POLAR-PALOOZA - Historical

Historical
Where we've Been

Yeah, we know the icon is boring old leather-bound books. But that's OK because lots of these dead trees are written by or about dead, white males from the so-called "Heroic Age" of exploration. Don't judge the books by their covers or our icon: these - without doubt - are some of the classics of the human spirit, documenting adventures that today seem almost incredible. "The Worst Journey in the World" by Cherry Apsley-Garrard is (ironically) one of the best. Read about how Robert Falcon Scott may not have been quite so rash and foolhardy, but instead ran into exceptionally bad weather (that's Susan Solomon's new intepretation.) Marvel at how Scott's team kept on "man-hauling" heavy rock samples back towards what they hoped would be safety, though they died before reaching their next cache of supplies. Today's explorers are a mix of genders (maybe more in the US programs than in other nations, we're glad to report) but the great literature continues. This is where to find links to online biographies and to the books themselves. Check them out in your school or local library: dead trees can still launch minds and imaginations.

	Arctic History: About four thousand years ago, and not less than 10 millennia after the first Indian ancestors crossed from Siberia into America, the earliest inhabitants of the Arctic entered the coasts of Alaska.
	Arctic Studies Center: Join us as we excavate arctic sites; support indigenous efforts to preserve cultural heritage; and work with communities and scholars to share the treasures preserved in museum collections and archives.
	Rockets, Radar, and Computers: The International Geophysical Year The 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY) marked the beginning of a new era of scientific discovery at a time when many innovative technologies were appearing. The IGY still lives today in many NOAA programs, databases, and participation in international collaborations.

POLAR-PALOOZA and the materials on this website are based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0632262. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE/Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions, Inc., and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.