My Journey To Icy Places…

Visiting: enter school hereBy: put your name here

Insert date here

Why Am I here?I’m going on an adventure to Antarctica!

• By boat• 30 days• 50 crew• Across world’s stormiest ocean• February 2012

• Sound like fun?

Who am I

• Introduce yourself here – include a photo or photos, talk about why you want to go on this trip… maybe remember something that happened to you at the age of the students you are visiting

• ****Be personal!***• ****Tell Stories***

Where am I going?

Who else is going?(and what do they know about?)

Who else is going?(and what do they know about?)

Whales & seals teacher

explorer bear

air

rocks

Sea ice

has an Antarctic lake named after him!

TV

adventuredoctor

What will it be like?

• Hot / Cold?• What will I wear?• What will I eat?• Who else is going?• What will I see?

We will be visiting sub-Antarctic islands that belong to New Zealand..

What’s on a subantarctic island?

Seals!

Penguins!

King penguins

Elephant seals

Albatrosses

Did you know, New Zealand has 13 out of 24 different types of albatross in the world … and 25% of the world’s sea-birds breed in New Zealand. They then fly all around the world…… so NZ is really important for seabirds of the world!

Amazing plants

What’s here???

Lots of ocean

A bit colder here

This is called pancake ice – can you think why?!

… and then we’ll reach land!

Who lives in Antarctica?!

And who has been there in the past…?

Meet Shackleton Bear… he is coming on this adventure too, and you can follow his journey as we visit different places.

Who else will be there? Is that Happy Feet?

How many types of penguin are there?!

… and how many do we have in New Zealand (including the sub-Antarctic islands)?!

Answer: Out of 17 types of penguin, 6 live in New Zealand

See if you can find out the names of some penguin families …

Do you think I might get this close to them?!what will they smell like?What will they sound like?

What will I be learning about?

• Climate change, and how it is effecting this area

• Biodiversity in this are: everything that is alive (birds, fish, seals, plants, plankton…)

• Commercial interests in the area (fish, tourism, minerals…)

You can join my adventure!

• Ask me, or scientists on board a question• Join the competition• Study the area with your teacher• Follow my blog• Can I visit you when I come back?!

www.ourfarsouth.org

Join my adventure!

• Maybe end with another cool photo of you, or Shackleton Bear, or something else personal.

10 Tips and Tricks (for you, not the teachers or kids!)

Primary1. Check-in with the teacher before your visit.. Get an understanding of how your visits works for

them, where it fits into their curriculum, and what they’d like you to focus on. In many cases, it will fit under “The Nature of Science”.

2. Show the person who you are, share stories, be personable, describe sensory experiences - sound, smell, touch, cold etc. Let them share your excitement and learn your passions. Kids will notice everything about you, and you will become an ambassador and representative for this region. Think of a personal anecdote about yourself at their age, and maybe why that inspired you to come on this journey.

3. Have in mind an underlying vision or purpose – such as the Earth and how precious or sensitive it is. You could show a photo of planet earth, or Antarctica, and talk about how and why you care for it. Show the big picture and share sense of wonder, amazement, interest, details etc..

4. When you share facts, figures, placed, maps, and concepts… note how they are associated with feelings. This is what the students will take away from the presentation

5. Take tangible objects with you- rocks, warm clothing, a teddy bear you might be taking with you, your camera etc…

6. Look at the kids directly, in the eye, and remember the ones at the back! Establish a rapport and feel free to drop the powerpoint completely if you have a good connection and good questions. The connection is the most important thing! Speak clearly, slowly, and don’t mumble. Do NOT use any in-house / adult humour or complicated words – speak to their level.

7. Be open to questions and treat every single question seriously and respectfully. It’s great if they ask anything at all, whatever it is. This means they are engaged.

8. Use jokes and humour, make them giggle. Giggle yourself!9. Leave them with something to do. Leave leaflets, tell them they can follow Shackleton Bear,

ask them to find out how many oenguin types there are, print out some of the simple activity sheets on the website so the teacher can do them in the classroom (penguin family reunion is a really fun and easy one)

10. Keep your promises – visit, write back… do whatever you say you will do.

And finally- avoid the dread factor. At a primary level share the wonder of the region, but don’t start talking about the terrible things happening there. That’s not their fault, or responsibility. Think about what you want them to remember from your visit 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, and 1 year after you’ve left.

Secondary

The same as for primary, except can also introduce new topics, and higher level content. Don’t assume any prior knowledge, however simple, even of basic geography like North,

South, East and West, or why the sun might not set in Antarctica.Ask challenging questions that will make them think – when does the sun set in Antarctica? Is

sea ice salty?Be wary of scaring the students – introduce concepts of environmental issues but don’t lay it

on their shoulders.

Still take in lots of hands-on gear – have them try on clothes etc… they’re just big kids, but they’re still kids (we all are).

General Ideas for primary and secondary• start with a “hook”- a story or an icebreaker, to warm them up and make you all relaxed.• Ask lots of questions, find out what they know, make them do most of the talking!• Take in stuff, gear, clothes, etc . Be very present physically, think energy! Think fun!• Talk for no more than 20 minutes – really focus on the, and their questions• If you’re nervous, ask the teacher to help you – they do this every day!