16 October 2019 So...why exactly are you going to the South Pole?

So...why exactly are you going to the South Pole?

Great question.

I’ve been slowly telling all my friends and family about my expedition. Everyone is supportive and excited, but there is a common source of confusion that I keep encountering. This is how the conversations usually go. (The following is a dramatization)

ME: Hey, guess what?!
THEM: What?
ME: I’m traveling to the South Pole at the end of the year!
THEM:...what?
ME: Antarctica-
THEM: I know where the South Pole is. But what? That’s CRAZY! Why are you going?
ME: I got selected to be a part of this cool program called PolarTREC that is funded by the National Science Foundation and sends educators to the north and south pole to learn about the research and then incorporate it into their curriculum back home.
THEM: Wow!!...:...how cold does it get there?

TWO DAYS LATER

THEM: How’s it going? Ready for your trip?
ME: Yeah, taking it a day at a time. I finally got Physically Qualified, so now I can start the real planning.
THEM: That’s awesome. This is going to be an experience of a LIFETIME!
ME: I know! I’m so excited.
THEM: So...why exactly are you going to the South Pole?

END SCENE

I get it. It’s a crazy thing to go around saying, especially since I’ll be gone for close to 5 weeks. I’m going to break down the details by a tried-and-true method.

WHO

Me! Jocelyn! I was selected by PolarTREC as an informal educator through my platform with Jargie the Science Girl! PolarTREC is funded by the NSF (National Science Foundation) and administered by ARCUS (Arctic Research Consortium of the United States). Yes, lots of acronyms. I will be working with Dr. James Madsen (from the University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the IceCube Lab.

WHAT

The expedition is called IceCube and The Askaryan Radio Array 2019. My expedition is in the South Pole, but PolarTREC also sends educators to labs in the North Pole!

WHERE

I will be living at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and a short distance from the IceCube NeutrinoAn elementary particle with zero charge and zero mass. An electrically neutral particle that is often emitted in the process of radioactive decay of nuclei. Neutrinos are difficult to detect, and their existence was postulated twenty years before the first one was actually discovered in the laboratory. Millions of neutrinos produced by nuclear reactions in the sun pass through your body every second without disturbing any atoms. ObservatoryA location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events.. On my way there, I’ll spend some time (maybe even Thanksgiving!) at McMurdo Station on the coast of Antarctica.

WHEN

Here is where the details get tricky. I will leave on November 24th, and I am scheduled to return December 28th. From my very first meeting with the PolarTREC team, they assured me that the only thing they could not assure me was my exact “on-ice” dates (the dates I will be physically at the South Pole). Travel is subject to common changes in the weather. We will only fly when weather conditions allow us to, as such...I will keep you posted.

HOW

I’ll travel from Los Angeles → New Zealand → Coast of Antarctica (McMurdo Station) → South Pole (Amundsen-Scott Station)

You might, instead, be wondering “how are you getting ready for this trip?” Well.
Physically Qualified → online training and check-ins from the wonderful team at PolarTREC → Packing (details to come) → non-stop talk about it → non-stop thinking about it → deep breaths → lots of googling

WHY

And finally, the main purpose of this post. Why in the world am I going to the South Pole?
I like to think of it this way--I’m going as a sponge. My goal is to soak up everything about life and science in Antarctica so I can create content and outreach activities that will help students connect to and get excited about the amazing research that is happening down south. As part of my outreach before and during my trip, I will be posting these journals and doing live events, sparing no details about what I’m learning. Once I’m back home, I’ll get to be creative about how to share this new experience, collaborate with other educators, and get students pumped about antarctic research. Naturally, I’ll be using Jargie the Science Girl to start, but the possibilities are endless--and I’m still planning!

Talk soon, friends.
Jocelyn