EXTREME OUTREACH: “BLOGGING” AND “TELECONS” FROM ANTARCTICA

Since 1976 the U. S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program has collected more than 15,000 meteorites. The ANSMET expedition is conducted annually during the austral summer, and field sites vary each season. Typically the 12-member expedition team is divided into two groups. An 8-person “collection team” does systematic searches in 1-2 remote field camps for the 6-week field season. The other 4 people make up the “reconnaissance (or recon) team” that spends a few days at a time scouting future collection areas. During the 2005-2006 field season, team members conducted outreach activities in addition to their other duties.

Throughout the expedition Mike Kelley managed a weblog of team activities. The main target audience of the weblog was primarily K-12 classes in Southern Georgia where it reached over a dozen school systems. Students were able to submit questions to the team via the Georgia Southern University website. In reality the weblog had a much broader impact.

Through the Digital Learning Network at Johnson Space Center, Mary Sue Bell described collecting meteorites and working in extreme environments. She also answered the students' questions about the possibility of life on other planets. More than 700 students in NASA Explorer Schools in Iowa, Texas, and 9 other states ventured into the cold world of Antarctica. The event occurred over two days at the beginning of the season and two at the end so that the students could share the changes the scientists experienced through the Antarctic summer.

Neshaminy Middle School science classes in Langhome, Pennsylvania participated in a teleconference with Mike Wyatt while the recon team was camped on the high-plateau. Prior to the teleconference, students began studying about Antarctica and the ANSMET program for several weeks by examining satellite images of Antarctica and learning about meteorite collection techniques and samples. The hour-and-a-half teleconference involved over 50 students.

Expedition team members often give follow-up talks in person to the same groups upon their return to the U. S. We will relate our experiences in conducting the outreach efforts under harsh conditions from such remote field areas. We will discuss the hardware and software used, electrical power and communication issues, the time commitment, and the results of our efforts.