The International Polar Year (IPY)* is a coordinated effort by the international science and education communities to learn more about polar regions and their role in global processes, and to attract a new generation of scientists and engineers with the skills and imagination to tackle complex global issues. Plunge into polar science and exploration at the Web sites below and visit the NASA Polar Express (ipy.nasa.gov) for the latest NASA IPY educational projects, resources, tools and images.

*The IPY will last from March 2007–2009, to allow two seasons of Arctic and Antarctic research.

POLAR-PALOOZA is a national education and outreach tour to science centers and museums, designed to bring the poles to life through stories told by scientists who study the icy extremes of our planet on the ground and from space. Visit the Web site for 2008 host cities and dates, video clips from research expeditions, “Amazing but True” facts and misperceptions, classroom activities, blogs, links to webcams, and sound clips of penguins, seals, waves and breaking ice. Sponsored by NSF and NASA.

Take a Tour of the Cryosphere across the icy reaches of Antarctica, the drifting expanse of polar sea ice, the shrinking cap around the North Pole, and more.

K–5 teachers can find lessons for Exploring Ice in the Solar System.

Tune into the International Polar Year at Earth & Sky to learn about NASA’s unique contributions to Arctic and Antarctic research. The radio programs will also include interviews with scientists, segments highlighting Mars and lunar polar exploration (in English and Spanish), and links to related Project Learning Tree lesson plans. Learners of all ages can have fun exploring polar science on Earth, as well as other planets, through

Windows to the Universe
Earth and space science teachers can keep up to date on IPY educational resources through the National Earth Science Teachers Association Web site and learn to bring polar science into their classrooms through NCAR’s Climate Discovery online courses.

K–12 teachers are learning about polar regions and their role in the Earth system through in-depth undergraduate and graduate courses offered by colleges and universities participating in the NASA- and NSF-sponsored Earth System Science Education Alliance conducted by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.

An online IPY educational package designed for libraries and after-school programs will be distributed through the Lunar Planetary Institute’s successful Explore! program. Webcasts and ongoing support will be provided for program facilitators on polar science content and IPY products and resources.

The Polar Literacy Networks project (contact: anita.m.sohus@jpl.nasa.gov) brings together polar researchers, established educational and outreach networks, education/outreach experts, and partner organizations to develop consensus on Polar Literacy Key Concepts, provides network members with IPY professional development and educational resources, and evaluates public understanding of the importance of polar regions. See the first high-resolution Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica featured at Faces of Antarctica. Beginning in late 2007, users will be able to interact with Antarctic images and animations through guided, hands-on examples and data access and exploration tools. Faces of Antarctica will provide accessible imagery, visualizations, scientist interviews and narratives, as well as teacher-ready materials. This is a NASA, USGS and British Antarctic Survey partnership, with support from NSF.

The Pig Ice Shelf Website includes information on the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf project, including blogs from Antarctic explorers.

MY NASA DATA lessons featured at (mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/IPY_lessons.html) that provide possible ideas for IPY-related studies using NASA datasets that were specifically created for teachers and students.

The Permafrost Health Program is conducted in conjunction with research on permafrost at University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Long-term permafrost monitoring systems have been installed adjacent to participating schools located in the Alaska Circumpolar Region.

At Signals of Spring students can learn to explain the movement of animals tracked by satellite, including penguins and polar bears.

The SATELLITES Project conducts a fall field campaign in association with GLOBE.  Participating students develop inquiry-based research projects that they present at the annual SATELLITES Conference.