Team Bonding in a Freezer
Bonding in a freezer in underwear is not the first idea that comes to mind when planning a programme of team building exercises. But the teachers, who will go on the first Fuchs Antarctic Expedition in November 2007, felt that it was their defining moment. Their preparations for one of the scientific projects to be carried out under the harsh conditions 80degrees south on the Ellsworth Mountains was to test their endurance by biking to exhaustion, soaking their fingers in ice cold water for 20 minutes and sitting in a freezer for an hour and a half in their underwear under the guidance of Professor Mike Tipton of Portsmouth University.
The secondary school, geography and science teachers from Surrey , Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and Sheffield are highly committed to carrying out their individual science projects under harsh conditions. They know that this experience will enhance their teaching and inspire their students in these subjects and they consider that this is an important part in the development of their career. The results of their science projects will be translated into teaching materials after their return in December, available for anyone accessing www.fuchsfoundation.org.
The Fuchs Foundation Antarctic Expedition will this year mark the anniversary of the successful Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition lead by Sir Vivian Fuchs, a notable man of science. The next teachers’expedition will be to the Arctic in 2009.
Contact: Ann Fuchs , email: ann@fuchsfoundation.org
Photos: Phil Avery email: mravery@btinternet.com
TEACHERS’ DETAILS
Philip Avery is KS3 coordinator for geography at Oxted School, Oxted.
Project: Temperature Torture
To cope with extreme cold should you be fat or fit? Lunching on lard or Weetabix?
Clothed in cotton or Gore Tex ?
Phil will be trying to understand how humans survive temperatures as low as -90c (plus wind chill of course!). The team will be lending their bodies to the study and while surviving in Antarctica will have their faces and hands regularly plunged into iced water to see if it really does cause the heart rate to slow. The ice will not be the only thing that is blue!
Ruth Hollinger is a geography teacher at Tapton School, Sheffield
Project 1: Take only photographs, leave only footprints, and tread lightly on the earth.
An ecological footprint is the measure of consumption of resources. It is calculated in terms of the total area of land required per person to meet their food, energy, raw material, water and wastewater disposal needs. The larger the footprint, the larger the impact. What impact will the Fuchs Foundation Teachers Expedition make?
Project 2: Funky Fieldwork – A Virtual Fieldtrip to Union Glacier
In addition glaciological work will be undertaken on the Union Glacier measuring its characteristics and global warming. All results will be set up in a virtual fieldtrip.
Amy Rogers is a science teacher at Higham Lane School, Nuneaton
Project: Naked in Antarctica (and loving it)
Lichens are one of the only living organisms that have adapted to survive the extreme conditions of the Antarctic continent. They are also extremely sensitive to environmental pollution and potentially can be used as bio-indicators for atmospheric changes resulting from human activity. The aim is to collect lichens and investigate their ecology in areas of Antarctica where they have not previously been studied.
Ian Richardson is Head of Biology, Freman College, Buntingford, Hertfordshire.
Project: There’s No Way to Degrade a Tardigrade!
Ian’s project aims to study the remarkable microfauna of the Ellsworth Mountains. The qualities needed to survive the extraordinary environmental conditions of the inner reaches of the Antarctic continent are shown by a unique collection of microscopic organisms. Among them are the strange and cuddly tardigrades (or ‘Water Bears’). These creatures can enter a remarkable state of suspended animation called cryptobiosis, in which they can endure the most punishing temperatures with apparent ease. There are at least three species unique to the Ellsworth Mountains and we know little about them. Who knows what else we might find?
Page last modified: 25th Feb 2008 - 14:35:50