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Mindy Bell

About

Mindy Bell's picture
Expeditions: Antarctic Undersea ROV
Occupation: Teacher
Organization: Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy

Mindy Bell grew up on an island in southeast Minnesota. Swimming in algae-laden waters, ice-skating around beaver lodges, and watching the wetlands come to life in the spring were instrumental in her decision to study science. Her liberal arts education at Carleton College included a term studying marine science on Catalina Island and at Hopkins Marine Station, where her fascination with marine life was fueled, yet her passion was for teaching rather than scientific research. After graduation, she took the ferry to Alaska and started teaching. After five years of teaching grade 7 to 12 science in Skagway, Alaska, and running a school fish hatchery, she attended the University of Washington in Seattle and earned a Masters degree in Biology Education. Ms. Bell now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, where she teaches secondary science at the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy.

Mindy Bell's Content

Title Type Last Updatedsort icon
Polar Explorer Activity Activity 13 March 2013
Antarctic Undersea Foodweb Lesson 31 January 2013
Science in Antarctica Lesson 10 December 2011
Dr. Stacy Kim Interview Audio 28 November 2011
FALA science teacher assisting researchers in Antarctica Article 28 January 2011
Title Forum Posted
polygons
Ancient Buried Ice in Antarctica December 8, 2008 - 6:16pm
685 feet!
Antarctic Undersea ROV 08 November 17, 2008 - 6:02pm
Packing List for Antarctica
Antarctic Undersea ROV October 15, 2007 - 4:26pm
Windy weather
Alaska Climate Variation August 5, 2007 - 7:58am
Ice Park
Antarctic Undersea ROV March 24, 2007 - 2:39pm
Weather online
Antarctic Weather Stations March 24, 2007 - 2:49pm
Title Reply Post date
mountain hiking

Hi Travis,

Hiking in the mountains is one of my favorite things to do. It helps to have good hiking boots or at least sturdy trail shoes. The rest of the gear really depends on what kind of weather you will have. A lot of hikers wear long underwear under their hiking shorts (very...{read more}

March 10, 2008 - 1:48pm
Hindsight helps!

Hi Cameo,

For me, the best thing I took was my good ground coffee as I'm dependent on that for a good start in the morning.  It would have been handy to have a hair dryer once in a while - but I used one I got from "skua" - the leftovers that other people leave behind.  If you...{read more}

March 10, 2008 - 1:55pm
Underwater organisms

Hi Nick,

Great question!  Besides the sessile invertebrates there are the "swimming" inverts like the jellyfish and nudibranchs, the crawling worms, and lots of starfish and brittle stars.  For a good look at some of the organisms check out:
http...{read more}
January 1, 2008 - 6:30pm
Work/Research in Antarctica

For anyone interested in working in Antarctica, there are two primary ways to get there. The "easiest" and the one that actually pays you for your work is the support contractor side (Raytheon Polar Services) which has several annual job fairs for a wide variety of jobs including...{read more}

November 23, 2007 - 7:27am
True Peace and Quiet

Hi Mary Anne,

I found Antarctica to be amazingly, blissfully quiet.  As soon as you got away from the "bizzyness" of McMurdo, you could hear NOTHING.  I would just stand and listen to the silence as long as I could stay still.

Contrast that to my school's talent show...{read more}

November 20, 2007 - 4:59pm
Thank YOU!

Hi Jeff and Students,

A big thank you for the wonderful video podcast.  You made my Monday morning.  I'm excited to go to school to see the students I have missed over the last 7 weeks!  And ALL of you would thrive in Antarctica, even if the Caribbean sounds more enticing!

{read more}
November 19, 2007 - 5:27am
Rave reviews

Hi Jeff and Class,

We have heard rave reviews of the movie - but we haven't yet been able to download it ourselves.  I should be home this weekend with my high-speed internet connection so I can see it!

Thanks for all your great questions, comments, and enthusiasm - it warms me up...{read more}

November 15, 2007 - 12:05pm
Laser Drilling

This is actually Bryan today, not Mindy (I don't have my own account)

An alternative drilling technology like lasers is something a lot of us would like to see... mechanical drilling is difficult and labor intensive, hotsy melting wastes a lot of fuel and takes a long time, explosives are...{read more}

November 13, 2007 - 12:42pm
Water temperature

The water temperature here is slightly below freezing, because the salt in the water makes the freezing point of the water a little lower.  The typical temperature here is 28 degrees F which is -1.8 degrees Celsius.  It is cold!

{read more}
November 12, 2007 - 9:06am
Sessile creatures

Hi  Tate,

Great question!  Most sessile creatures (organisms that don't move) send their offspring out into the water and the larvae can swim around and get larger before they settle down - if they don't get eaten first.  Some scientists study what makes organisms settle in different...{read more}

November 12, 2007 - 9:03am

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