Small groups of students will establish their own phenology plots for long term study. Students will make a field sketch of a sample plot and turn it into a scale map. The map will accurately place plants the students have identified for tracking phenophases, so that the plots can be monitored long term. Phenology is a vital part of
Powerpoint presentation given at 2012 North Carolina Science Teachers Association professional development conference "Catch the Wave". Co-presenters Nick LaFave and Susan Steiner presented their PolarTREC experiences and information about PolarTREC.
Presented Powerpoint slideshow including two interactive activities for two 90 minutes sessions of North Carolina New Schools Common Practices Symposium. The presentation included activities I've used in the classroom based on the PolarTREC experience, as well as images from the summer at Toolik.
As the homepage of the website describes, "The beauty of the Arctic, its precious and fragile nature, its critical role in maintaining a stable climate for the planet, and the rapid rate of change that is occurring there must all be conveyed to the general public. Here, through digital story telling, we put a human face on science, life, societies
Students will use marshmallows to simulate toxins in the environment. Concentrations of these toxins will be modeled and calculated as they bioaccumulate up the food chain. Methylmercury and POPs are substances that bioaccumulate in the Arctic food chain. OASIS scientists studied these in Barrow, Alaska. (See Ocean Atmosphere Sea Ice and Snow (OASIS) Project at www.polartrec.com)
Students will discover how a simple action such as turning on a television will lead to toxins in our food supply. Many of these toxins concentrate in the Arctic because of long-range transport of pollutants in the atmosphere. Scientists in the OASIS project (http://www.polartrec.com/ocean-atmosphere-sea-ice-and-snowpack-interactions) study these pollutants in the Arctic. Students will learn about actions that they can take to
In the Polar Discoveries Section of the Online NewsHour, professional photographer, Spencer Brown, uploaded a photjournal of scientists working as part of the OASIS campaign in Barrow, Alaska in the Spring of 2009.