Education and Outreach

An essential element of the mission of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program and South Pole Station, is support for science and engineering education. These resources are geared to the general public and explore Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, the science it supports, and the history of the South Pole from a variety of perspectives, from those of educators to those of writers and museum curators. Detailed descriptions of these and additional resources including direct links to subsections of the sites listed below are contained in this Resources PDF. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station Illustration Posters
Printable, detailed illustrations of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station by National Science Foundation illustrator Zina Deretsky
>Centennial Poster front (PDF)
>Centennial Poster back (PDF)
PolarTREC
PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating), is a National Science Foundation-funded program in which K-12 teachers spend two to six weeks participating in hands-on field research experiences in the polar regions. Read participants' journals and see their photos.
http://polartrec.org Ice Stories: Dispatches from Polar Scientists
Ice Stories: Dispatches from Polar Scientists was produced with NSF support during the International Polar Year (2007-2009) The now-archived site contains video dispatches from scientists who worked in Antarctica and who were given cameras and other equipment to document their work.
http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/ NSF Office of Polar Programs
The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Office of Polar Programs, manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). USAP's mission includes making grants to scientists whose research is centered at the South Pole.
http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=ANT U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Website
Raytheon Polar Service Co., of Centennial, Colo., NSF's logistics contractor in Antarctica, maintains a Web site about the USAP that includes articles from the Antarctic Sun, a newspaper published at McMurdo Station, the main U.S. research facility on the southernmost continent.
http://www.usap.gov/ NSF's Antarctic Artists & Writers Program
NSF's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program supports writing and artistic projects specifically designed to increase public understanding and appreciation of Antarctic science and the unique role of the southernmost continent in the scientific realm.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503518 An interview with Ed Larson, author of An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science and participant in the Artists and Writers Program, can be found at the end of the Resources PDF.