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Antarctica
An Internet Pathfinder
Created for Mrs. Tyler’s Second Grade Class
Pomperaug Elementary School
January 2004
By Barbara J. Hampton
Photos, Images, and Sound Files
Antarctic Photo Library (Raytheon Corp.) - http://photolibrary.usap.gov/
Antarctic Online (Australian Antartic Division) - http://www.aad.gov.au/
Photo Gallery (British Antarctic Survey) - http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/Resources/Gallery/index.html
Iceberg Images from Antarctica (Uwe Kils); images of icebergs & penguins, with one showing the underwater size of icebergs - http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kils/iceberg/index.htm
Cool Antarctica Images - http://www.coolantarctica.com/gallery/Antarctica_gallery_home.htm
Mawson Station Webcam (Australian Antarctic Division); current live images & audiofiles - http://www-old.aad.gov.au/wb/webcams/mawson.asp
Weather
Auroras (Australian Space Weather Agency) - http://www.ips.gov.au/Main.php?CatID=8&SecID=1&SecName=Space%20Weather&SubSecID=1&SubSecName=Aurora
Current Antarctic Conditions & Forecast (Weather Underground); shows range of temperatures at various locations - http://www.weatherunderground.com/global/AA.html
Color-coded temperature map (Weather Underground) - http://www.wunderground.com/global/AN_ST_Index.html
Plants and Animals 
Underwater Field Guide (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD); photos of plants and animals living underwater in Antarctica - http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/fguide/index.html
Antarctic Krill Virtual Microscope (Rutgers University, Prof. Uwe Kils); high magnification image of this shrimp-like sea animal which is major part of penguin diet - http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kils/krill/index.htm
Chasing Giant Squid (Discovery Channel); interactive animated view of giant squid and other sea life - http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/giantsquid/meet/meet.html
Antarctic Penguins - http://www.gdargaud.net/Antarctica/Penguins.html
Penguins Around the World -
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/index.html
Perfectly Penguins (San Diego State University) - http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/encanto/penguins/
KidZone Peguins - http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/
Emperor Penguins (National Geographic Kids) - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/creature_feature/0101/penguins.html
Science and Technology
Antarctic Search for Meteorites (Case Western Reserve University); images and text describing scientific study of meteorites found in Antarctica - http://geology.cwru.edu/~ansmet/
Dress Your Scientist Activity (Boston Museum of Science) - http://www.secretsoftheice.org/explore/dress.html
Antarctica: The Farthest Place Close to Home (American Museum of Natural History) - http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/antarctica/index.php
Fascinating Facts About Antarctica (Cool Antarctica) - http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/fascinating_facts_about_antar.htm
Maps
Researchers and Explorers
Antarctic Scout (Brad Range) - http://antarcticscout.identerprises.net/
US ITASE Expedition Logbook 2003-2004 (University of Maine); brief entries describing trek traversing West Antarctica - http://www.ume.maine.edu/USITASE/logbook.html
Selected Antarctica Slang Words &
Phrases, excerpted from Cool Antarctica Slang - http://www.coolantarctica.com/Community/antarctic_slang.htm
(These also could be used for situations we experience in Southbury, Connecticut.)
Bunny boots - Boots for extremely cold weather, large, white and plain, but effective, the name comes from a layer of rabbit fur that's supposed to be part of the insulation (actually wool felt). Am
Degomble - Being outside in Antarctica in wind-driven snow makes a lot of the snow stick to your clothes and in nooks and crannies around back-pack etc. De-gombling is the process of removing this loosely attached snow before going indoors into a hut, base-building or tent where it would melt and make life more unpleasant. Br.
Dingle - Good weather, on a dingle day it's time to get your boots on and go out to play. Br.
Hollywood Shower - A naval term, derisively used to describe showers of longer than the allotted two minutes (fresh water in a liquid form is relatively rare in Antarctica) Am.
Mank, manky - Overcast weather, particularly common in the maritime Antarctic Br.
Race around the World - A popular race around the south pole marker on Dec. 25th. Am
Slotted - Something that happens if you fall into a crevasse, an almost ubiquitous hazard in Antarctica as the wind-blown snow often covers up these tapering cracks in the ice with a snow bridge that can easily be 50ft+ (16m +) wide. The weakest part of the snow bridge is going to be the middle of course. Falling into a crevasse without a rope to stop you has to be one of the most unpleasant ways to go. There's a deep enough fall for you to pick up a fair speed before you get wedged into the narrowing space at the bottom (known as "corking in"). Assuming you don't crack your head on the way down and are still alive, you will become aware of being held by your pelvis or ribcage that may well have broken in the process. You now have to get out while firmly wedged and in some considerable pain. If not roped up you will be dependent on whoever is on the surface, so hope they've a long enough rope. To make matters worse it will probably be pitch black or at least very dim and if it's summer there's a possibility that the bottom of the crevasse may even contain very cold meltwater. I worried a lot about falling in crevasses. Am, Aus, Br, NZ
Teacher Resources and Lesson Plans
Lesson plans - http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/main.html
Penguins: General Information: Elementary Themes (Jim Cornish, Gander Academy, Newfoundland, CA); includes interesting Penguin FAQs page - http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/penguins_general.htm
Antarctica: The Longest Night: Stories from Around the World (Discovery.com); lesson plan, vocabulary, elementary level readers - http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/storiesaroundtheworld/antarctica/index.html
Experiment Design: Effect of Salinity on Buoyancy of Icebergs (Discovery Channel School) - http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/antarctica/index.html
Glacier Goo Experiment Design: The Characteristics of Glaciers on the Move (University of Maine/ PBS-Nova) - http://www.ume.maine.edu/USITASE/teachers/glacieract.html
Tortilla Map of Antarctica (University of Maine/ PBS-Nova) - http://www.ume.maine.edu/USITASE/teachers/tortillamap.html
US ITASE Teacher Resources - http://www.ume.maine.edu/USITASE/teachers/index.html