KIDS HOPE AUS.

THEMED MENTOR HOUR

ANTARCTICA

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Geography

Antarctica is the icy continent at the South Pole. It is covered by permafrost (permanently frozen ground), is surrounded by water, and is about 1 1/2 times larger

than the United States. The world's largest desert is on Antarctica. 98 percent of the

land is covered with a continental ice sheet; the remaining 2 percent of land is barren

rock. Antarctica has about 87% of the world's ice.

Climate

The South Pole is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on Earth. The coldest

temperature ever recorded on Earth was at the South Pole; it reached -128.6°F (-88.0°C)! On average, most of Antarctica gets less than 2 inches of snow fall each year.

People

Although scientific expeditions visit Antarctica, there are no permanent human

residents (because of the extreme weather, which includes freezing temperatures, strong winds, and blizzards). There are about 4,000 seasonal visitors to Antarctica.

Location

Antarctica hasn't always been located at the South Pole. It has drifted, like the other

continents, and has ranged from the equator (during the Cambrian period, about 500

million years ago) to the South Pole. During the time of the dinosaurs (the Mesozoic

Era, about 65 million to 248 million years ago), Antarctica was more temperate and housed dinosaurs and many other life forms. Now, there is very little indigenous life.

CHECK WHAT YOUR CHILD ALREADY KNOWS, OR

WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:

(Use these questions or the quiz on the next page)

* Where is Antarctic? Use a world map or a globe.

* How big is Antarctica?

* Who lives there?

* Make a list of the animals/birds who live there. Your child may like to do some research on a

favourite creature and present it in a book or a poster.

* What’s the weather like there?

* What do you know about the early explorers who went there?

A QUIZ TO CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Use the information above or books to discover what your child knows about Antarctica.

1.This bird lives in Antarctica.

Ostrich Penguin

2.Antarctica gets 24 hours of daylight on what day?

June 21

December 21

3.Antarctica averages about ____ of snow every year.

20 feet

2 inches

4.Antarctica has the world's largest ____.

volcano desert

5.The coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica is ____.

-352.6°F -128.6°F

6.Who was the first person to fly over the South Pole?

R. Byrd L. von Meyer

7.Have dinosaur fossils been found in the Antarctic?

Yes No

8.Was Antarctica warmer during the time of the dinosaurs?

Yes No

9.Is Antarctica a continent?

Yes No

10.Antarctica has what percentage of the world's ice?

87% 47%

Use the above activities to discover if your child would like to explore/learn about any particular aspect

of Antarctic. This can form the basis for a poster/book.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

1. Poles apart

Try this activity to see how melting ice and snow affect sea levels.

What you need

film canister filled with soil, with the lid on

two clear plastic glasses

water

two ice cubes

a marker pen.

What to do

1. Place the film canister upside down into one cup. This represents an island.

2. Half-fill each glass with water.

3. Place one ice cube on top of the ‘island’ and the other ice cube in the water in the

second glass. Mark the level of the water on each glass.

4. Once both ice cubes have melted, see whether the water level has risen.

What’s happening

The ice cube floating in the water has already shifted, or displaced, the water in the glass; so

when it melts, the level will barely rise. But the ice cube on the land (film canister) will not

displace the water until it melts and drips into it, making the water level rise.

Only the melting of land-based ice and snow (like Antarctica) will increase the sea level. The

melting of floating ice (like the North Pole) will not affect the sea level much.

2. Dancing ice

Follow these instructions to make ice dance and learn about buoyancy.

What makes ice float? And how can you make it dance? Try this activity to find out.

What you need

a tall glass or plastic container

some vegetable oil

ice (try adding some food colouring to make it easier to see).

What to do

1. Fill the glass with oil.

2. Drop a block of ice into the glass. The ice should float in the middle of the oil.

3. Watch the ice as it melts.

You will find drops form on the ice, then drop off to fall slowly through the oil. As the drops

form and fall, the ice will rock from side to side and move up and down.

What's happening

This activity is all about density. The density of a material is how much a given volume of that

material weighs. For example, one cubic metre of liquid water weighs 1000 kg, so it has a

density of 1000 kg/m³.

When you drop an object into a liquid, it feels the forces of:

gravity, which pulls it down

buoyancy, which pushes it up.

When you drop something into a liquid, it displaces some of the liquid (pushes it out of the

way). An object placed in a liquid feels an upward force equal to the weight of the liquid it is

displacing. This force is called buoyancy.

If the weight of the object is less than the weight of the liquid it is displacing, it will float. If it is

greater, it will sink. Another way to say this is that if the object is less dense than the liquid, it

will float, but if it is denser it will sink. This is even true for liquids. Liquid water is denser than

oil, so the oil floats on the water.

Water is weird stuff. We don't normally notice it, because water is so common, but water does

some things that almost no other chemical will do. One of the ways water is strange is that it is

less dense as a solid than as a liquid.

