Polar Fun Days For Schools

Our “Polar Fun Days” is a school package designed to both inspire and educate students about the Polar Regions. A combination of assembly talks and activity resources ensures that an entire school can participate in a fun day that they will always remember.

Feedback from our Devonport Polar Fun Day on the 22nd February, saw 147 People attended the event;

100 % Enjoyed the event  
92% Found the event educationally valuable
100% Would recommend the event to a friend
100% Would come to our next event

“Ashton - ”can we come here every day?”
“Finlay - ”this has been the best day of my life”!!!”

If your school or organisation would like to run a polar fun day please contact our outreach coordinator Laura, laura@etelive.org

Video Resources

Over the past four years I have been visiting the same communities on Baffin Island and getting to know the Inuit people who live there. The Inuit are a warm and friendly people with large extended families who have strong sense of community. Hunting is an occupation and a cultural way of life for the people. For Key Stage 1 – 4

Arrival in Qikiqtarjuaq

An Inuit community of just 550 people on Baffin Island. Baffin Island is the 5th largest Island in the world with a population of around 25,000. During the winter and early spring the ocean freezes and temperatures can fall below -40′c where as during the summer temperatures can rise to +15-20′c.

Aerial views into Qikiqtarjuaq from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

A Supermarket Visit

During the summer months Qikiqtarjuaq receives a sealift, a container ship which brings essential supplies and food to the community. For this reason food is extremely expensive and very limited.

Supermarket from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Fishing and Blueberry Picking

Hunting, fishing and berry picking are essential skills for the Inuit, being a hunter is a full time occupation. Seal, Nalwhale, Arctic Char, Caribou and Polar Bear are some of the animals hunted for food and for skins to make clothing.

Baffin Island 2009 – Fishing and picking blueberries from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Billy Arnaquq talks to Antony Jinman about the Inuit culture and concerns for the changing environment.

Billy Arnaquq from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Over the past four years I have been visiting the same communities on Baffin Island and getting to know the Inuit people who live there. The Inuit are a warm and friendly people with large extended families who have strong sense of community. Hunting is an occupation and a cultural way of life for the people. I feel very fortunate to have spent time in these communities and look forward to returning early next year.

In Search of Polar Bears

Filmed by Josephine Beynon, presented by Louise Biddle and edited by Amanda Buckley. Special thank you to Billy and Daisy Arnaquq and the people of Qikiqtarjuaq

Louise examines how some of the mountains of Baffin Island may have been formed and helps explain the geology of the region. Amazingly the rocks here on Baffin Island are around 2.2 – 2.4 billion years old. Students can watch video’s of the landscape and see how the mountains have been formed. Key stage 4.

Granite Formations

Granite is igneous rock with visible crystalline formation and textures. It is composed of feldspar and quartz, with small amounts of mica and other minor minerals. Granite crystallizes from magma that cools slowly, deep below the earth’s surface. The rate of cooling gives rise to various crystal grain structures. Typically, the slower the lava cools, the larger the crystals become. Granite, along with other crystalline rocks, constitutes the foundation of the continental masses, and it is the most common rock exposed at the earth’s surface. Amazingly the rocks here on Baffin are around 2.2 – 2.4 billion years old !!

Mt Asguard

Evaluation 2,015 m (6,611 ft) Mount Asgard is a twin peaked mountain with two flat-topped cylindrical granite towers, separated by a saddle. The peak is named after Asgard, the realm of the gods in Norse mythology. Mount Asgard is perhaps the most famous of the Baffin Mountains.

Mt Thor

Evaluation 1,675 m (5,495 ft) Earth’s greatest purely vertical drop at 1,250 m (4,101 ft), with an average angle of 105 degrees and made of Granite.

Some short videos of Baffin Islands 2009 Summer Expedition. Louise Biddle who is studying Earth Science at Oxford University talks about glaciers and their features for geography students. These video’s are free to be used within schools. For Kay Stage 3 – 4

U-shape Valleys

A U-shaped valley is the shape left after a valley has been overdeepened by a glacier. The original V-shaped valley, which would have been made by a river, is widened and deepened after the ice has eroded the sides and bottom of the valley. U-shaped valleys have a wide flat floor, which may contain braided rivers that meander down the valley containing melt water from the glaciers.

Glacial Erosion 2 from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Moraines

A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock) which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age. This debris may have been plucked off the valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have fallen off the valley walls as a result of frost wedging or landslide.

Glacial Landforms - from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Glacier Corrie

Corries are armchair-shaped hollows, which are found high up on the sides of hills. They are often formed on the shaded and therefore colder side of the hill. Here the snow does not melt as fast and there can be a build up of snow which is squashed and turned into ice. As the ice moves downhill it erodes the underlying rock, eventually producing a corrie.

Glacial Features – A Corrie from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.

Glacier Lakes

Tumble Glacier from Antony Jinman on Vimeo.