From: Jan Wee <jwee@mail.arc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Live From Antarctica 2
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 20:01:40 -0600
Dear discuss-lfm members,
Not to take center stage away from Live From Mars but rather
to respond to inquiries I am receiving from members of this
forum about Live From Antarctica 2... I have copied the information
from our LFA web site and shared it in the file below for you
to peruse and share with fellow educators.
This information is from our web site at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/antarctica/index.html
More information will be available soon regarding ordering
the Live From Antarctica 2 materials (teacher guide/kit)
Jan Wee
***************************************************************************
Live From Antarctica 2
The online parts of this project will become available in January 1997.
Until then, this Web site contains information from the original Live From
Antarctica (LFA 1) project, which was active from November 1994 to February
1995.
Live From Antarctica 2 (LFA 2) is an electronic field trip to the Palmer
Peninsula (that part of the continent across the stormy Drake Passage from
Chile). The project takes place at the time of year when students can see
baby seals and penguins still in their birth colonies and rookeries, amid
some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
Passport to Knowledge will use NASA's Advanced Technology Communications
Satellite (that made Live From the Stratosphere possible) to link Palmer and
the outside world for the first time by live video. We will also be live, at
sea, from a Coast Guard icebreaker, the Research Vessel (R.V.) Polar Duke,
observing ongoing marine science in real time.
In addition to marine biology, Palmer is a center for long-term ecological
research, and our program will also provide the latest information on issues
of global climate change, on the stability of Antarctic ice-shelves and
ice-sheets,and the ozone hole. Our tape crew will be on location sufficiently
in advance of the live programming to create the same kind of highly visual
stories which enlivened LFA 1. This year, the science content will be more
focused than during LFA 1, where we dealt with multiple subjects -- geology,
weather and astronomy, as well as biology. However we know our animal
subject-matter is extremely appealing to younger viewers, with climate change
of great interest to older audiences.
Dates and Times, and Content Summaries of the Television Programs:
Current dates and times for the live programs are as follows, but all viewers
should "check local listings" close to air time. (All times are 13:00-14:00
hours Eastern.) Contact your PBS station for local coverage plans.
LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA 2, #1: "OCEANS, ICE AND LIFE" January 23, 1997.
Life onboard the R.V. Polar Duke... and life in the icy oceans. Live
from the R.V. Polar Duke at sea, close to Palmer Station. What it takes
to prepare for a productive research trip; how researchers get to
Antarctica via Punta Arenas, Chile, and a passage over the stormiest
waters on Earth. A close-up look at how researchers study krill and
other creatures close to the bottom of the food chain, and how global
climate affects all the creatures who live here -- from plankton through
whales.
LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA 2, #2: "BIRDS DOWN BELOW" January 30, 1997. Live from
a penguin rookery close to Palmer Station. A close-up view of the
first weeks of life of a new generation of Adelie penguins, and insights
on what makes some thrive and some not survive. We also travel via
Zodiac -- a small inflatable boat that is the primary transportation
for the researchers -- to other islands to study the skuas that prey on
unhatched penguin eggs. A portrait of Palmer Station, the 40-person
research outpost: the sights and sounds that face the dedicated
researchers who come here year after year.
LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA 2, #3: "EARTH'S COLD CANARY" February 6, 1997. If
Earth was a coal mine, Antarctica would be its canary: how biological
and climate studies reveal long-term changes in Earth's environment.
Palmer Peninsula is the only place in Antarctica where organisms larger
than lichens can exist on land. We see how scientists use tiny
greenhouses to study how plant growth relates to changes in Earth's
atmosphere,temperature and amount of ultraviolet radiation. We also
look at elephant seals and giant whales. This final program shows how
research in the Palmer Peninsula, on land and at sea, this season
and over many seasons past and to come,provides a unique gage by which
to measure what's happening to Antarctica and to our planet.
Resources From the First Project:
Descriptions of Television Programs
-Descriptions of the Live From Antarctica videos that were aired
over TV and are now available.
Teachers Guide and Classroom Activities
-Interesting educational activities designed to allow students and
teachers to learn about Antarctica and everything the scientists
worked on.
The Antarctica Team
-Learn about the scientists living and working in Antarctica by
reading their journals.
Q&A Archive
-An archive of past questions submitted by students all over the
U.S. that were answered by the scientists.
Background Resources
-Various files relating to Antarctica and the LFA project.
Pictures
-An archive of Live From Antarctica related pictures.
Other Resources
-A bibliography directing you to other sources of information
regarding Antarctica such as laserdiscs, videos, books,
tapes, etc.
Links to Other Places
-Various links to other sources of interesting information about
Antarctica.
Weekly Newsletters
-Newsletters about Antarctica updated weekly in the past, now
available.
Credits
-A project of this scale involves the collaboration of a team of
individuals and organizations, for whose generous assistance
we're deeply grateful.
Jan Wee
Jan Wee, Education Outreach Coordinator
Passport to Knowledge
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/interactive
Voice: 608-786-2767 (8am-4pm Central time) Fax: 608-786-1819
Email: jwee@mail.arc.nasa.gov