This article provides an overview of icebergs' formation and characteristics and the hazards associated with icebergs.

What would happen if a portion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt? This video segment adapted from NOVA uses animations to show the effect of a 6-meter sea-level rise on coastal cities across the world.

In this lesson, students explore the importance of albedo (or reflectivity) to penguins and the surfaces they inhabit and learn how penguin colonies may be mapped using satellites.

The Polar Rock Repository at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center offers no-cost Rock Boxes for use by educators in both schools and informal learning environments, such as libraries, scout groups, and Science Olympiad teams. Each box may be borrowed for one month and contains more than 30 representative samples (rocks, minerals, fossils), printed materials for student use (books, descriptions, etc), teacher materials (also available online), and tools to examine the samples. With few exceptions, all of the samples in the boxes were brought back from Antarctica over the past century by U.S. expeditions!
A virtual version of the Rock Box may be viewed here. In addition to 3D models of rock samples, high resolution photographs and descriptions are linked.

What happens when the ground under your feet is ice and it's moving? This video segment adapted from NOVA features some of the dangers faced by scientists conducting research in Antarctica.

This article describes a discovery of moss and ostracod fossils that led to a better understanding of Antarctica's climate history.

This article includes links to expository text for students in grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 about the climate differences between the Arctic and Antarctica.

In this video, Jonathan treks all the way to Antarctica to investigate life south of the polar circle. Along the way he dives in the majestic kelp forests of Patagonia, where crabs rule the sea floor. Once he arrives in Antarctica, his adventures continue. He swims with penguins, dives under an iceberg, meets a massive jellyfish 3 feet wide, and has an incredible encounter with a Leopard seal, the apex predator of Antarctica. Part 1 finds Jonathan diving in Ushuaia, Patagonia in Argentina before boarding the ship to Antarctica, then he finally gets to Antarctica and meets some penguins! This program won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.

In this video, Jonathan treks all the way to Antarctica to investigate life south of the polar circle. Along the way he dives in the majestic kelp forests of Patagonia, where crabs rule the sea floor. Once he arrives in Antarctica, his adventures continue. He swims with penguins, dives under an iceberg, meets a massive jellyfish 3 feet across, and has an incredible encounter with a Leopard seal, the apex predator of Antarctica. Part 2 finds Jonathan continuing his exploration of Antarctica including an encounter with a Leopard seal. This program won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.

This video segment adapted from NOVA uses microwave images to reveal how sea ice doubles the size of Antarctica each winter. Rare footage shows how sea ice crushed the famous ship Endurance in 1914.

This classroom activity introduces students to Antarctica's organisms, landscapes, and seascapes. After examining the images in the photo gallery, students work in small groups to discuss their conclusions about the living conditions on this continent. The printable three-page handout includes a series of questions to help students structure their thoughts while viewing the gallery images and a group worksheet that guides students through a discussion of their evolving hypotheses and conclusions.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health and environmental problem, except, presumably, in remote regions like Antarctica. Antarctica is considered the most pristine continent because of its minimal human activity confined to specific research stations, so it’s an ideal location to study the early mechanisms of AMR acquisition. Existing evidence suggests that although human gut bacteria have colonized native wildlife around research stations, AMR in birds and seals is minimal. However, the research so far has been limited, and the standards and methods used have varied widely. In addition, much of the continent remains unsampled, making a comprehensive AMR assessment impossible. Implementation of continent-wide standards for AMR reporting would help future studies produce meaningful and comparable results that can be used to understand AMR acquisition in other regions of the globe..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the amazing birds that live in or migrate to the polar regions. The issue was co-produced with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In addition to content knowledge articles and lesson plans, the issue includes information about bird-themed citizen science programs from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

This article assembles free resources from the Arctic and Antarctic Birds issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

This article profiles Paul Siple, a Boy Scout selected to accompany Admiral Byrd to Antarctica in 1928.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, highlights resources that help elementary teachers learn about climate change and teach their students important foundational concepts.

This article assembles free resources from the Climate Change and the Polar Regions issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5.

This article describes common misconceptions held by elementary students about the history of the polar regions, fossils, and geologic time. The article provides ideas for formative assessment, teaching strategies, and the National Science Education Standards.

This article describes common misconceptions about the Arctic and Antarctica and how to test and teach for student understanding.