Hi Casey! Just wanted to let you know how much we have enjoyed your journals. The reflex video was particularly interesting to my 5-6th grade classes. So...we gave it a try! By Houston TX standards, it has been "cold" this week (temps in the 40-50's). So, we had teams try the activity inside a warm classroom; then we went out and stood on the cold outdoor basketball court for five minutes and tried it again. The kids were amazed how much the temperature difference affected their responses :) Thanks for a great teachable moment! We will be following your progress on this very interesting expedition- look for questions to follow soon. Is Dr. Madsen at the South Pole as well? I was wondering how the students from UWRF fared on the Oden. Stay warm! Lollie

Casey OHara

Hi Lollie, great to hear from you!  I e-mailed Jim Madsen to ask about the Oden mission - here is his response:"The ship left port on Nov. 20, and hit the worst week of weather they have experienced.  Furniture broke,  cabinets came off the walls, and the  student basically just held on for a week.  The good news is that everyone is safe, and the detector is still working!"
I'm glad you enjoyed the reaction time experiment.  How much of a difference was there between warm and cold reaction times for your students?