Ice and vegetable oil have almost the same density, around 920 kg/m³, so a block of ice dropped

into oil will barely move. As the water melts, it turns into denser, liquid water. The water tends

to stick to the ice for a while before it drops off. If there is enough liquid water on the ice, then

the density of the ice and water together is greater than the oil, so they will sink. Once the

drop of water falls off the ice, the ice floats up again.

It's a good thing that ice floats on water. In winter, some rivers and lakes freeze on the surface. If ice was denser than water, then the rivers and lakes would freeze from the bottom up, which

would kill plants growing in them and starve most of the fish and other marine life.

A FOOD ACTIVITY IN WHICH CHILDREN CAN

LEARN ABOUT ICEBERGS

Edible Antarctica – this activity may need to be spread over 2 sessions or

you may need to prepare all the components before the session.

Follow these instructions to make your own edible model of Antarctica and learn a bit about

icebergs.

Antarctica is a huge island covered with ice and snow, surrounded by icebergs floating in the

ocean. Here’s how you can make an edible model of Antarctica (which is always the best kind).

Before you begin, it might be helpful to learn a bit about icebergs as there are many different types. For example, not all icebergs are white.

Here is a list of the different types of icebergs, their colours and their features:

Blue Icebergs are made of old ice packed so tightly that all the air is squeezed out.

They are actually clear, but light scattering inside the ice makes them look blue. This is

similar to the way the sky looks blue.

White Icebergs are formed when big chunks of ice break off the ice sheet.

Brown Icebergs contain organic matter, such as dirt, and rocks that have been carried

from the land.

Tabular icebergs have steep sides and a flat top.

Dome icebergs are rounded on top.

Pinnacle icebergs have tall spires.

Wedge icebergs have a steep edge on one side and a slope on the opposite side.

What you need

your favourite round-shaped cake, home-made or bought

white icing

blue jelly crystals

blue food colouring

3 egg whites

90 grams of sugar

egg whisk or electric beater.

What to do

1. Make the jelly according to the packet directions. Before it sets completely, mush it up

well with a fork. 2. Whisk or beat the egg whites until they form peaks. While still whisking, gradually add

the sugar. Once the sugar is mixed in, separate some of the mixture into a clean bowl

and add a drop or two of blue food colouring to make some blue icebergs.

3. Spoon different shaped blobs of white and blue meringue onto some oiled baking paper

on a flat tray. Shape them into a mixture of tabular, dome, pinnacle and wedge-shaped

icebergs. Bake at 140 ºC for about 40 minutes.

4. Cut the edges of your cake so it is shaped a bit like the continent of Antarctica (see our

picture).

5. Put the cake on a large plate and cover the cake with icing – this is snow and ice.

6. Surround the cake with the mushed up jelly – this is the ocean.

7. Place the different icebergs in the ocean around Antarctica.

8. Share your edible Antarctica with your friends and family. Yum!

MATHS ACTIVITIES

PENGUIN EGG CARTON CRAFT

Two egg carton cups, some paint and a few scraps of construction paper are all you need to

make this cute little penguin craft.

Materials:

2 egg carton cups

black tempra paint or acrylic paint

orange and black construction paper scraps

OPTIONAL: two small wiggly eyes.

glue,

scissors,

tape

paintbrush,

Instructions:

cut two cups from an egg carton and trim to smooth out the tops.

paint the cups black on the outside... you can paint the inside too or leave it unpainted -- then let dry

tape the two cups together, using one

piece of tape on the inside of the cups to make a "ball shape" from the egg cartons that

opens and shuts -- I find this to be the toughest step. It may require adult supervision.

cut out a couple of triangle shapes and tape them to the openings to make a beak

use wiggly eyes or a black marker to add eyes.

Add black construction paper wings and orange construction paper feet (glue them on)

SNOWY HANDPRINT TREE

Regular table sugar adds a glittery touch to this handprint keepsake piece of winter art.

What you'll need:

1 sheet light blue construction paper

1 sheet white copy paper

Brown acrylic craft paint

Glue stick

Scissors 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

How to make it:

1. Lay white paper sideways (landscape) and cut the paper in half using a curvy

cut. Place paper across the light blue construction paper. Use the glue stick

to attach it to the bottom third of the blue paper. Use scissors to trim off

any excess white paper. (See image.)

2. Paint child's palm and fingers with brown paint. (See image.) Have child

spread out his/her fingers then press his/her palm and fingers down onto

the paper. Wash off child's hand.

3. Use finger to paint on a "tree trunk" under the palm print. (See image.)

4. Use the glue stick to apply glue to the fingers (branches) and snow (white

paper). Sprinkle all glued areas with granulated sugar. Carefully lift paper

and tap off excess sugar over the sink or a piece of wax paper. (See image.)

5. Use glue stick to draw dots or small circles onto the blue paper, sprinkle

with sugar again and tap off excess.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES