SciencePoles interviewed Meredith Hooper to mark the publication of her new book: 'The Ferocious Summer: Palmer's Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica'. A trustee of the IPF-UK and recipient of the US National Science Foundation Antarctica Service Medal, Meredith Hooper's writing ranges from award-wining non-fiction books for all ages to academic articles and highly acclaimed fiction and information titles for children. During the last fourteen years, she has been invited as a writer on United States and Australian Antarctic programmes and has specialised in writing about the history, geology and wildlife of Antarctica.I...

Cape Farewell launches first climate change youth expedition to the High Arctic Launch: From 4pm, Sunday 9 September 2007, Southbank Centre, London Expedition: 14-23 September 2007 In September, Cape Farewell launches its first international youth expedition, voyaging north of the 79th parallel to the fragile extremes of Svalbard in the High Arctic with twelve students from Germany, Canada and the UK to investigate and raise awareness of the impacts of climate change. In a landmark arts, science and media project the young people will work alongside artist Dan Harvey, Professor Mark Maslin of University College London's Environment Institute and others to develop scientific and creative projects. The students will live, work and help sail the ...

Conference Announcement and Call for Papers 2007 Polar Archive Symposium 19-20 November 2007 London, UK Abstract Submission Deadline: Wednesday, 1 August 2007 Publication "Archive" Proposal Deadline: Monday, 10 September 2007 For further information, please go to: http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/about-the-faculty/events.php or contact: Kathryn Yusoff Open University E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it -------------------- The symposium "POLAR: Fieldwork and Archive Fever" will be held on 19-20 November 200...

Researchers and explorers will probe the Gakkel Ridge during expedition that begins on July 1. They will be using new robotic vehicles to hunt for life and hydrothermal vents on the Arctic seafloor. Researchers will use two new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)--Puma and Jaguar--in tandem to locate hydrothermal vent sites on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean. (Illustration by E. Paul Oberlander, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) More information can be found on the project website. ...

IPY project 455, IGLO, is a network of international science centres working together to raise awareness about IPY, the polar regions, and global warming. IGLO is an educational partner of Live Earth, the organization producing concerts in nine major cities around the world on July 7, 2007 to promote awareness of, and action on, global warming. Science centers and museums are participating in this event by screening films, showing the concert via a live satellite feed, hosting activities from the IGLO toolkit, and more. Science Centres in China (Shanghai), Panama, Belgium (Mechelen), The Netherlands (The Hague), Wales (Cardiff), Canada (Toronto), Mexico (Mexico City) and across the US (San Francisco, Fort Lauder...

Education, Outreach, and Communication (EOC) in IPY are a continuum of activities and ideas. As with the rest of IPY 2007-8, the EOC components build on local and regional activities and needs, and utilise existing networks and technologies, to raise awareness of the polar regions. To this end, a group of educators from around the world met together to discuss strategies and activities that could build on existing structures, and help to raise awareness of the polar regions using existing resources. The suggestions of the educators were then passed on to two groups: one focussing on the needs of young researchers and early career scientists, and the other on the international media. The idea was to identify and develop activities that would serve the broadest ...

Education, Outreach, and Communication (EOC) in IPY are a continuum of activities and ideas. As with the rest of IPY 2007-8, the EOC components build on local and regional activities and needs, and utilise existing networks and technologies, to raise awareness of the polar regions. To this end, a group of educators from around the world met together to discuss strategies and activities that could build on existing structures, and help to raise awareness of the polar regions using existing resources. The suggestions of the educators were then passed on to two groups: one focussing on the needs of young researchers and early career scientists, and the other on the international media. The idea was to identify and develop activities that would serve the broadest ...

The exhibition is open now, phew! And we’re getting some great feedback. The games are particularly popular. The firm favourite is the meteorite hunting game which is based on the adventures of Natural History Museum's Sara Russell who has been meteorite hunting in Antarctica with ANSMET. This photo is of my friend Paul on the meteorite hunt. It's a great game because visitors not only learn about meteorites but also the terrain of Antarctica. Meanwhile I have started following our visitors around the exhibition for evaluation. I watch where they go and what they do, ideally without being spotted. This, combined with exit surveys, will help us to see what visitors are learning and how much they enjoy the e...

The ice caps are melting but Brits still think polar bears live in Antarctica - home of the penguins. A new exhibition - Ice Station Antarctica - opens at Natural History Museum for International Polar Year 2007-2008. It will challenges kids to understand the importance of the frozen continent. Antarctica is a continent 58 times the size of the UK and it plays a crucial role in understanding global climate change, but one in ten Brits doesn't know where it is and a third of us still think polar bears live there. The Natural History Museum today launches Ice Station Antarctica, a new family blockbuster exhibition developed in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey that challenges kids to survive the extreme conditions faced by scientists researc...

This August, Students on Ice (SOI), an award-winning educational organization, will be leading a momentous youth expedition to the Arctic. With 75 international students, between the ages of 14-18, this journey will create an incredible forum for learning, discovery and discussion. Traveling through the Canadian Arctic aboard a polar icebreaker, students on this endorsed International Polar Year Youth expedition will have the opportunity to learn under leading polar scientists and experience the Arctic through their own eyes. With hands-on activities and a focus on Earth Science, Flora, Fauna and Climate Change, this expedition will give a fresh, polar perspective on our planet. Though the departure date is rapidly approaching, a few spots are still availabl...