers.
Making a diver
In this unit pupils will investigate how a submarine descends and ascends through making a Cartesian diver. When you put the diver (pen top, paper clip and plasticine) into the water so that it floats the trapped air bubble inside the pen top makes the diver lighter than water so it floats.
What happens when you squeeze the bottle?
What happens when you relax your grip?
How does this link to submarines and Boaty?
How do you eat like an arctic explorer
What do people eat in the Arctic? How do they make sure they have a balanced diet?
In this unit children learn about diet and the importance of a balanced diet through the experiences of polar explorers. Using creativity and scientific research skills children will create a menu suitable for an Arctic expedition. The lesson is introduced by Fran Orio, a specialist polar cook, who can make amazing meals in the most extreme circumstances.
External link
Long Way Down: Mariana Trench
This film focuses on Marian Trench which is seven miles is a long way down... more than a mile deeper than Mount Everest is up.
Submarine
This short animated video focuses on submarines. The film demonstrates different parts of a submarine and shows their different sizes from midget submarines to those which can accommodate 100 crew members.
