Antarctica: 90 Degrees South

By Ria Mastromatteo, Educational Technology Consultant ()

"The year is 2050. The earth is dangerously overcrowded. You are on a team of scientists commissioned to determine if Antarctica is a place where humans could live."

This is the premise of the simulation section of PBS 45 & 49's newest multimedia package, Antarctica: 90 Degrees South. The project is designed for students in grades 5-8 and is completely standards based.

Antarctica: 90 Degrees South's multimedia components include video, a Web site and a teachers guide:

The five-part video series includes "An Overview," "Biology/Ecology," "Geology/Geography," "Weather/Seasons" and "Habitation."
The teachers guide is set up in three sections: Basic Information, the Simulation and a series of nine lesson plans. These hands-on lesson plans include "Build Your Own Glacier," "Arctic vs. Antarctic," "The Food Web," "Insulation," "Penguins," "Cupcake Core Sampling," "Wind Chill," "The Ozone Hole" and "Plate Tectonics."
An extensive Web site offers help with the simulation, tons of hotlinks and an extensive photo library.

Let me give you the good news. We have written a Martha Holden Jennings grant and, thanks to their funding, we can give this kit to you FREE OF CHARGE! All you need to do is attend one of the workshops that will be announced in the January 2004 newsletter. We will host one or two workshops in each of our eight counties. Workshops will be held at the ESC in your county or at PBS 45 & 49. Watch for the dates.

This program was created by a team of local teachers and has been "teacher-tested." We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. We think the program is great! (Do you detect a little bias there?)