News
Fifth
graders take quick trip to south pole
Oct. 17, 2008
Pinewood fifth graders were treated to a special presentation on Thursday, Oct. 16, when Ed Lambert (father of fifth grader Nick Lambert) and Mike Burdo (uncle of fifth grader Ryan Royer) came to present on Antarctica. Both men have made several trips to the continent as members of the 109th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard, which is based in Scotia.
The presentation, teacher Jill Osinski said, fit right into what students are learning about geography, social studies and current events.
Lambert told the students that Antarctica is the coldest, highest, windiest and driest continent in the world. Temperatures, he said, can get down to 76 below zero Fahrenheit in the winter, but have gotten down to as low as 128.6 below zero Fahrenheit. When you go outside, he said, you can't have any skin exposed. Lambert and Burdo brought with them the gear that National Guard members have to wear when working in Antarctica--and Ms. Rogers and Ms. Osinski got a chance to try it on for size!
The average wind speed, Lambert said, is 23 mph--with the record being 154 mph. Also, for six months out of the year, Antarctica is completely dark and for the other six months it is completely light with the sun never setting.
"It
gets really dark there," Lambert sad. "It can seem lonely and
barren."
Lambert talked about the different landforms found in Antarctica and gave students a little lesson about why glacial ice is always blue. It is very dense and compact, he said, and for that reason blue is the only color of the rainbow that can make it through the ice. He also talked about global warming and the scientific research that is taking place in Antarctica on how our world is changing. The 109th Airlift Wing, he said, frequently travels to Antarctica to assist the National Science Foundation.
"We are helping the research," Lambert said. "We are helping to better the world."
Students learned about how the warming arctic oceans can, and are, affecting the food chain. They also learned about the many active volcanoes located in Antarctica. They saw pictures of the south pole and learned about the different kinds of houses and facilities that people live and work in. Students learned about ice core drilling and how scientists can look back millions of years to learn about what the world was like.
"If you know history you know what things were like and you know where they might be going," Lambert said.
Students also learned about the different modes of transportation in Antarctica - dog sleds, special buses and boats. They saw pictures of the star fish, whales, squid, octopus, penguins, birds and other wildlife that inhabit the massive island.
Visit the 109th Airlift Wing's public Web site and see pictures from Antarctica.
