WHAT ORGANISMS LIVE IN ANTARCTICA?

Take a day, a week, or a whole month to investigate the characteristics that enable Antarctica’s many life forms to live in this continent of extreme cold, wind, and extended periods of light and darkness.

• If you want teacher strategies, assessment, and a schedule for the unit, start with Curriculum Materials. Then download all the activities (with handouts) and readings.
• If you want stand-alone, hands-on, or research on the Web activities and don't need teacher strategies to go with them, go directly to Activities.
• If you want accessible content readings that will help your students connect to Antarctic organisms, go straight to Articles. You'll find interviews with real scientists as well as content readings written by or about Antarctic researchers.

		What Organisms Live in Antarctica Today? Curriculum Materials for grades 7 through 10 What does it take to survive in Antarctica? For emperor penguins, the answer is teamwork—they huddle together by the thousands to keep incubating eggs warm. Learn how other organisms have adapted.
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		Research on the Web: Adapting to Antarctica Activity for grades 6 through 12 Examine how organisms have adapted to survive on Antarctica—the coldest, highest, driest, and windiest continent—all from the comfortable environment of your computer.
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		Create a Polar Creature Activity for grades 6 through 12 Ice floes, katabatic winds, and subzero temperatures—welcome to life in Antarctica. What features would your ideal creature have to thrive in this extreme habitat?
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		Excerpt: The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard Article for grades 7 through 12 Why in the world would anyone spend five weeks trekking into the dark Antarctic winter to bring back a few penguin eggs? Find out, and learn just how harsh the journey was for this three-person team.
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		Excerpt: Great White South by Herbert G. Ponting Article for grades 6 through 12 Ponting is one of the best photographers to have documented Antarctica. He was also a fine travel writer. Read an excerpt from his account of traveling with Robert Falcon Scott on his last expedition.
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		Let's Talk with Randy Davis about Photographing Weddell Seals from Below the Ice Article for grades 6 through 12 Weddell seals spend about 90% of their time submerged, making them a tricky animal to study. Before Davis developed a special camera, scientists could only speculate about the seals' lives below the ice.
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		Let's Talk with Donal Manahan about Studying Antarctica's Marine Organisms Article for grades 6 through 12 Antarctica's water is so clear that organisms have problems finding food. "It's like parents having to tell their young, 'We're not going to be able to feed you until Christmas, so hold your breath,'" says Donal Manahan.
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		Let's Talk with Cornelius Sullivan about Microorganisms in Antarctic Seas Article for grades 6 through 12 During the winter, the sea ice off Antarctica covers an area so big that it's actually the largest continuous habitat on Earth. The algae that live there produce 25 percent of all oxygen on the planet.
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		Letter from Stephanie: Antarctic Adaptations Article for grades 6 through 12 Unlike human visitors, Antarctica's plants and animals don't require high-tech gear. How have these organisms adapted to thrive—not just survive—in such an extreme environment?
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