Kathy Gorski's List: Polar Science

An extraordinary collection targeted directly at the K-5 set (but much is of worth and adaptable to older students) The Middle School Portal is a pathway (and more) of the National Science Digitial Library (http://www.nsdl.org)

An extraordinary collection targeted directly at the K-5 set (but much is of worth and adaptable to older students).

This is a Polar Science Special Collection from PBS' Teachers Domain. If you haven’t been there lately, be sure to check out the upgrades to this PBS site. It is free to join, has excellent resources (tied to specific state standards in most cases), and most materials are fair use and/or copyright free.

Polar research from the participants’ view. Many journal and blogs from teacher researchers and scientists. Even if you are not able to go physically on a trek, travel virtually through the archives, or participate in a webcast from the poles. Dig around this site - there is more than can fit in a small blurb!

Antarctic Drilling program looks at geology and paleontology of the Antarctic region via sediment cores. Project Iceberg is the gateway for educators and directs you to a variety of resources. Flexhibit was designed as an activity for 4-H and similar after-school programs, but many of the ideas are transportable to your classroom. It would be great for a science club to develop as a community outreach event!

A remarkable site that has wonderful video podcasts from ‘real’ polar scientists talking in ‘real’ language to ‘real’ people. If the live tour comes near you, it is worth seeing – at the very least read the bios of the people involved. It’s another insight to polar studies.

From the above site, select “outreach” and read the blog of this group of multi disciplinary undergrads, grad students, K-12 teachers, and university faculty’s Dec 07/Jan 08 trip to Antarctica. The blog could make a good mini-text or primer about Antarctica research. Since the conclusion of the expedition, the site has expanded to include photos, bios, and much more (through the Navigation links)

Wonderful resource for sea ice information. It does not ‘rise to the top’ in Google! Resources and accessibility for K-12 educators continually improves, so it deserves a revisit if it’s been awhile since you looked. This would be a good site to start student research (upper middle & high school).

This is the homepage for the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory. Many of the sidebar choices, besides the Educational Outreach, are very for many students. This easily addresses the IPY Key area of New Frontiers, and Unique Vantage Points and can slip polar science into those classes that don’t deal with the earth/geo/environmental areas.

This is the educational site for the International Polar Foundation. The teaching units provided tend to be for higher level/grades than most of the other site. It is not extensive, but it is very good.

A 2008 Webby Award Honoree for best Science Ice Stories presents and archives ‘dispatches from polar scientists.’ Nice link to the South Pole Telescope and other materials, too.

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute site for their IPY polar region expeditions. Good background, moderately interactive features (great graphic of the arctic ocean currents) and a variety of other resources.

A wordpress site that hopes to integrate and interweave with the Diigo group and Facebook page, both of the same name

Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities. This site has been included not for it’s polar studies (almost – but not completely – non existent) but as a resource for educators looking at service learning models and ideas for expanding a class beyond single discipline content.

Here you will find the Antarctic Treaty Papers as well as links to other information of Antarctica’s history and the Summit. The summit was in 2009; these provide a good opportunity for an interdisciplinary unit and some great contemporary discussions about the importance of the treaty.

The Antarctic Treaty Summit took place Nov 30 - Dec 3 2009 to honor and recognize this international landmark. A lot here to link science, history and contemporary politics.

The US IPY site provides resources on the Antarctic Treaty Summit. These are better resources for younger grades than some on the official Antarctic Treaty Site.

"In response to a request from Congress, the National Academies have launched America's Climate Choices, a suite of studies designed to inform and guide responses to climate change across the nation. Experts representing various levels of government, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and research and academic institutions have been selected to serve on four panels and an overarching committee."

The reports in the left sidebar are excellent and suitable for upper middle and high school students.

The website blurb does not begin to do justice to the power and wealth of resources in this site. It was unveiled at Copenhage, late 2009. "The Climate 1-Stop provides a single location to share and access climate change tools, resources and information, with a primary focus on adaptation in developing countries.The Climate 1-Stop is a partnership of southern and northern organizations working at all levels, from grass roots to global. "

"United States participation in the 15th session of the conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Copenhagen, Denmark, December 7-19, 2009."