LEARNZ: Antarctica – cool science in action

Join LEARNZ for their annual trek to Antarctica.

At the end of 2018 go to a place that has fascinated explorers and scientists for over 100 years; Antarctica. Unlike early adventurers you won't be sailing there. Instead, you will be flying on a C17 Globemaster that will land on the Antarctic sea ice. When you arrive, it will be about -20°C and your first steps will fill your senses to overflowing. Your eyes will struggle to adapt to the bright light. You will hear weird sounds that your boots make as you walk on dry snow. There will be a strange sensations as the tip of your nose goes cold. On the horizon, there will be nothing human-made to help you judge distance. You will wonder how 1.5 metres of sea ice can hold up your 265 tonne Globemaster.

Your friends on this trip are Antarctic scientists and other experts. You will all be staying together at New Zealand's Scott Base. You will join them for meals in the Scott Base dining room. You will sit in on morning meetings to plan the day's activity. You will complete a survival training course before going out in the field. Then you will travel across the ice to do some cool science.

The opportunities for student involvement and interaction during this trip will ensure their learning is very real in this fourteenth LEARNZ trip to Antarctica.

To prepare for this field trip, LEARNZ content will support inquiry into

• 100 years of science in Antarctica
• the significance of Antarctica in the development of international science during the heroic era and since the 1957/58 International Geophysical Year (IGY)
• Antarctica as a place for scientific research
• the importance of Antarctic science in helping us understand the dynamic world we live in
• much more about Antarctica TBA in 2018
• During this field trip you will
• see Shelley's tweets on twitter
• travel to Antarctica aboard a giant C17 Globemaster
• complete a survival training course
• ride across sea ice on a skidoo
• take part in contemporary Antarctic science by visiting a 2018 science field party
• much more TBA in 2018

By the end of the field trip

• students will have gained knowledge, skills and experience to understand how exploration and innovation create opportunities and challenges for people, places and environment (Social Studies Level 4)
• students will have gained understanding about the Nature of Science - understanding science, investigating in science, communicating in science, participating and contributing (Science Levels 2-4)

After the field trip:

• invite someone from your community who has been to Antarctica to share their experiences with your class
• invite a marine scientist to share their knowledge about sea-life with your class

Learning Areas/Levels

Health and Physical Education: Personal Health and Physical Development Levels 2-4, Relationships with Other People Levels 2-4, Healthy Communities and Environments Levels 2-4
Science: Nature of Science Levels 2-4, Material World Levels 2-4, Planet Earth and Beyond Levels 2-4, Earth and Space Science Levels 7-8
Social Sciences: Geography Level 6
Social Studies: Place and Environment Levels 2-5, Continuity and Change Levels 2-5

For further information: http://rata.learnz.org.nz/summary.php?vft=antarctica184