2023 Palmer Station Video Teleconferences

2023 Palmer Station Video Teleconferences

The curriculums available below are available for any educators to use in their classes or clubs.

The 2022 VTC spots and waitlist have been filled. 

Curriculum Options

1. ID Antarctica
PhD. candidate Andrew Corso will develop a series of challenges where participants use a dichotomous key to identify some of the mysterious creatures that live around Palmer Station. 

• To practice for this year’s challenges, please review Andrew’s I.D. Antarctica Challenges from 2020
• You can also try the What is it? Antarctica activity: Presentation, Worksheet, Field Guide

2. When Whale I see you again?
While still a graduate student, Dr. Logan Pallin developed this activity for youth to investigate the sex ratio of Humpback whales. 

• Student activity worksheet (Type A) for your youth to use. If your students are comfortable graphing themselves, you can also check out the other worksheet options on the Data Nuggets site.
• Here is the educator guide for your reference.
• If your group wants to continue investigating this whale data, check out this interactive Data Classroom version.

3. Data to the Rescue: Penguins Need Our Help!
With the help of penguin scientist Dr. Megan Cimino, youth use data to determine what is happening to the 3 species of penguin at Palmer. 

• Data to the Rescue – Student Activity Pages
• Data to the Rescue Facilitator’s Guide (coming soon)

Call Logistics

VTCs will take place at 12:00 EST / 9:00 PST on their scheduled day. 

You will receive the link prior to your call. Please log on a minimum of 10 minutes before the call to fix any potential technical issues. We will be on the call 30 minutes in advance. 

All questions are due a minimum of 48-hours prior to your scheduled call. Please encourage your youth to ask questions about the science Palmer Station researchers are engaged in, in addition to station life. 

Here is a list of sample questions from previous years. (Note, the topics may be different.)

Professional Development

On December 7, 2022, educators participating in the project attended a professional development led by the Palmer Education coordinators and scientists. A recording of the webinar is available for reference.

You can also check out the webinar slides, some of which may be useful to show in your class.

You can also use the Exploring Palmer LTER student worksheet.

Don’t forget to check out the Palmer LTER Social Media channels too, so you can stay up to date with what’s happening.

2023 VTC Schedule and Participating Teams 

Get to know your team!

Data to the Rescue: Penguins Need Our Help

When Whale I see you again?

ID Antarctica

Questions

If you have any questions, please reach out to:

Kasey Walsh KWalsh@marine.rutgers.edu or Janice McDonnell McDonnel@marine.rutgers.edu